Leona Lewis and Melanie C CD Reviews

Courtesy of Sony BMG

Leona Lewis and Mel C are hitting stores with new albums this week. Kidzworld has the reviews!

Leona Lewis :: Spirit

Since winning Britain's X Factor competition, Leona Lewis has gone six times platinum and won awards left, right, and center. As fans in the US get their hands on her debut CD, it will only be a matter of time before Leona is a household name over here too. The star of this disc is Leona's incredible voice. She has drawn comparison to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, and the good thing about Spirit is that it really showcases her voice. It's a straight forward album though, some ballads, a few pop tracks, nothing too edgy. The first single, Bleeding Love, was produced by Ryan Tedder of One Republic is certainly one of the best songs of the year. All things considered, Spirit is a solid, if not groundbreaking debut. Simon would probably say, "Great but a little safe."

Mel C is back with a solo album, This Time.

Courtesy of Red Girl Records

Fun Facts

Spirit entered the Irish and UK Albums Charts at number one and became the fastest selling debut album of all time.

In the UK, Spirit sold 218,805 copies in its first week.

Lewis says she named the album Spirit because "it is my heart and soul and the voice within that says everything is possible."

Bleeding Love reached number on on the Billboard Hot 100 after six weeks, becoming the first number one hit from a British Female artist in over twenty years.

Hot Tracks

Bleeding Love, Better in Time, Take a Bow

Spirit Rating:

Melanie C :: This Time

Fresh off of the incredible Spice Girls reunion tour comes Melanie C with a new solo album. Of the Spice Girls, Mel is the only one who seems focused on music, which makes sense because she was always the best singer in the group. This Time isn't a bad album, but it's not that great either. Mel sings well; her voice has matured since the Spice Girls and so has she. Now that she has her own label, Mel seems content to keep doing the same style of Modern Pop-Rock she feels comfortable with, which isn't likely to attract many new fans, but will certainly keep her loyal following happy.

Fun Facts

Melanie C released this CD from her own label, Red Girl Records.

Tracks "What If I Stay" and "Don't Let Me Go" are cover versions of two songs originally written and recorded by Speedway lead singer Jill Jackson for her debut solo album.

In Switzerland, the album was certified Gold after just three weeks of release.