Leon Jackson – When You Believe – Is Rubbish
Here it is folks, Leon Jackson’s debut single and X Factor winner’s song for 2007.
It’s an inspiring song, reflecting that tradition of uplifting champions songs like That’s My Goal and A Moment Like This. Except that Mr Jackson isn’t remotely believable. I can’t in all good conscience call this a triumph for either Jackson or the British public’s ability to choose a new pop star.
Many people believe that the song was never chosen for Leon anyway, that it was more suited to runner-up Rhydian Roberts’ operatic stylings. Given that it was originally released by two of the biggest divas known to mankind lends weight to that argument.
So Leon’s version is notably lacklustre, a half hearted attempt at the song compared with what Rhydian would have graced us with. There’s no drama or drive in Leon’s performance, which makes the fact that it’s virtually guaranteed a Christmas #1 so hard to take in.
Music lovers complain all the time about the amount of crap that gets in the charts. Here’s why: contrary to rumour, the public is not discerning in the slightest. They’ll happily buy up this muck simply because the guy’s been on Saturday night television for the last 3 months.
The problem is – and I confidently predict – that once the television audience dries up and forgets him, Leon will have a very hard time shifting units. 12 months from now that record deal will have evaporated and he’ll be back to doing the Al Bundy in a West Lothian shoe store again.
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What actual rubbish! The boys 18 never sang before in his life and sings with passion. Rhydian at the start was a creep who freaked everyone out, and has been classically trained for years. Leon has a long career a head of him, if he can change so dramatically in 12 weeks, think what he’ll become in a year.
Actually lucycatz, Leon admitted himself that he drifted into singing within the last year. He’s not that good a singer, even after a 12 week crash course in front of the nation.
Worse still, he has virtually no charisma and there are better singers in his ‘easy listening’ niche who would wipe the floor with him like Katherine Jenkins did to Rhydian.
Sometimes I cannot believe what I read or hear. What do these guys know the voting public have said it all Leon is great, he has got an amazing voice for someone so young and inexperienced – raw talent which the Welsh guy has not got. Rhydian very bland voice and very limited. Leon made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Go get em Leon.
What are you lot talking about, both these people are hopeless. You got a guy from Scotland who suits a style of music thats not cool in the pop world anymore. Second place you have a blonde hair weirdo who would be perfect for the theatre and nothing else. His classically trained singing combined with his keen overuse of vibrato has no place in the pop world either. These two WILL vanish. Leona was different although has a personality of a wet fish. A true start would never enter such a competition. Lets face it – the states lot can sing and the UK has no talent left. Mainly down to so much pop and dance and a general lack of soul / roots. Good bye poppers x
WHY DONT PEOPLE GIVE LEON A CHANCE HE MUST OFF DONE SOMETHING GOOD TO GET THE POSITION HE AS BEEN GIVEN, HE AS GOT A LOVELY VOICE SO BACK OFF ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THAT THE THUNDERBIRDS CHARACTER SHOULD OFF WON RHYDIAN ONLY NEEDED STRINGS FROM HIS ARMS
GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BEST LEON I THINK YOUR GREAT AND YOUR MUM & GRAN ARE PROUND SO DONT WORRY WHAT OTHERS SAY
No offense, but this has bugger all to do with Rhydian – I wouldn’t have voted for any of the finalists even if there’d been a freefone number!
Leon has a ‘reasonably good voice’. That’s all. He doesn’t deserve to be the number one single this Christmas. His performances lacked charisma, enthusiasm and personality. It’ll be a Brookstein all over again.
Irene
Do you really know what you are talking about? It is Leon who’s got a very bland and limited voice. His being young, still wet behind the ears,crying baby habits, etc doesn’t equal talent. Rhydian does have years of training, Leona Lewis had training in singing before her x factor audition. I think most of the contestants have as well, But YOU CANNOT TRAIN A TALENTLESS TO BECOME A TALENT.
