HomeMusicRebecca Ferguson - Lady Sings the Blues album review

Rebecca Ferguson – Lady Sings the Blues album review

The future looked bright for Rebecca Ferguson when she finished as the runner-up on the 2010 series of The X Factor. Losing out to Matt Cardle appeared to be a good thing as she was given the time to write and record a debut album of original material. Released in December 2011 Heaven sold over 1.5 million copies and saw Ferguson hailed as the next big UK soul star.

The buzz built again for the release of her second album Freedom, but commercially it didnā€™t perform on par with her first album. The albumā€™s campaign was cut short when Ferguson became pregnant, which may have had a knock on effect for the albumā€™s sales. Now Ferguson is back with her third album Lady Sings the Blues, a homage to Billie Holidayā€™s album of the same name.

One thing to point out is that this isnā€™t a direct re-recording of Holidayā€™s album of the same name. The songs are all songs that have been sung by Holiday at some point so the album is more a celebration of the legendary singer. The album opens with Get Happy immediately reintroducing to Fergusonā€™s soulful and powerful voice.

The album showcases Fergusonā€™s vocals in a way that her previous releases havenā€™t. We always knew she had soul but she sounds fantastic singing these songs. The bluesy That Ole Devil Called Love is an early highlight on the record with Ferguson effusing sass and sex appeal, whilst Summertime is darkly hypnotic with atmospheric vocals.

Elsewhere on the album Ferguson creates an elegant jazz feel on Donā€™t Explain, sounds dreamy on Iā€™ll Never Smile Again, and lets go on the funky Fine and Mellow. The stand out moment on the record is God Bless The Child where Ferguson transports you to a smoky jazz club with her impressive vocal prowess.

On paper itā€™s clear why having Ferguson cover the songs of Holiday is a good idea but we canā€™t help feeling itā€™s an odd decision at this stage in her career, particularly when Ferguson fought so hard to record original material at the start of her career.

Maybe itā€™s something to do with the disappointing commercial performance of Freedom but it feels too early for her to be turning to covers. Lady Sings the Blues is a perfectly pleasant album and thereā€™s no denying that Ferguson sounds fantastic. We would have preferred her to pay homage to the era with her own material though and thatā€™s something she could have turned her hand to easily.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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