Leona Lewis' Spirit: X-Factor Champion Takes on Pop Music

Leona Lewis is the champion of the third season of the hit television series The X-Factor, which is the UK equivalent to American Idol. Less than a year after winning on the show Leona is prepared to release her solo debut album Spirit. Will The X-Factor winner be able to sustain longevity after winning a reality television show with a solid album?

Leona's first single was A Moment Like This. It is hard not to think of Kelly Clarkson's version of the song from American Idol: Season One. Leona's version has more vocal subtlety than Clarkson's. Both versions of the song are solid, and it is hard to choose which one is better.

The first official single off of Spirit is Bleeding Love written and produced by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder. The song is a huge international hit. The song features pulsating drums over a solid vocal performance. The drums make the song sound a little dated though. The song is fairly solid featuring numerous nicely arranged vocal harmonies.

Angel is produced by proven hit-makers StarGate. The song sounds eerily similar to other StarGate produced tracks like Beyonce's Irreplaceable. The song is fairly solid and will be a good song to crossover into the pop-R&B mainstream.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is a cover of a popular song from the 1950's. It has been covered by artists ranging from Roberta Flack to Celine Dion. The song showcases Leona's very distinctive vocals. The song primarily sticks in Leona's lower register. She could work on singing down there more as the song was not that strong when it was that low.

The Best You Never Had is very reminiscent of JoJo's hit single Too Little Too Late which makes sense because both tracks were produced by Josh Alexander. The song is fairly solid and one of the catchiest songs on the disc.

Take A Bow is definitely Leona's attempt at Cry Me A River. The song is almost a mimicry of the song initially but then builds goes into a nice piano breakdown which saves the song.

Whatever It Takes is produced by Dallas Austin. The song is very awkward sounding not really fitting into any genre. The song is not one of the standout tracks on the album.

I Will Be is written and produced by Avril Lavigne, Dr. Luke and Max Martin. The track appears as a bonus track on Avril's latest album. The song is a good pop song and definitely one of the best songs on the album.

Leona Lewis' debut album Spirit is a mixed bag. It sounds like the cliché debut album you would expect from a new artist falling into the trap of trying to be a little bit too much of everything and appealing to all markets. Overall Spirit gets 7 out of 10. If you are a fan of The X-Factor winner Leona Lewis make sure you pick up her debut album Spirit when it is in stores on November 12^th.