Loading ...
Brit singer Leona Lewis is a success story. She won a reality show, went on Oprah, and shot to the top of the charts all over the world. But she’s not the first person to do this, right? This isn’t Beatlemania 2008 or anything. So why the hell is the Daily Star saying that Lewis may sign a contract for 100 million dollars this week, 20 million more than was given to Madonna in a similar deal? Don’t labels usually hand out money like that after you’ve amassed a valuable catalog? Are they so desperate for something-anything that connects with listeners that they’re running like lemmings to claim this lady?
Her new contract will rocket her straight to the top of Forbes Magazine’s list of the highest-earning female artists on the planet. Already the first X Factor millionaire, she could even double the £50million with merchandising deals.
A Forbes spokesman said: “It looks like Leona’s heading straight to the top of the financial chart as well. She is an absolute overnight sensation and the rewards she will reap are phenomenal.”
Sources close to Clive Davis, boss of J Records – Leona’s label in America – say he is “thrilled” to tear up the £4.5million, five-album agreement she signed last year. But he’s now facing stiff competition from other labels desperate to grab her. One insider told the Daily Star Sunday: “Nobody dreamed she would suddenly become the most in-demand singer invirtually every country”She is so hot that Clive will have to factor in US and world tours, future album sales that promise to be so huge they’re off the chart…and TV specials… and DVD spin-offs.
“Right now, her potential even dwarfs the sort of enormous sales stars like Madonna, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston could expect. The public has been aching for a new female idol since the demise of Britney Spears – and Leona’s it.”
It’s possible that, with ancillary rights included in this rumored contract, one big kill would justify the expenditure. Or maybe Clive is so confident in her staying power that he’s willing to take this leap of faith based on one album. Or maybe everyone in the music industry is completely fucking insane.
£50M Leona’s Has World At Her Feet [Daily Star]
I’d say you’re on to something with that “completely fucking insane” hypothesis.
“…future album sales that promise to be so huge they’re off the chart”…
Of course, that’s really not saying much considering that the bar for big albums sales has been steadily dropping for the better part of a decade. How the hell can a label justify spending $100 million on this unproven, unknown quantity while they can’t spend the time to cobble together a cohesive online sales strategy?
Kinda creepy how there’s no modifier or caveat to “the demise of Britney Spears” – not the demise or her career or her earning potential, just the demise of her.
How funny would it be if she cashes the check and decides to become a soccer (er…football) mom instead of the ‘next Mariah’?
Just gave Leona a listen. Nice voice, exotic beauty, totally forgettable music. Her vibrato is so exaggerated…she sings like the winner of a high-school talent show. Which she basically is.
To me, the obvious suggestion is that the story is uh… bullshit. Somebody who had a friend who had a friend who overheard someone from Syco in a toilet saying that Leona is so big he could sell a $100 mill contract has become a news story.
Ah, unfortunately the Daily Star is a bit of a joke paper. It’s probably the most sensationalist of all the sensationalising British tabloids – you couldn’t even believe the weather forecast if it said 20 degrees (read: 10). Regularly flat-out lies and is never taken to task by the weak UK press regulation system. I’d trust Wikipedia more.