Glassheart (Leona Lewis)

EN 'Glassheart" is the third studio album by English singer Leona Lewis, released on October 12, 2012, celebrating its ninth birthday yesterday, by Syco Music and RCA Records. Originally scheduled for a release in 2011, two years after the second album “Echo”, the project was postponed due to the confusion associated with what would be the first single of the project, “Collide”, which contained an uncredited sample of Swedish DJ Avicii. Wisely, "Collide" was simply labeled as a "promotional single", where there came to be a co-authorship between the artist and the DJ and Lewis continued in the process of reviewing the material that was being put together for the eventual album.

"Trouble", a collaboration with American artist Childish Gambino, was released on August 21, 2012. Critics praised the song's production, Gambino's rap, and Lewis' powerful vocals, yet the track did not achieve the success expected by the artist and her label. Near the end of October, already after the release of the album, Lewis said that the ballad "Fireflies" would be the one selected for the next single because it would be "really powerful" on Christmas's Eve, a lyric video of the track was released on the artist's official YouTube channel, on October 26. But again, and at this point the reason was not effectively known, the release of the single was canceled, and another track was selected as the second single. Thus, on November 5, 2012, at the Christmas event on Oxford Street in London, she presented "Lovebird" as her new single, even before playing the song live for the first time. The single was officially released on November 16, 2012, releasing as the first single for most of Europe. However, neither the standard tracks nor the two singles chosen from the album attracted the attention needed to achieve the expected commercial goal. Although it was certified silver in the UK, eventually, its poor sales prevented the album from receiving an American release, and it was certainly an overwhelming blow due to the time and care given to the project.

Unlike "Spirit" or "Echo", "Glassheart" is unique in Leona Lewis' record catalog for two reasons. First, there is an emotional context, accompanied by darker sonorities that give it a great character, adjusting to each of the tracks, providing powerful and credible productions. Secondly, the title track of the project, “Glassheart”, which is my favorite track of the project, is properly designed considering her fantastic vocal talents. In addition, there is also an adult pop, with a glimpse of the soul characteristic of the artist and a work of adaptation to new styles such as hip-hop and dubstep, genres that the artist had not yet experienced until that moment.

This is without a doubt my favorite album of the artist and it is possible to feel all her dedication to this project and all her effort to make it work. I think that's what the artist tried to do when initially released “Collide”, produced by the same producer (Sandy Vee) of Katy Perry's “Firework” trying to keep up with the trends. But all the problems around the track compromised the project and caused it to not have the deserved success, continuing with the poor choice of the successor single, which should have been another more energetic track, such as “Come Alive” or “Glassheart”, rather than a ballad that had no way to stand out compared to what was being released at the time. It is a pity that they did not have the confidence to go with the original concept of the album, because it could have been a turning point in her career.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