Leona Lewis: I Am empowers

Leona Lewis views her new album as "an empowerment record".

The 30-year-old singer is gearing up to release I Am, her first record since 2013. And the former X Factor winner, who released four LPs prior to her newest album, says her forthcoming offering I Am really reflects what she has been experiencing in her life.

"It's an empowerment record," she told Entertainment Weekly magazine. "I really just wanted to speak about the experiences I've been going through the past seven years.

"I've just been delving deep into myself and finding out who I am and finding out how strong I am. I want to, through this record, empower people and myself as well."

Events that have taken their toll on Leona include her split from Simon Cowell's record label Syco and a relationship breakup.
And the star added in the interview she felt the process of penning tracks for the album was somewhat cathartic for her.

"Even though sometimes some of the songs were coming from a place that were maybe sad or a bit down, the songs lifted me out of that," she continued.

Leona revealed the album, which was mostly produced by renowned producer Toby Gad, is quite "choir like".

It also features a song written by the world-famous Diane Warren, who has previously only penned tracks for Cher and Whitney Houston.

"I was so honoured to have this one on the record because she specifically wrote it for me," she said. "I've known Diane for a long, long time and I always wanted to work with her, but for some reason or another it never panned out. This time I was sure I wanted something by her on the record."

I Am is due for release on September 11.