City Weekend Magazine Interview
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Posted On: June 24th, 2008
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Posted By: Anthony »
Filed Under: interviews »
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Leona Lewis!
City Weekend writer Michael Engstrom recently bumped into British singing sensation Leona Lewis whilst on the other side of the East China Sea. Having come over to Tokyo for a small showcase, the 2006 winner of “The X Factor” (Britain’s version of “American Idol”) was magnanimous enough to dedicate some minutes of her precious time to friendly conversation. Sitting quietly on the 49th floor of the Tokyo Ritz Carlton, they sipped Evian and discussed the finer points of divadom.
City Weekend’s Michael Engstrom: As many of your international fans may not understand English, where do you think your appeal lies for them?
Leona Lewis: It’s kinda surreal to me that the music is transcending that language barrier. I just think it’s amazing, and for me, I studied classical music, doing a lot of opera, and there’d be a lot of artists singing in French, Spanish, and Italian, and I wouldn’t understand exactly what they were saying. But I got the feeling from their voice and the musical elements, and I think that’s what’s happening with my music.
CWME: Let’s say you were given an opportunity to sing at the Beijing Olympics. Would you accept? What about singing in London in 2012?
LL: That would be amazing, an amazing honor, you know it’s just such a big ceremony, viewed by so many people. So that’d be an amazing honor to do that, if I had the chance. Being from the U.K., I’d love to sing in London 2012.
CWME: Are you familiar with the Idol phenomenon taking place in China?
LL: You mean like the American Idol?
CWME: Yeah, but it’s Chinese. It’s called “Super Girl.” Would you be willing to collaborate with the Chinese Idols?
LL: Yeah, I am always looking to do collaborations; I think it just makes for more interesting listening! But I’ve never seen the show, though I’d love to see it. Don’t really know how I would fare…
CWME: What does the U.S. release of your album “Spirit” mean for you as an artist?
LL: For the U.S. album, there’s two extra tracks on there, one’s “Forgive Me” which I recorded with Akon, and one’s “Mrs. Glass” which I recorded with Mad Scientist. So they’re quite uptempo and upbeat songs, kind of give the album a different dimension … for the achievements that “Spirit” has made, I am just very very proud, and coming from the U.K., I think a lot of people back home are very proud, and my friends and family are very proud. I am just so glad that people are enjoying the music, and connecting with it and supporting it. That’s why I am doing what I am doing now.
CWME: Working with artists and producers like Akon, do you think you would be on the same path without them?
LL: Yeah, I think, I’d rather the music speaks for itself, rather than who is producing it and who’s singing it. Obviously Akon is so talented, and he has definitely contributed to it and his talent has contributed to it. I hope that people are connecting to the music rather than just seeing a name. But obviously he’s very talented and that just speaks for itself. I’ve worked with some legendary songwriters, as well as contemporary songwriters. Even if their names weren’t on the music, and they were a mystery, I hope that people would still connect with the music.
CWME: I’m sure they would. Are crossing your fingers to work with any particular singer or producer?
LL: (Gasp of excitement!) My dream collaboration would be like Stevie Wonder, and David Bowie. I’d love to work with Chris Martin, Timbaland, N.E.R.D. … different kinds of quirky collaborations!
CWME: Anything in particular to say to your fans in Asia?
LL: Yeah, I’d just like to say, just thank you so much, for all of the support. It’s just been incredible. I never would have thought from doing what I was doing before, trying to get into music, working part-time, that I would be here, travelling all over the world. I feel very fortunate. If it all ended tomorrow I would like to say thank you so much. I have enjoyed my journey.
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