Most of Leona's die-hard fans seem to love making excuses for her, such as 'it's down to lack of promotion', 'her label are taking the wrong direction with her' etc. when in reality, the truth is that the vast majority of people couldn't give a hoot about her, and unsurprisingly so - she really is crushingly dull, and I know people are bored of hearing it, but the reason it's so often said is because it's the truth.

And as for 'lack of promotion', she's performed on X Factor almost every year since she won it, as well as almost every other primetime show that Mr. Cowell can get her on to. As if that's some sort of coincidence

I hope they give her of a chance at success. She really could do with some better promotion and what have you. I was really disappointed with the charting for Collide, I thought it would have done much better. Can't believe Pixie's All About Tonight got to No 1 that week! Eeeeek.

Good luck Leona!

What are you talking about though? Both her albums were number one, all but 1 of her songs released got in the top 10, most in the top 5, and she has just managed to get into the top 10 with a song thats not even a single. There is no lack of success. What is the criteria here? The only sucess stories are people who get to no1 with everything they do?

But she's most definitely on a massively downward trajectory:

Debut album = 7 million sales ww
Follow up = 1.8 million sales ww

That's why Syco are nervous about bringing out album 3. They got spooked by the lead single not getting to #1 so pulled the album, which is silly really but IMO shows their nervousness.

This is repeated over and over again along with "it's her managments fault"

Does this woman not have a tongue in her head ??? if she actualy believes that she isn't promoted enogh then surely she only has to say so and get out there and do it.

It seems that most of the time she has nothing to promote as there are huge gaps between albums/singles but that doesn't stop her keeping herself in the public eye by appearing on TV talk shows or doing one off concerts for her fans etc instead of all the well paid private ones she seems to do.

Maybe she is just lazy when it comes to promoting herself

She sang the song live on itv's most watched Saturday night show! A show that was watched by 3 times the number that watched Adele sing 'Someone Like You' in February. If you can't make that sort of exposure pay you should be worried.

But the first album was a massive success to levels nobody predicted, it wasn't normal for albums to sell that amount at the time, especially debut ones. The second album performed more normally, it was still a good success. You can't compare them, it was always very unlikely she was going to repeat anywhere near the levels achieved by the first album.

Right yes, and it got to no8 in the chart from it?

It still doesn;t make it a single, it still does't make it have a video or airplay, so i'm not sure what your point is. It's not normal for a song not to have those things and chart.

Unpalatable as it may seem to her fans, her sales performance has actually mirrored other big reality show winners/stand out performers - the more time elapses from when they were on the show the less they sell. Potts, Subo, Ward etc. Unfortunately, Leona has joined the list. It will take something that really really clicks with the public (something new and surprising) to get her back on track IMO.

"Hurt" is a bloody wretched cover, she was lucky to make it into the top 10.

I like Leona and she has a lot of talent but I've never felt she was managed well. Where is her new material? Why does she keep doing dreary covers? Does she even tour? There is no effort being made to keep her relevant.

You people need to realise some things.

1. Hurt was never intended to be a commercial success. It was a treat to fans as part of an EP. One X Factor performance and it went to number 2 on iTunes. No video, no other promotion, a single performance and it rocketed up iTunes. Does this sound like somebody who is passed their sell by date? Yes it's number 8 now, but considering she's performed it twice only with no other promotion and the EP release has been fairly low key...I'd say it's a sucess.

2. Collide was badly promoted. Again Leona performed it ONCE on British TV and that was on Red and Black. Not to mention the song wasn't the best song and the Avicii controversy that surrounded it. Number 4 was a decent charting as the song barely got played on the radio and there was very little promotion for it.

But Leona, despite having been away for over a year, still managed to get top ten positions with a single performance of a song. This is not someone who is passed it. Her tour did very well last year too and her DVD charted higher than Beyonce's and stuck around the top ten for absolutely ages so I assume it sold very well too. Again, does this sound like someone who is "passed it"?

Leona is young, attractive and has an amazing voice. She is without a doubt one of the best singers the UK has ever had. She has all the goods to be a success again. The only thing missing is the strong and commercial music - which I'm sure she will bring with Glassheart.

Leona will release Glassheart and prove a lot of people wrong I think. Will it be bigger than Spirit? I doubt it. But will it be a success!? Yes. Whether Leona has a chance of cracking the US again, I don't know. But she can and will be a successful UK/EU act for a very long time.

All True

Remember collide was only a buzz single. Echo did sell a lot less than Spirit and I do believe that the window period for massive global success for Leona has passed now, for whatever reason. However just because an album sells less than the previous one it doesn't mean you are finished. Look at Rihanna, she sold about 7 million of Good girl gone bad, her next album Rated R only sold about 2.5 million and was labeled as a flop by many. She was then able to come back and have massive sales with Loud. I think Leona will always have a fan base in the UK and sell records here. I don't think she will ever get back to the heights of her spirit days even in the UK, but I think she can sell decently enough to keep making records.

