Lewis … glad to be performing at her hometown.

British

It obviously meant a lot to her to debut her second album so close to where she grew up and still lives.

The Empire, refurbished in 2004, still maintains its décor, oozing grandness and elegance. With a maximum capacity of 1,250, the cosy venue was highly appropriate to share and treat her fans to brand-new tracks from her new album, Echo, which was launched worldwide on Nov 16.

Lewis has a universal appeal which was evident that night. It was a mixed crowd, comprising young couples, older groups and young children accompanied by their parents.

It has been two years since Lewis’ first album Spirit reached No.1, and Echo has all it takes to make an impact.

The concert started with a close-up of the singer’s masked face appearing on a transparent screen. This was followed by other seductive poses of the star, amidst clouds of dry ice. You could barely see Lewis standing behind the screen along with her male dancers.

She then appeared dressed in a black and purple dress with a black cloak looking as stunning and beautiful as she is on her album covers.

The crowd cheered with cries of "I love you Leona" as she started singing Brave from her new album. She sang this hit with the audience sitting on the edge of their seats. This is the moment they’ve been waiting for.

Lewis waited until she finished her first song before speaking to the audience, acknowledging them with "How ya feeling tonight?" The crowd reacted with cheers.

It was hard to believe that Lewis hasn’t treated her British fans to more live performances.

She said: "Just want to say thanks for coming out and supporting me. This is my first-ever live show! The last time I performed at the Hackney Empire was when I was 13. I thought it was fitting to come back and I’m glad you can experience it. The next song is Better in Time, sing along if you know it."

Apart from a slight glitch with the band, her voice and performance were outstanding. Besides performing her much-anticipated new material from Echo, Lewis treated her fans to classic mega-hit singles including Bleeding Love.

She went backstage before Bleeding Love to reveal a purple mini dress with black leggings. Bleeding Love was instrumental to her success on both sides of the Atlantic and she thanked her fans for this.

Despite her phenomenal global success since winning the British television series The X Factor, she appeared humble.

Lewis also showed her versatility by performing a more upbeat and clubby track of Outta My Head, (a song from her new album) complete with some simple choreography which she often doesn’t have the opportunity to do.

This demonstrated her versatility and showed a different side of her connecting with a trendier, current side.

Security was tight at the concert venue after recent incidents but this did not affect Lewis’ performance, being the true professional that she is.

She ended with her version of Snow Patrol’s Run to a standing ovation and rapturous applause. - Sony Music Malaysia