''Echo'' is the second studio album by English singer

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

. It was released on 9 November 2009 including 16 November in the United Kingdom, and 17 November 2009 in the United States. Its worldwide release was through

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The album charted across the globe, including the US, UK, Canada, across Europe, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, with commercial success. Lewis worked with

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. He has been a longtime session and touring member of the rock band Bon Jovi. Early life and education Shanks was born in New York City and m ...

, and

Harvey Mason, Jr. Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter and film producer who has been chief executive officer (CEO) of the Recording Academy and MusiCares since 2021. From both his solo work and as part of the produ ...

amongst others to produce the follow-up to her debut album '' Spirit''. The album was preceded by the single "

Happy Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

", released on 15 September 2009. " I Got You" was released as the second single in February 2010. The song "My Hands" was used as the theme song for the video game ''

Final Fantasy XIII is a 2009 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles and later for Windows (in 2014). Released in Japan in December 2009 and international in March 2010, it is the thirteenth titl ...

''. The album achieved commercial success, peaking within the top twenty in nine countries, including debuting at number one in the UK with 161,000 copies sold in its first week. Lewis promoted the album along with her debut record on

The Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

, her debut headlining concert tour, starting in May 2010.

Background and production

As with Lewis's debut album, ''Spirit'', each of ''Echo''s producers were enlisted by her mentors

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

and

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

. Unlike her debut album where she travelled between cities, Lewis remained in Los Angeles for the recording of ''Echo'', which took nine months to produce. It contains ballads, racier tracks and dancefloor anthems. Lewis titled the album ''Echo'' "since an echo describes a big, organic sound," and it appealed to her love of fantasy as

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

was a nymph who, in Greek mythology, "pined away till only her voice remained." In August 2009 Lewis told her official website: "I'm in the midst of the recording process, working with incredible songwriters and producers, and my music has really evolved. It's so exciting to create something new." She also said, "I'm actually more confident with this album than the last. I've taken more control this time and I feel more at ease with everything." She told ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine that she "wanted the album to have a little bit more of a live feel to it, with a little more live instrumentation," and described ''Echo'' as "more guitar-driven" compared to ''Spirit'', with a "harder edge" in an interview with '' Seventeen''. Lewis worked with Ryan Tedder, producer of her second single "

Bleeding Love "Bleeding Love" is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her debut studio album, '' Spirit'' (2007). It was originally written and recorded by American singer Jesse McCartney, and was co-written and produced by American singer R ...

", on the album's lead single "Happy", written by Lewis, Tedder and

Evan Bogart Evan Kidd Bogart (born January 23, 1978) is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former KISS manager Joyce Bogart Trabulus. Bogart has won a ...

, and "You Don't Care". Tedder commented, "I pushed ewisvocally more on this song than any song she's ever done. I mean, she did some stuff on "Happy" that's awesome, but this other song she takes it to another level." The song "Lost Then Found" was also co-written by Tedder and Lewis along with

Dan Muckala Daniel John Muckala Work ID No. 881409494 ISWC No. T9052468594 is an American songwriter and producer. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Muckala was a musical composition student at Belmont University in Tennessee. Awards (select ...

Jess Cates Jess Cates (born July 27, 1976 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American songwriter who has co-written songs such as Nick Lachey's " What's Left of Me" and the Backstreet Boys' 2005 hit "Incomplete". In recent years, Cates has worked in a songwriti ...

and

Lindy Robbins Lindy Robbins is an American songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Her songwriting credits includes multiple hit songs, including Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper", Jason Derulo's " Want to Want Me", David Guetta's "Dangerous (David Guetta song), D ...

, and features Tedder's band

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

. Another Tedder song, "Shadows", was written with

AJ McLean Alexander James McLean (born January 9, 1978) is an American singer. He is a founding member of the pop vocal group Backstreet Boys. Early life McLean was born on January 9, 1978, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Denise (née Fernandez, now ...

for the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

. After it failed to make the Backstreet Boys' album, Cowell wanted it for Lewis but then decided it better suited

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

. Justin Timberlake contributed production and backing vocals to several songs, including "Don't Let Me Down", written and produced with Timberlake's production team The Y's and recorded at Chalice Recording Studios.