My observation is while Leon was frequently out of tune on the stage with some easy songs (have to say I am not a fan of swing/jazz), Rhydian was pitch perfect and delivered every time and had instant connection with the audience. He, among all the contestants, had the hardest start of the show, but he grew to have won lots of support simply and only by his singing, without any sob stories or tearful display. Respect for that.
Your argument once again proves that there are some clueless people voted for sob stories or out of mothering instinct rather than talent. Sad, unfair, and stupid.
Bottom line, Leon is NOT At ALL great. Average at best.
PP re his sob story – doing this for his mum etc – surly everybody can use this cliche? Wasn’t he thrown out by his mum, who called him a waster, just days before his x factor audition? Sounds like a fake sob story.
To be honest, the public voted for him to win, they wanted to hear him sing, it is always hard to keep going, Leon knows it wont be easy, but look at Leona, she dissappeared from the world for ages, then she suddenly pops up and gets number 1, i think his scottish accent gives an interesting way of singing, one which i like, he may not sing recent songs but i prefer these to rhydians boring operatic tunes. To me he looks like a fighter, always the underdog too the well veresed and he came out on top.
A not to remember, that many of the best singers cant sing live, the recording studios make them sound better, at least we know leon can sing.
PS: even the four judges said he was a good snger and a star, i dont care what you say, but just 1 of them knows more about music and performance than you do, critics are meant to hate everything and critsize everything, is there job, no one would be interested in just praise
Did anyone see Leon’s performance on GMTV? They had to make excuses for him because he was horrendous!!
They said that he only had 20 minutes sleep and all kinds of rubbish just to make it sound like it’s not his fault he’s crap.
As for his sob story, did no one else notice his house? It did not look like his mum was struggling to me!
Anyway, time will tell who the real winner is and I think I know!
eh ann evens Leon is a unreal singer get over it ya lowlife !!!!!!!!!!! stop making up rumors
My local cats singer better than Leon,listening to him makes me cringe.
Katie,I have just read your childish comment.All I can say to you, is get back to the nursery, and get your nappy changed.Low life what kind of language is that.
Leon has it all, when he sings he has you hooked to hear him. Hurry back Leon, we are all looking forward to anything you sing
I agree with this article – the judges praised Leon for pulling out ‘High Notes’ – he doesn’t hit any notes that your average male singer couldn’t, and his singing style is very limited.
And, he’ll do his voice in on live tours because his vibrato makes the veins on his neck stand out – this means he’s putting too much pressure on his voice. Rhydian never did.
Amazing that people in the UK seem to be so unaware of the talent and future of this young man. In Canada and the U.S.A., we know only too well what the future could bring with a Leon Jackson signed to a proper Label for him.
Like Reprise Records, the Label started by someone with very similar beginnings. The man who started this Label was born to poor parents in Hoboken, New Jersey of all places (not much different than Glasgow, Scotland). Did he let that stop him?
Frank Sinatra was a delivery boy, a singing waiter, who at 20yo joined “The Flashes” and they won First Prize on Major Bowes Amateur Hour, with over 40,000 votes. But he wouldn’t see a great career till 1939 with his first #1. Even after 40 songs released, many movies and hordes of teenybopping girls, gone goo-goo eyed over him, his popularity died down for a time near the end of the 40’s into the 50’s.
But in 56 to 57 he was again the king of contemporary ballads, jazz and Swing was reborn. Along with fellow Rat Packers, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop (known as “the clan”, “the Summit”). One well known critic, after hearing him sing with The Flashes, remarked “ah… he’s short, skinny and can’t sing. He’s just a mangy old singing waiter, who’ll never amount to much more than a “FLASH” in the pan singing or with the girls. My dam dog sings better”, he remarked!
They told him he couldn’t act either and what did he do? Take home Grammy after Grammy, throw an Oscar or two in with hordes of girls following him like puppy dogs. Thus, leaving the poor bastards who didn’t believe in him eating crow and choking on it. After 63 glorious years singing, he died a Legend!
