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When we reach U.K. singer-songwriter Leona Lewis by phone, she’s a little tied up. A Starry Night, her first Las Vegas Christmas residency, has landed at Voltaire. Rehearsals have run long, and she’s currently in the middle of a dress fitting for some of the glamorous gowns that’ll be showcased. It’s hectic, but the London-raised Lewis is relishing every moment of it.
“For the show, my main intention of doing it was to bring everyone together,” says Lewis. “I feel like in a world that’s quite disconnected in a lot of ways at the moment, I really am being very intentional about the room and creating a space that is full of love and connection.”
Lewis’ angelic vocals first swept us off our feet with 2007’s Spirit, a certified-platinum album that made her the first British solo artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Chart-topping pop ballads like “Bleeding Love” and “Better in Time” helped define Lewis’ early career. And festive hits like “One More Sleep,” one of the most streamed modern holiday songs in the U.K., have brought her closer to the Christmas throne.
Ahead of her next run of shows, we caught up with Lewis to chat about the influence of jazz, celebrating Christmas in the desert and more.
Of all places, why is the desert the right home for a Christmas residency?
Yeah, it’s not very snowy [laughs]. Although, literally when I moved here … it was the day that it rained. I literally was driving the U-Haul. I had the truck, I had everything ... and the clouds started rolling in. Of course, the Brit brings the rain.
But honestly, I’ve seen incredible shows here. I was always so in awe of the shows and the performers and just the magnitude of it also. I felt like when the opportunity arose, you know, 20 years later, I had a lot of material. I had my Christmas album. I had songs that people sang along with me, and I thought this is the time. And this amazing venue presented itself, Voltaire, which is an incredible space to perform in. I saw a couple of shows here as well, and I was just blown away. It felt like a perfect storm of everything coming together.
So, when you’re performing holiday music, how do you balance the Christmas classics with your original holiday material, too?
I picked my favorite songs. I picked the songs that I know, that people love and love to sing along with. I grew up with so many different Christmas albums—the Motown kind of Phil Spector albums, Stevie Wonder’s Christmas songs, Donny Hathaway, Nat King Cole. I grew up listening to those thoughtful, warm, cozy, big hug kind of Christmas songs. And that very much inspired this set as well, especially Nat King Cole and Etta James because it’s kind of jazz inspired. I have a beautiful brass section that is accompanying me … and just lifts the whole show.
You have such incredible voice control. How do you approach the nuances of a pop song like “Bleeding Love” versus a Christmas standard?
With the standards, especially the more jazz-leaning ones, the melodies are very intentional. I try to really honor the melodies, and then obviously make it me and put my spin on it. When you are a vocalist, you can get into that oversinging thing. And I think, especially over the years with me, it’s become less about that and more about what am I really saying, and how does my heart want to tell that story through voice? You learn that as a singer as you go on, and I’m also a songwriter, so I really dig into the lyrics. That’s really important.
One holiday song of yours I always think about is “One More Sleep.” Many people consider it a modern Christmas classic. What’s the secret to creating something new that still conjures that old Christmas magic?
“One More Sleep” definitely was inspired by Phil Spector and Darlene Love. And I just remember at the time, no one was really putting Christmas songs out anymore. Or if they were, they weren’t really resonating as much. So I wanted to go back to those Motown songs. They’re just amazing, full records. We wanted to create a great record, something that was nostalgic and cozy, and felt real. Even the way we recorded the instruments, like the strings, the horns, we did that Wall of Sound [technique] with all live, organic instruments. We really wanted to pay homage to that and bring it into the now. Also, I remember I wasn’t in the best of spaces when I was recording it, and I remember it helped me shift into such a better mindset. When I was singing it, it was a lot of joy that it was bringing me and that I was putting into the vocals and into the record.
I think that’s what’s so special about this time of year. The music has an innate sense of jubilance.
I made the show with this in mind as well. Christmas for me is about sharing the love, sharing the joy, but it’s also a hard time as well. It makes me think of my grandmother that I lost, because she would cook a very specific thing every Christmas. My cousin cooks it now, but you think about people you lost, or it can be a hard time at the end for a lot of people as well. And I think that’s why the music is so important, to be the soundtrack to uplift and just give joy and love and make you reconnect to something that’s uplifting.
Are you working on any new music right now?
After my Christmas tour I did two years ago, I started getting into the studio last year. I have been working on music and figuring out, what do I want to say? What do I want to sing about? What do I want to put into the world? How do I want to be intentional with my music and not add to the noise, but hopefully just bring something authentic and very me? It’s been a deep journey. I had a little girl a few years ago. So that has opened my world up in a lot of ways. I’m singing from that place of being open again. I’ve been a bit disconnected for a little while, musically anyway, and now I feel like after my tour, I’m just more connected again, especially after meeting the fans that came to the show. Just feeling that love again was really important for me to feel that re-ignition to come and do something again.
That sounds like a really exciting place to be as an artist but also as a human.
It’s like a new chapter. Or, not a new chapter, it’s like a new book actually. I’ve turned 40. I’ve got my baby girl. I’ve got my residency. Things are a bit different. I’m writing from a different perspective and a different place in life now.
LEONA LEWIS: A STARRY NIGHT Select dates thru January 3, 8 p.m., $85+. Voltaire, voltairelv.com.
English (US) ·