I'd say she is past it, sadly. I was a huge fan from her X-Factor days all the way through to 2010 when I finally got to see her on tour, but thanks to the ridiculous gaps between albums, the delays, the almost complete lack of promotion, TV and other media appearances, touring and even smaller concerts and the strange air of hiding away and secrecy surrounding her, I've steadily lost interest.

Syco have made an absolute pig's ear out of Leona. She should be an international sensation not dissimilar to how Mariah Carey was marketed over 20 years ago, but instead she is floundering and nobody cares. I think by this time next year she'll be completely irrelevant to all but perhaps a few desperate clinger-on ultra Stans. It's such a waste.

Collide only became a "buzz single" after it flopped and her album was pushed into the dead zone next year.

No-one apart from her stans is interested in her music anymore.

I agree completely. Sadly. I think she's about to be outdone by alexandra in the global stakes. girl has the potential and doesnt disapppear for years at a time. alex is taking her time to go to the US and is in control of her career, she seems to have an idea of how to build herself up as a brand (model, singer, dancer, producer etc) but leona hasnt done that...because we don't know what she is. just a singer or a brand...compare her to beyonce - the way she promotes herself, and how she has businesses etc. (executively producing her new album out in spring 2012). leona needs to take notes from her in terms of being in control of her career - she's the product Syco need, and she ought to remember that. I think leona's content, going from nothing to having millions; and isnt particularly bothered, shes only interested in making music as she's said before. Syco were to blame too.

To be fair Beyonce has been in the industry a lot longer than Leona, so I'd expect her to be a lot more savvy than Leona when it comes to marketing and promotion. I think Alexandra has always maintained that the X-factor was merely a platform to hopefully bigger and better things. I think Leona on the other hand is happy to stay where she is

As far as i'm concered this girl simply doesn't do enough promotion! She spends ALL of her time in America and then comes to the UK to do one-off guest appearances never to be seen or heard from again till the following 6-12 months! No wonder her singles and albums flop! It's basic common sense. If this girl wants to be a success come back to the UK and stay here so people she know's actually relevant!

Compare her to someone like Sarah Millican (who albeit works in another genre of the ents industry) who is all over the tv and you'll see what i mean!

oh i know that, but wikipedia beyonce and you know what to do. its not THAT hard. and love that about alex - she's using her brain. manipulating the industry and what it can give you to your advantage.

'Hurt' sold just under 28k. When you consider she sang it to a 15 million TV audience and she probably has 15-20k ultra stans who will buy her stuff no matter what, it's not a great conversion rate, is it?

I love how Alexandra fans always set the bar so high for other artists (particularly Leona) but fail to do the same for Alexandra . Spirit sold over 7 Million copies WW , how can you say it isn't "all that" it was the second highest selling album in the world in 2008. How did Overcome do internationally in comparison ? it flopped harder than fish out of water. I doubt Alexandra will sell that many albums in her entire career.

But then of course Alexandra fans will say as always that she never got that kind of promotion. It's obvious why. I think some Alexandra fans will never understand how promotion works and why some artists get more promotion than others. The reason why "simon threw everything into it" is because the album and Leona clearly had potential and appealed to a world wide audience. It's all about potential, if you have it and if you are showing the ability to connect with an audience that will in turn lead to promotion. Labels will shell out the money for promotion only if they feel that there is a strong probability of return on investment.


This is exactly the way I feel about Alexandra. She has some of the tools but lacks "it".


And Alexandra didn't?



That's nonsense. Pop artists can sell as well and all you have to do is look at Lady GaGa's and Rihanna's sales. Artists do well when their material and the artists themselves connect with the audience.

XFactor did NOT have 15m viewers for Leonas show so that's a correction to your post.

Another being that her performance was the FIRST time people heard 'Hurt'. Therefore, no buildup of airplay and also no video exists. And even now, still no airplay ergo no additional sales.

Not every artist wants to be a brand. Not everyone's main ambition is fame and money. Alexandra is hardly a model for how an artist should build themselves up as a brand. After all, there is nothing more glamorous than reaching the dizzying heights of selling discount jewelery on ArgosTV.

Eek, can i make it clear i'm not being 'negative' about Leona because I'm an an Alexandra fan, I actually can't stand her. Of the 2, I'd choose Leona every day of the week. Much more likeable. (runs and hides).

Sorry, how many was it? Was it more than the 5 million that watched Adele sing SLY at The Brits in February? That had had no radio play until then, no video but still shifted 110k that week. In February. In fact, it wasn't even a single (and has never actually officially been released as a single, even now). You can't keep making excuses for her, she's not connecting with the public and that's a fact. She used to - who can forget how well she did with her own 'non single' (at the time), Run?