X Factor 2011 Final: Leona Lewis stuns with ‘Hurt’ (VIDEO)
Leona Lewis returned to The X Factor stage tonight, to show this year’s three final acts exactly how it’s done.
The stunning singer won the ITV show back in 2006 and went on to become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee, with her most successful single, “Bleeding Love”, reached number one in over thirty countries around the world.
Now that’s success!
Tonight, promoting the release of her new EP ‘Hurt’, the 26 year old took to the Wembley Arena stage as part of the final show and gave a spine tingling performance of the Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash song of the same name.
Wearing a stunning floor length red gown, Leona started the song with the quietest and most vulnerable sounding vocals we have ever heard…it was almost like a whisper. Lewis set the atmosphere for the dark number brilliantly and as the track built and built we were totally drawn in.
It was a performance on par with Adele’s BRIT Awards stunner and proved just why Leona has gone on to become as popular and acclaimed as she has.
Leona performed the same song for this year’s Royal Variety Performance which will air next week and will also showcase the cover on an upcoming X Factor USA show.
However, her appearance was surrounded by a little bit of controversy, as record labels Warner and Universal are both planning to lodge a complaint with OFCOM, because of the amount of Sony and SYCO acts performing on this weekend’s X Factor final. They singled out Leona particularly for criticism, as she is the only act not currently promoting a new album.
Did you enjoy Leona’s performance tonight? Leave your comments below.
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She was amazing, definitely showed them “how it’s done”!
I love that song and she pulled it off completely – highlight of the series to be honest, the rest seems too cheesy.
NO! bad Leona!!!! That made me ill!!!!
The only thing stunning about it was how mind-blowingly awful she was. Didn’t seem like the same person that is seen to be the best ever winner of the show.
The near-spoken intro had all the convincing emotion of linoleum. This is exactly how to neuter a classic song: puff it up and pile on the production with as much ersatz emoting as possible. The only thing missing from this massacre was the near obligatory warbling of lesser talents.
Johnny Cash’s version is heart-breaking pathos.
This: wind-breaking bathos.
2/5
Damn Leona, for me Hurt is up their with the best of them, and whilst it maybe Trent Reznor’s song even he admits that Johnny Cash’s version is simply stunning and couldnt be bettered. You my dear proved that tonight on x factor. please dont sing it again
OMG just listened to it and how incredibly awful is her ” version” . It really does highlight how bad the musical aspirations are of Xfactor and there is no love of the art just love of money by producing this utter drivel.
If I was Trent Reznor I’d be fuming but then nobody knew they were going to use this did they
.. no of course not… that would be like suggesting the whole show is fixed weeks in advance …. why would anyone do that ??
well said!!
WTF and awesome song ruined AGAIN by some trendy dipshit!
I think Leonas herself rather than trendy. Its sounds like you’ve been watching too much terminator with the dip-shit term – all you need is to wheel out the Cyborg!
I think the start was too quiet and not interesting; as she got louder thew quality of her voice was evident. The two parts didn’t seem to go together. For me the song didn’t quite work … I wonder if it’ll go to no. 1?
loved it!! I agree high light of the whole series, and in my opinion Leona sang the best compared to everyone, just beautiful!x
Terrible couldnt hear anything she said was not impressed what went wrong
A putrid pile of overproduced dross. She obviously does not understand what this song is about. Moron.
Well, let’s face it, everyone is moaning and groaning. Has anyone stopped to listen? Clearly not. X Factor/Syco/Simon Cowell aside – this girl delivers a jaw-dropping performance of a song that it is well… quite disturbing and vulgar. Are we all forgetting the voice, the pure genius that is Leona’s voice? Who cares about the message or who tried to send it originally, everyone has their own interpretation. And I for one think Leona’s version is stunning.
For me Leona is the best female vocalist in the uk Her voice is incredible, she always makes me cry and I’m 73 god bless her, I’ll always love her and this version of hurt was haunting.