Arnthor Birgisson Arnthor Birgisson (Icelandic: Arnþór Birgisson; born 12 February 1976) is an Icelandic naturalized Swedish songwriter and producer. He moved to Sweden in 1978 (aged two) and has lived in Stockholm since. Information As young Arnþór att ...

worked with Lewis on the songs "My Hands" and "Heartbeat", which were written by Ina Wroldsen and Birgisson. "My Hands" features on ''Echo'', while "Heartbeat" is the B-side for the album's second single.

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

and Birgisson worked with Lewis on the song " I Got You" with Martin also contributing to the dance track "Outta My Head" written by Martin,

Johan Karl Schuster Karl Johan Schuster (; born 1 February 1985), known professionally as Shellback, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He was listed as the No. 1 producer of 2012 on ''Billboard'' magazine's year end chart, and he also topped the list of ...

and Kotecha. Schuster also produced the upbeat "Naked" along with

Kristian Lundin Kristian Lundin (born 7 May 1973) is a Swedish composer, music producer and songwriter. Biography Kristian's worked on the song "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" which he co-produced with Max Martin for the Backstreet Boys. He co-wrote & pro ...

. It was written by Lewis, Lundin and Kotecha.

produced two songs, a ballad and an uptempo song, one of which is "Broken", written by Shanks,

Novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

and Lewis. Julian Bunetta worked with Lewis along with Andrew Frampton to produce "Brave", which was written by Frampton, Bunetta, Kotecha and Lewis.

Kevin Rudolf Kevin Winston Rudolf (born February 17, 1983) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2008 debut single " Let It Rock" (featuring Lil Wayne), which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

produced "Love Letter", which he co-wrote with J. Kasher. In September 2009, Lewis worked with

, Uriel Kadouch, Keith Ross, and Gavriel Aminov to produce "Can't Breathe". The album also contains a cover of

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentStop Crying Your Heart Out", which was produced by Steve Robson. Lewis also worked with several writers and producers on songs that failed to make the album.

Toby Gad Tobias "Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968) is a German music producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He is known for co-writing songs including John Legend's biggest hit, " All of Me", the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for ...

worked with Lewis including writing the song "Unreachable" with Lewis and Robbins.

Taio Cruz Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( ), is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joinin ...

was hired by Cowell to write and produce tracks for the album, and Irish

Indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

band

The Script The Script are an Irish Soft rock, soft-rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Glen Power (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Benjamin Seargent (bass, backin ...

agreed to write a song, however, it was submitted too late. Production and songwriting team Xenomania were reported to have written five songs for Lewis's second album, described by songwriter

Miranda Cooper Miranda Cooper (born 1975) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and television presenter. Miranda Cooper has worked in the music industry since 1996 when she gained her first recording contract. She worked as a professiona ...

as "tragic songs with a twist."

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

wrote songs for the album, including "Can't Fight It". Lewis expressed interest in working with

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

to give the album a rockier edge, though a collaboration never came to light. Lewis collaborated with

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

singer Aqualung. She was also reported to have worked with

DJ Infamous Marco Rodriguez-Diaz Jr., professionally known as Infamous or DJ Infamous, is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer , songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and three-time world champion DJ. He is best known for his long-standing colla ...

, Claude Kelly, and

Los Da Mystro Carlos McKinney (born January 10, 1973), known professionally as Los Da Mystro, is an American record producer and jazz pianist. Biography McKinney was born into a prominent Detroit jazz family. He is the nephew to pianist Harold McKinney, ...

. She worked with

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

in April 2009, and explained the reason for his tracks not appearing on ''Echo'': "I went in the studio with Timbaland and we vibed out. The thing is, on this album, there were a lot of people that I'd been with on the first album so I knew them and we kinda got into the vibe straight away. Obviously I'm still getting to know Timbaland, it's kind of a continuing and evolving relationship, so this time he's not on the album, but hopefully next time he will be". The album was released in two formats. In addition to the standard edition, albums downloaded from

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

receive two live performance songs. The two live songs, "Brave" and "

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his third wife. At that time, MacColl was still married to his second wife, Jean Newlove. ...

", were recorded at a concert at London's

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...

on 2 November 2009. In July 2010 it was reported by the ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'' that a deluxe edition is planned for release.

