By TAM XUEH WEI
alltherage@thestar.com.my

LEONA Lewis is back, and not a day too soon. Although her third studio album Glassheart was scheduled for release last year, it was only in October that her fans got to listen to the songstress’ latest music endeavour.

“We had a deadline that we knew we’d end up losing anyway, and we did,” said the 27-year-old singer during a recent telephone interview from London.

Admitting that she can be quite the self-demanding perfectionist, Lewis took the delay as an opportunity to re-evaluate the album; and she spent more time recording new songs to make sure it turned out exactly the way she wanted it.

“Glassheart is an album I’ve poured my heart and soul into. It’s raw, emotional and progressive. I’m so proud of this record,” she enthused.

Her journey to becoming a multi-platinum selling artiste, three-time Grammy nominee and chart-topper around the world started with an astounding rendition of Over The Rainbow during the The X-Factor auditions back in 2006.

After winning the reality talent competition (having been the odds-on favourite right from the start), Lewis released two albums, Spirit and Echo in 2007 and 2009 respectively, which went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. The Brit singer-songwriter became a household name after Bleeding Love became the best-selling single worldwide in 2008.

On Glassheart, the singer reunited with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, who helped produce her previous top tracks Bleeding Love and Happy.

Lewis believes that the delay in releasing the album was a blessing in disguise also because it allowed her to work with Grammy-award winning producer Fraser T. Smith, who has collaborated with many other successful female artistes such as Britney Spears, Adele and Ellie Goulding.

The singer spent a great deal of time moving to and from Fulham, Britain – where Fraser’s studio was located – and from Los Angeles, the United States to get the album done.

Lewis and Fraser actually first met over 10 years ago when the singer was still on unknown and recording demos, trying to catch her first big break. Now she’s come full circle, going into Fraser’s vocal booth as a superstar.

She was glad to be able to work with Fraser as she “really wanted someone who could do different types of music.”

“It was really fun to be working with people who have done great things,” she said, adding that it was also a pleasure getting to share ideas with artistes she liked for the new album.

The album derived inspiration from relationships, broken hearts, and many other day-to-day scenarios. Lewis also credited “old-school” artistes like Tracy Chapman and Eva Cassidy as her musical inspirations.

There isn’t a lot of old-school in Glassheart, though. There’s more of an electronic feel to the album, with hints of dubstep – a bit of a departure from her powerhouse ballads, the ones with the vocal acrobatics and obligatory key change.

“It’s not miles away (from the previous albums). The base is still definitely there, and it’s a pretty solid album,” said Lewis.

She also believes that the lyrical content is definitely more mature on Glassheart, saying that it doesn’t just harp on about break-ups, but delves deeper to focus on the intensity of a relationship.

In any case, Lewis’ goal for the album is simple: “I just wanted to make a timeless album with modern classics.”