Warner Bros Music and sub Label Reprise Records have been primarily centered on Country Music lately (and it’s fans in America). Reprise is still the Label of Frank Sinatra era throwback singers. With Michael Buble leading the new Rat Pack in Canada and America.
But even he would struggle in the UK where X Factor Plastic POP queens and artificially created Dance music is what you all live by. All in an effort to compete with North America’s deluge of Talent. You all would rather ignore the real talent that’s right under your noses! ;)
Mike B., stop living in dreamland and creating false hope for poor Leon fans. It’s people like you that deceive and add false hope that annoy me the post.
After the very public drop that LJ suffered from Sony BMG on 20th of March, not one single record company will touch him with a barge pole. It’s all in the clauses and contracts , if you were all too bothered to read. Besides, such humiliating drop from label will not, ever, convine any company to pick the ‘leftovers’ , so to say.
Let Leon Jackson do his Scottich gigs and try learn about performing, he has years to get on a career, if he so wishes and gets another opportunity. ATM he needs to lie down and do his tour and hope the fans will follow the small gigs he will be able to do.
Grrrrr now hold on Tiger! haha Do you know personally why Leon Jackson was dropped? No and you haven’t a clue. Do you of what’s remotely in that 80+ page agreement, every stupid arse contestant in that farce of talent show, you call X Factor (or any of the contests Mr Slimy Simon Cowell is behind)! Some very peculiar clauses about not saying anything in public that could even be remotely construed as negative against Simon or Syco. They call catch all clauses “Easy Outs” here in the USA and anyone with a good attorney won’t sign them. Especially in light of the other nightmare clauses that are in that contract that they must sign before continuing on the Live Shows!
It’s a nice setup for Simon Sleasebag to maintain #1 A&R status in the World (2008, but he just dropped to #11, do to re-signing Rhydian and the whole cast of this last X Factor losers). Obviously you still believe he knows what he’s doing. Even though it was proven that he himself doesn’t when years ago, he had the nerve to tell Gary Barlow he was too fat, to ever make it as a Rock Star! lol I’m just waiting for Gary to publicly rub that in one of Simon’s two faces! haha
Now who are we supposed to believe with Leon? Simon on the audition and what he said about Leon’s natural talent or Simon when he was on the spot with the Bookies and allowing them to finance votes to make sure Leon was the Winner. In the make believe contest you call the X Factor Final…… Or should we instead believe Tim Bryne, Leon’s own A&R rep who should know is an artist himself (unlike his boss Simon Cowell). Who he has said, that Leon Jackson has more raw natural potential than any other artist he’s ever handled in the past or for Syco and RCA Records. His list? Il Divo, Leon Jackson, Leona Lewis, Shayne Ward, The X Factor and Westlife!
So in 5 to 10 years, you can tell me who out of X Factor has really made it. Because X Factor and the Big Four Labels (including Sony BMG) are on their way out and becoming dinosaurs in an age where the Music Industry is too busy biting the hand that feeds it. US the people who used buy their crap. Of course with Simon and his buddy Edgar Bronfman Jr blowing chunks on the business end of music deals, where else would they be headed? haha With RIAA (suiing it’s own customers) debacle started by Edgar Bronfman Jr, who sold the family Seagram’s business to buy Warner Music Group after admitting his own kids had pirated music. So where is Simon’s fellow RIAA member today? Well Warner Music Group has lost so much value from when he bought it, that it almost hit Penny Stock! lol
You don’t seem to understand that being dropped by Sony is not a bad thing by todays standards and where the music is headed with too many hands in the pie and artist themselves realizing in increasing numbers that they no longer need the Labels and forced contracts that rob them blind of not only their money, but their rights. You are about to witness a Revolution and the come up’ence do these worthless ignorant slobs like your beloved Simon Cowell! :D JUST In Case you haven’t been paying scores of artists are asking to be dropped by their Labels, including Sony BMG and Warner Music Group! So come tell about it in 10 years after artist and their fans have had their say!