On Stardom, Sustainability & Snoop Dogg
The British singer-songwriter opens up about motherhood and the magic of performing on stage
By Alice Gawthrop
Leona Lewis
TALKING TO ME from sunny Los Angeles, Leona Lewis has come a long way since her X Factordays. Back then, she was a hopeful 21-year-old looking for her big break; today, she is a singer-songwriter who has sold 35 million records worldwide, owner of vegan coffee shop Plants and Coffee, and mother of a 14-month-old who was up early this morning.
“Me and my husband are still figuring [parenting] out,” Lewis laughs. “We’re just about getting to a point where we’re like, ‘OK, I think this works’.”
You wouldn’t know from looking at her that Lewis was up early chasing after an energetic toddler. She is glowing and happy to chat. Currently she is in the midst of preparing for her upcoming Christmas headline UK tour, working on the setlist.
How do you put a setlist together, anyway? Lewis explains that usually, an artist will prioritise songs from whatever album they’ve just had out. In the case of artists with a few albums, they can play around a bit more. This applies to Lewis, who has five studio albums under her belt, including Spirit which became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK at the time of its release in 2007, and remains one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.
It’s clear that Lewis’ fans are important to her, and they play a big role in shaping the setlist. “I asked on Instagram what songs people wanted to hear,” she tells me. “I went through them and thought, Which of these are my favourites as well? I find a middle ground.”
As for which songs she is most excited to perform, Lewis is keeping mum. She’ll go as far as saying that she is doing a lot of songs that she hasn’t sung onstage before, but she won’t name any names. “People don’t know the setlist yet so I can’t say too much,” she winks. “But I’m really excited that there’s going to be a lot of new songs that people haven’t heard me sing live before!”.
Going on tour is no easy feat, and Lewis admits that she was nervous to begin with. Her Christmas tour will be her first headline tour for a few years, and her first ever as a mother. “It’s going to be such a different experience,” she says. “Before when I was touring it was just me, but now it’s me and the baby. She’s going to be there with me a lot, so it got me a bit nervous at the beginning.”
It’s reassuring to know that even an award-winn