Theft of demo and unauthorised leaks

In August 2009, several of the album's unfinished songs leaked onto the internet and it is believed that computers at Lewis's record label were hacked into. An investigation was launched by the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI), working with the record label and police to identify those responsible. Lewis confirmed during an interview with an Australian radio station that some of the songs that leaked would be included on the album. At the end of March 2010 it was reported that

Syco Music Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

had suffered once again from computer hackers who obtained 14 previously unreleased songs by Lewis and subsequently leaked them online. It was also revealed that Cowell had contacted the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

regarding the matter, while British police were contacted to investigate the leak of ''Echo'' in November 2009 before it was officially released. It was later revealed in 2011 that songs recorded for ''Echo'' were targeted by the German hacker, Deniz A., also known as DJ Stolen. In July 2010, the Rasch law firm logged a criminal complaint against DJ Stolen for "constantly placing hacked songs on the internet". Amongst those songs listed in the complaint was one called "Pulse", described at the time as a new recording by Lewis. DJ Stolen was jailed for 18 months in June 2011.

Artwork

In an interview with ''Seventeen'' magazine, Lewis described the album's packaging and design as having a desert setting. Each of Lewis's outfits, described as "modern, 'heroine' gowns", was designed by

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...

. Each gown was made-to-measure in Westwood's central London

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

. They are created in gold lamé and white

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

, are fitted around a boned

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and l ...

and feature the designer's signature cleavage-enhancing corset, with a

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was used to ...

-style skirt. One costume depicts Lewis as a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

, an idea that Lewis suggested. Lewis also wears Westwood's dresses in her music videos and during promotional events for the album and singles.

Promotion

Lewis was scheduled to appear on the BBC's ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' on 14 October 2009, but she pulled out following an incident at a booksigning of her autobiography ''Dreams'' where a man punched her in the face. She also cancelled a two-day promotional trip to Germany. She rescheduled her appearance on ''The One Show'' to 26 October. Lewis performed an exclusive live show at the

in London on 2 November 2009, her first full UK show, where she performed nine songs in total, including four from ''Echo''. On 5 November 2009 she has also performed "Happy" at the

MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 The MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 took place in Berlin, Germany at the O2 World and Brandenburg Gate on 5 November 2009. The awards ceremony was presented by Katy Perry for a 2nd consecutive year. It was the fourth time that the MTV Europe Music A ...

held in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. Lewis performed again on ''The X Factor'' final, on 13 December, singing her rendition of "Stop Crying Your Heart Out". Following this performance, the song charted at 29 in the UK singles charts from strong downloads. On 3 December 2009, Lewis performed "Happy", "I Got You" and "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", as well as two songs from ''Spirit'', on the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

show ''Live Sessions with Ken Bruce''. She also performed "I Got You" and "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" on BBC Radio 1's

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

Tour

Lewis started her debut tour,

, in May 2010, supporting ''Spirit'' and ''Echo'' with dates in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Singles

", the first single from the album, was released to download in the United States and Canada in September 2009, and worldwide in November 2009. It reached number 31 on the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, and number 15 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

. Billboard Shows "Happy" Debut Retrieved 24 September. In the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

it reached number 26. In ''Billboard''

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...

it reached number 7. It also charted in the Dutch

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

at number 74 and in New Zealand at 35. "Happy" entered the UK chart at number 2 and was certified Silver (200,000+). " I Got You" was released as the second and final single in the UK on 21 February 2010 and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 3 on the UK R&B Chart.

Other songs

Although not released as a single, " Stop Crying Your Heart Out", a cover of an

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentUK Singles Chart in late 2009, following Lewis's live performance on ''The X Factor''. The track "My Hands" was chosen as the theme song for the video game ''

s release in North America and Europe.

Critical reception

Critical response to the album has been mixed, based on a score of 59 out of 100 from review aggregator site

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''s review of ''Echo'' gave the album three out of five stars, with reviewer Peter Robinson writing, "Unusually for an ''X Factor'' graduate, there was actually something at risk if the second album didn't work, but ''Echo'' hits its target. A handful of upbeat numbers – including an unexpected foray into frothy high-speed electro – pull Leona back from the brink of boring." Jim Farber of the New York '' Daily News'' agreed, writing "''Echo'' has a sense of fun, and a youthful vim, rarely on display on ''Spirit''. It's faster, harder and way catchier." Neil McCormick, writing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', said Lewis's "mezzo-soprano range allows her to take melodies from luxurious low notes to high-flying falsetto, gliding with elegant power and impressive control through all kinds of fluctuations and modulations. ..The approach of the album's producers is to throw Leona at a song, with multi-tracked vocals shooting off in every direction, until you feel like you're listening to a room full of cloned divas fighting over who gets the top line. It's an exhausting yet strangely exhilarating experience." ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

''s Karen Edwards awarded the album five stars out of five, saying "From girlie pop to big ballads, this album will remind you what the fuss is all about. Future ''X Factor'' winners take note: this is what real talent sounds like." On the other hand, some reviews were harsh, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said that "Too much of "Echo" is mired in soppy balladry and standard-issue dancery" adding that "When it works, however, as on the soaring ''Happy'' and feathery, synth-laden ''I Got You,'' all is (momentarily) redeemed". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that "Echo's 13 tracks, which were co-written by Justin Timberlake, OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and other costly names, follow the formula of her debut: the slow, piano-accented build-up, punctuated by sharp intakes of breath and vocal curlicues, then the climactic explosion as the drums crash in and she hits the chorus. That voice is impressive enough and there's no denying the stolid catchiness of some songs – notably Happy and her cover of Oasis's Stop Crying Your Heart Out – but she appears to lack the lightness of touch this album desperately needs". ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' stated that "...less compelling material, particularly in the album's second half, finds Lewis's talent squandered. The gooier adult contemporary numbers, of which "I Got You" is the worst, tend to add a lot of unnecessary vocal doctoring to the mix, edging on the faceless robo-pop that has become all too ubiquitous in the age of Auto-Tune. And too much of the album's runtime is dominated by altogether thoughtless ballads, like the languid late-album duo of "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and "Don't Let Me Down," in which Lewis confronts dull, piano-driven arrangements with vocals that, while technically unimpeachable, lack any warmth or emotional expression".

Commercial performance

''Echo'' made its first chart appearance on the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by t ...

at number two. In Belgium the album charted at 69 on the

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Album Chart and 67 on the

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

albums chart. ''Echo'' debuted at Number 1 on the

UK Album Charts The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Offici ...

on 22 November selling 161,000 copies and has since been certified double platinum in the UK. In the United States, the album debuted at number 13 on the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

with over 69,000 units sold. but in the second week sales fell by 68% to just 21,431.https://www.webcitation.org/5mDkuKBFa?url=http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/archcht.cgi?cht373

Track listing

Notes * signifies co-producer * signifies additional producer

Personnel

Credits taken from ''Echo''s liner notes. ;Managerial *Executive producers –

*Production co-ordination – Angela N. Golightly ;Performance *Lead vocals –

Background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

– Lewis,

Brent Kutzle Brent Michael Kutzle (born August 3, 1985) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and film composer originating from Fountain Valley, California. He is the bassist and cellist for the pop rock band OneRepubli ...

, Mandy Foster, Vicky Sandström, Cheryline "Che'Nelle" Lim,

Stephen Simmonds Stephen Guy Simmonds is a Swedish recording artist born in Täby, Sweden, 26 June 1975. Born to a Jamaican father, a musician by profession, and a Swedish mother, he was raised in Sweden, the United States, and Israel. He studied at Adolf Fr ...

, Sara-Jane Skeet, Beverly Skeet ;Instruments *

Acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

– Tedder *Bass guitar – Juliene Bunetta,

, Kutzle, John Garrison *Cello – Kutzle *

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

arrangement – Lawrence Johnson *Drums – Tedder, Bunetta,

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

, Karl Brazil, Eddie Fisher *Drum programming – Tedder, Zancanella *Guitars – Andrew Frampton, Shanks, Esbjörn Öhrwall, Luke Potashnick *Instruments on "Can't Breathe" – Uriel "Frenchie" Kadouch, "Vein" *Instruments on "Love Letter" –

*Instruments on "Naked" – Karl "Shellback" Schuster *Other instrumentation on "Lost Then Found" – Tedder, Kutzle *Keyboards – Frampton, Shanks, Charles Judge *Piano – Tedder, Frampton,

, Steve Robson, Dan Muckala *

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

–

Christine Wu Christine Wu is a musician who plays and composes for acoustic and electric violin and cello. Born to a Taiwanese father and a German American mother in Germany, she moved to the United States at a young age. She began her professional career as ...

