Songstress Leona Lewis returns to music with 'Collide', a track slated to kickoff her third solo studio album. The song is poised to place her in the dance realm, creating a younger and edgier vibe that starlets Katy Perry and Rihanna have had great success with. The track comes courtesy of French producer Sandy Vee (Firework, Commander, Sexy Bitch) and songwriter Autumn Rowe (Happiness, Swagger Jagger) and has an airy familiarity to both 'Firework' and 'Only Girl (In The World)'.
Lewis's team have pulled a Beyonce and sampled 'Penguin', a song released in 2010 by another major international DJ, Avicii. While there is still a dispute about whether or not the song is an original production by Avicii, his management have already inferred legal action against the release of 'Collide' saying, "To answer everyone, the first time I heard Leona Lewis 'Collide' was today. I didn't produce it and neither me or my manager could approve it."
Hopefully it's all worth it because a #29 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 [see 'Run The World (Girls)'] is probably not going to sit well with J Records and Syco after the release of the commercial flop that was 'Echo'.
The track has it's positives, it's chorus is catchy and the Vee definitely gave it the 'Stargate touch', enticing you in and shamelessly having you fist pumping by the time you reach the second verse. What bothers me most about the song is not that it's a mere rip-off of yet another club tune though, it's the fact that the lyrical content is so basic and predictable that it's almost insulting to a singer of Leona's stature. The verses definitely take the cake:
Verse 1
Verse 1
"I'll pick you up when you're down, be there when no one's around,
When you're in unfamiliar places, count on me through life's changes
I'm in tune with how you feel, everything about this is real
When you're in unfamiliar places, count on me through life's changes"
Verse 2
When you're in unfamiliar places, count on me through life's changes,
Know that you're never alone,
In me you can find a find a home,
When you're in unfamiliar places, count on me through life's changes
Ultimately, I don't think we'll be seeing this on top of any chart. It's undeniable that Lewis can sing and we were all in agreement that she needed a 'new, younger direction', but I'm not sure that following the dance trend was the best idea. This track barely touches on her abilities as a vocalist and should've been used as a demo in her car if she wanted to show BFFs Katy and RiRi that she could also do a dance anthem.
I really hope the material from this album proves to be more substantial and directional than this. As I've said before, this tells us nothing about Lewis that we don't already know, and doesn't tell us what type of artist she wants to be. To make a long-lasting career in this industry she's going to have to define herself and prove that she deserves to be on the top of any chart.
Personally, I think they've missed the mark with this track, and I'd prefer to see Lewis doing more R&B influenced records that showcase her unique vocal stylings. Hopefully Syco will pawn this off as a 'promo single' before releasing some serious material prior to the album's release in November. Take a listen to 'Collide' below as well as Avicii's 'Penguin' and let me know what you think!
