‘I would have ice-skating parties to UK garage’: Leona Lewis’s honest playlist
The first song I remember hearingSave the Best for Last by Vanessa Williams was used in a series of adverts for Bisto gravy in the 90s, where they poured the gravy in slow motion. For some reason, it was the first song that really had an effect on me.
The first single that I boughtI remember my mum giving me a pound to buy Wannabe by the Spice Girls on cassette from Woolworths in Stoke Newington [north London] when cassette singles only cost 99p!
The song I do at karaokeI haven’t been to karaoke in a long time, but when I do, I do like singing Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. When it came out, everyone knew it, and everybody still seems to know the words when you sing it now.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric toI’ve known every word to Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio featuring LVsince I was about 10, which I don’t know is appropriate!
The songs I streamed the most and lastGarage informed so much of my teen years. I would have ice-skating parties to UK garage. The song I stream the most is Flowers by Sweet Female Attitude and the song I streamed last was Lost You by Snoh Aalegra.
The best song to play at a partyMy family like to do the electric slide at our parties, so Candy by Cameo always gets everyone dancing.
The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hateIf I don’t like a song, I won’t pretend to like it!
The song I can no longer listen toI’ve got a baby and when she was six months old, she would just cry in the car all the time. So I would sing
The Wheels on the Bus for 20 minutes straight. Now when I hear it, it’s like a recurring nightmare.
The song I wish I had writtenRoberta Flack’s version of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is one of my favourite songs ever. I just absolutely love the lyrics.
The song that changed my lifeI performed Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy on my audition for The X Factor. It went viral and changed my whole world.
The song that gets me up in the morningAffirmations by Doggyland, which I play in the morning for the baby. It’s actually by Snoop Dogg. When I was looking for kids’ songs that wouldn’t drive me mental, a friend of mine told me that Snoop Dogg has a children’s channel with albums’ worth of kids’ songs but with really meaningful messages. So I reached out and said: “Thanks for making something that doesn’t drive parents crazy. If you ever want a voice, let me know.” He replied: “Absolutely, let’s do something.” So we ended up doing three kids’ songs together, including It’s Okay, which you can watch on my YouTube channel.
The song I want played at my funeralOver the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy because I love it so much.