Urban Soul Orchestra ''The Independent'' describes Urban Soul Orchestra as a "contemporary string ensemble with a repertoire of funky arrangements". Their discography includes artists ranging from classical, jazz, funk, soul, dance and contemporary music. History ...

London Session Orchestra The London Session Orchestra was a film, TV, and pop orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1993 and led by Gavyn Wright and is known for its work on movies such as ''Run Lola Run'' (1998) ''V for Vendetta'' (2005), and '' Mission: Impossibl ...

*Strings arrangement – Stephen Hussey,

Will Malone Wil Malone (born Peter Wilson, 29 July 1942, Hornsey, North London) is a British music producer and arranger, who has worked with artists including The Who, Rick Wakeman, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Todd Rundgren, The Verve, Massive Attack, Depe ...

, Larry Gold *Strings conductor – Hussey *Synthesiser – Tedder, Kutzle ;Technical *

Arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

– Tedder, Muckala *Co-production –

Mike Elizondo Michael A. Elizondo Jr. (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protégé of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Linkin Park, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder ...

, Mason, Kutzle, Noel Zancanella, Muckala *Digital editing – Ron Taylor *

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

– Tedder, Bunetta, Zancanella, Craig Durrance, Joe Zook, Rich Cooper, Damian Lewis, Jeff Rothschild, Alex Gibson, Richard Flack *Engineering assistants – Chris Kasych, Richard Woodcraft, Nicolas Esaig, Paul LaMalfa, Keith Armstrong, Nik Karpen *Mastering – Vlado Meller * Mixing –

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American audio engineer and mixer. He is a three time Grammy Award recipient, having received 14 nominations for the award. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in ...

, Serban Ghenea,

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

, Jeremy Wheatley, Jean-Marie Horvat *Mixing assistants – Tim Roberts, Christian Plata, Erik Madrid, Mimi Parker *Mixing engineers – John Hanes, Brad Townsend, Andrew Schubert *Production – Tedder, Arnthor Birgisson, Julian Bunetta, Kadouch, Frampton,

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

, Shellback, "Vein", Shanks, Lundin, Robson, The Y's *

Programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

– Tedder, Rothschild, Dan Chase *

Pro-Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Avid Audio, Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and OS X, macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, au ...

editing –

Lars Fox Grotus, stylized as G̈r̈oẗus̈, was an industrial rock band from San Francisco, active from 1989 to 1996. Their unique sound incorporated sampled ethnic instruments, two drummers, and two bassists, and featured angry but humorous lyrics. Bi ...

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

– Birgisson, Shellback, Rich Cooper, Andrew Hey, Ann Minciel, Seth Waldmann, Neil Tucker, Joshua Berkman, Paul Foley *Recording assistant – Christian Baker *Vocal engineering – Seth Waldmann *Vocal production – Lewis, Tedder, Birgisson, Bunetta, Frampton, Rudolf, Foster, Shanks, Lundin, Robson,

, Timberlake *Vocal recording – Dabling Harward *Vocal recording assistants – David Boyd, Michael Daley

Recording locations

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, London *Chalice Recording Studios, Hollywood *CMK Studios, Los Angeles *Conway Studios, Los Angeles *Dean Street Studios, London *Germano Studios, New York City *

Henson Recording Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as Ch ...

, Hollywood *Maratone Studios,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

*Mason Sound, North Hollywood *Park Hill Studios,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

*The Rabbit Hole,

Calabasas Calabasas may refer to: * Calabasas, Arizona, former populated place in what is now Rio Rico, Arizona * Calabasas, California, city in Los Angeles County, California See also * Calabaza Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish langua ...

*RAK Recording Studios, London *Sphere Studios, London *The Vault, Stockholm *Westlake Studios, Los Angeles

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

*
"Happy"/''Echo'' microsite
*
''Echo''
at

* ''Echo''at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Echo (Leona Lewis Album) 2009 albums Leona Lewis albums Albums produced by Clive Davis Albums produced by Jeff Bhasker Albums produced by Max Martin Albums produced by Justin Timberlake Albums produced by John Shanks Albums produced by Ryan Tedder J Records albums Syco Music albums