Leona Lewis debuted at #1 in the UK with “Bleeding Love”

Bleeding Love Leona Lewis

Writer(s): - Jesse McCartney, Ryan Tedder (see lyrics here) Released: October 19, 2007 First Charted: November 3, 2007 Peak: 14 US, 110 RR, 14 AC, 110 A40, 74 RB, 17 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.7 US, 1.2 UK, 7.7 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 192.77 video, 587.12 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Leona Lewis rose to fame in the UK as the winner of the third TV season of The X Factor in 2006. She was awarded a recording contract with Sony BMG and released “A Moment Like This” as her debut single. The song also served as the first single for Kelly Clarkson in 2002 after she won the first TV season of American Idol. In February 2007, One Republic’s Ryan Tedder teamed with singer/songwriter Jesse McCartney to write “Bleeding Love” for McCartney’s third album, Departure. He said he was “thinking about being in love so much that it hurts. I was away from my girlfriend for four months at the time and I really wanted to [quit] and fly home.” WK One account suggested that McCartney’s record company rejected the song, but another story says record executive Clive Davis specifically wanted the song for Lewis. SF In any event, when Tedder heard Lewis, he said hers was “one of the best voices I’ve ever heard.” WK In her hands, the song transformed to a tale of a woman who is emotionally hurt by her lover, but accepts the pain and continues to love him. WK She recorded the song and released it in October 2007 as the first single from her debut album, Spirit. It debuted at #1 in the UK WK selling 218,000 copies – more than any debut week since “A Moment Like This.” SF It went on to be the UK’s best-selling single of 2007 WK and iTunes’ most downloaded single of 2008. SF It also hit #1 in 35 countries, WK including the United States in April 2008. The song was nominated for Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. BBC America thought it sounded like dated filler from a long-lost, late ‘90s Mariah Carey album, WK but About.com praised Lewis for “her stunning voice that is equal parts Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and her own restrained gracefulness.” AB’00 Digital Spy called it a “brilliantly smart pop record.” WK Billboard’s Chuck Taylor called it “a colossal and timeless debut” WK and Metromix Atlanta called it “the most seductive diva anthem of the decade.” MX Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Leona Lewis AB’00 About.com (2009). “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s” MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09). Best songs of the decade SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 11/12/2022.