REVIEW: Leona Lewis at the Brighton Centre

I know, because I saw the X-Factor winner perform at the Brighton Centre last night (Sunday, May 5).

As expected, her voice was flawless, and she switched between her impressive low and high ranges with an ease that would put most singers to shame.

What did come as a surprise to me, however, was how she commanded the stage.

The Leona I remembered from the TV talent show was shy and didn’t have much stage presence.

But fast-forward seven years and she is much more comfortable in her own skin, and was happy dancing away to her songs, chatting to the audience, and even playing piano and drumming on a couple of tracks.

Several of her most well-know songs were “switched up a gear” to use one of Leona’s own descriptions.

For instance, she gave her ballad Better in Time a reggae flavour, which also enabled her to do a bit of grinding, and on a pared down version of Trouble she played on the piano.

Unsurprisingly, the crowd’s most rapturous applause was saved for her biggest hits - Bleeding Love and Run, the latter of which ended an excellent evening of music.

Leona’s Glassheart tour continues tonight (Monday, May 6) in Birmingham, and continues going around the UK until mid-June.