Leona Lewis Producer Blames Promotion For US Slide

Date: 01/25/10 | Newsroom
Filed under: Pop Culture, Leona Lewis

There might have been several factors impacting "Echo" and its lead single "Happy" but, according to one of the producers on Leona Lewis' album -- promotion and the fact that Lewis was not in the United States at the time could be reason for the project's slide in sales and chart success.

"Leona was gone for six weeks when 'Happy' came out because she was promoting the record in other countries - it wasn't her fault; she just couldn't be two places in once," says hit songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder. "I had radio stations telling me that they thought 'Happy' was the single biggest ballad they'd come across in ten years, but that if Leona didn't come over here and promote it, it was going to fall."

Reaching no.32 on the pop charts, "Happy" fell short of Lewis' breakthrough single "Bleeding Love," which became an international hit in 2008.

But, promotion is not the only thing that worked against the success of "Happy," the condition of US radio airplay at the time is to blame as well. Speaking with Digital Spy, Tedder says the timing was off for a ballad.

"When everything on the radio is blasting out at 120 bpm, a song like 'Happy' almost sounds out-of-place," says Tedder.

"Echo," Lewis' sophomore effort is now available in stores.