Leona Lewis "Spirit"

At 22 Leona Lewis has won a national television talent program, broke records with her first two singles, and had the fastest selling debut album of 2007 in both The UK and Republic of Ireland. It really makes me think about what I'm doing with my life, when at 22 I was still sleeping until noon, missing classes, drinking until 3 in the morning at parties thrown by people I'd never met before, and panicking to write an essay three hours before it's due.

Next month marks Leona's official descent on America with the release of her debut album, Spirit. While I have yet to hear the American version with new song "Forgive Me" and "Misses Glass" I have heard the UK version released last November.

I first became aware of Leona when I heard her debut single "Moment Like This" in 2006. It's a song most of us have heard before sung by Kelly Clarkson when she won American Idol season one. Leona's version is lovely but for me it doesn't live up to Kelly. It's her second single that Leona will be known for.

"Bleeding Love" is one of the best songs to be exported in a long time; a beautiful love song with a beat that only adds to it. Unfortunately it produces high expectations - higher than Spirit can reach.

There are several songs on the album that can give "Bleeding Love" a run for its' money, such as "Whatever It Takes" and "Angel". Most of Spirit, however, provides a less than moving experience. Which isn't to say that Leona doesn't have a beautiful voice - she shines on every track. Unfortunately the tracks prove to generally be forgettable at best.

This raises the question: What to do with forgettable tracks to make them unforgettable? The answer is that you make a video to highlight the vocals and give a message that will be with you for a long time. A perfect example is Leona's newest U.K. single "Footprints In The Sand".

At first listen I thought that it was a pretty song, but by the middle of the next song I couldn't remember anything about it. That all changed since I saw the video. It's a charity video, so you know it will tug at your heart.