• Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Apr 8, 2008
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 6 out of 117

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  1. Dec 10, 2011
    8
    Yes the voice that brought you the magnificent bleeding love is also on all the other great tracks on this album. The ballards really are a thing of beauty, but she puts so much emotion into the more upbeat numbers that they too are excellent. An unmissable album for anyone who is a fan of female artists.
  2. Mar 27, 2012
    9
    As far as modern female powerhouses go, I prefer Leona over Adele. Her voice has this silky, soothing quality to it, and the production of this record just heightens the overall emotion. One of my favorite albums.
  3. MikeM.
    Apr 10, 2008
    10
    I watched tons of videos of her on the X Factor and she was amazing. She sang I Will Always Love You almost as good as whitney and her Somewhere over the Rainbow almost made me cry. Now this album is fantastic. Footprints in the Sand is my favorite, it's wonderful to bad it's only a bonus track. With this album she should definatly be on track to win Best New Artist at the I watched tons of videos of her on the X Factor and she was amazing. She sang I Will Always Love You almost as good as whitney and her Somewhere over the Rainbow almost made me cry. Now this album is fantastic. Footprints in the Sand is my favorite, it's wonderful to bad it's only a bonus track. With this album she should definatly be on track to win Best New Artist at the Grammy's. Oh yeah and it will be number 1 next week selling 190,000-200,000 copies, considering it only shipped 250,000 copies that's impressive. Expand
  4. JanB.
    Apr 8, 2008
    10
    A superb debut album from a really fresh new voice to the music scene. What's good about it in particular is it's a real grower, with repeated listens revealing the strengths of each individual track.
  5. Pete
    Apr 8, 2008
    7
    There are enough good songs on here, but the ballads/mid temps around the middle kinda blend into one. Saying that, she does have an amazing voice, and that's why this album gets a 7, no higher, no lower.
  6. JessieJames
    Apr 15, 2008
    10
    Great debut album. everything is pretty good, though there are not many songs that allows leona to use her full range.
  7. SeanR.
    Apr 8, 2008
    9
    It's a great album. Most of the songs are single-worthy.
  8. EvanS.
    Apr 8, 2008
    10
    This album is amazing! So many great songs and Leona's voice is out of this world.
  9. Daz
    Apr 8, 2008
    10
    An excellent albumn - 'Better in Time' in a simply amazing song and the others are all very catchy. An album you will listen to again and again.
  10. AkiraA.
    Apr 9, 2008
    10
    The deluxe version is surely better than the UK one, especially in the order of songs. I believe Simon Cowell's right when saying Leona is the best discovery in a decade.
  11. Edd
    Apr 9, 2008
    1
    Abysmal. Yes, she has a good voice, but that's not enough. The songs are all very bland and annoying, and there's no emotion or personality at all. Some of the lyrics are pretty cringe-worthy (for example the chorus in Footprints in the Sand), and personally i find it annoying how Lewis reckons that the album really shows her own emotions and spirit (hence the title), yet she Abysmal. Yes, she has a good voice, but that's not enough. The songs are all very bland and annoying, and there's no emotion or personality at all. Some of the lyrics are pretty cringe-worthy (for example the chorus in Footprints in the Sand), and personally i find it annoying how Lewis reckons that the album really shows her own emotions and spirit (hence the title), yet she didn't write any of the songs on there. All in all, it's another easy-to-forget album from a fame-hungry and useless singer. Expand
  12. JohnS.
    Apr 13, 2008
    10
    An absolute stunning album, totally worth the wait! Normally, talent show singers have one or two hits and then there gone forever trying to make a come back but never do, but this debut album from Leona Lewis is absolutely stunning! I watched a program with my wife called Diva's on ITV 1 and she absolutely astounded me with her rendition of "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" she An absolute stunning album, totally worth the wait! Normally, talent show singers have one or two hits and then there gone forever trying to make a come back but never do, but this debut album from Leona Lewis is absolutely stunning! I watched a program with my wife called Diva's on ITV 1 and she absolutely astounded me with her rendition of "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" she was infact better than most of the divas on the show! I believe "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" is the most powerful off the album with "Bleeding Love," "Better in Time," "Whatever it Takes," and "Take a Bow" the other outstanding tracks! A must have! Expand
  13. Jul 29, 2014
    7
    An outstanding and remarkable voice that weakens throughout the album because of excessively cloying lyrics that end up enclosing possible good material into unnecessary clichés.
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    58
    Her lovelorn ballads achieve a dullness to which normally only Americans aspire. [14 Dec 2007, p.67]
  2. It's a highly polished, professional sounding debut, with Lewis hitting all the right notes even when she warbles up and down the scale.
  3. Though the 21-year-old's faithful, capable rendition of 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' proves that the timelessness of the song should remain unquestioned, the album's adult-skewed material sounds even more jarring next to two fresh new tracks, the bouncy and youthful 'Forgive Me' and urban club jam 'Misses Glass,' added for American consumption.