British pop singer Leona Lewis has her first number one hit in the United States, "Bleeding Love," according to the latest Billboard charts. What makes this big news is that Lewis - who owes her fame in Britain to an "American Idol"-style television show - is the first British female singer to top the U.S. singles charts since 1987, when Kim Wilde (Marty's daughter) did so with a rather bad cover of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On."
I haven't heard "Bleeding Love," but I'm sure it's better than Kim Wilde's hit. (The Kim Wilde song you want to hear is "Kids In America" from 1982.) Just the fact that it took this long for a British woman to top the U.S. charts is an indication of how far British pop has fallen of late. Good grief, the sixties had Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark (Cilla Black never hit it big in America, alas), among other pop divas from the mother country. Now, much of British popular music is an afterthought in America these days.
As for Leona Lewis's milestone, I was hoping Joss Stone - who was a newborn baby when Kim Wilde had her big hit - would be the one to achieve it, but you can't have everything.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment