Leona Lewis will not release her ‘Glassheart’ album until early 2012. The songbird broke the news just moments ago on Facebook that she will be returning to the studio to record new material for the project, touting “inspiration” as the cause of the delay.

‘Glassheart’ was previously scheduled to debut on November 28th in the UK and December 6th in the US. The LP is preceded by the lead single, ‘Collide’, which has thus far received lukewarm reception at radio. There is still no word regarding if Lewis’ second single, ‘Trouble’, will be issued this year.

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This news is a clear indication that Lewis’ team has recognised that her audience is simply not interested in the direction in which she was heading. With ‘Glassheart’ being described as a record comprising primarily Dance-flavoured ballads, there was little chance of it making a major impact, particularly if ‘Collide’ was intended to represent the sound of the record.

However, delaying this album until early 2012 is a career suicide mission. Lewis will  be facing direct competition from Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey, both of whom are in a race to dominate the market in which she has unsuccessfully been trying to make an impact after her first album. Also, with all three women having similar sounds – where Carey is the original – Lewis’ dreary appeal will undoubtedly encounter unfavourable comparisons.

Lewis is obviously in a very perilous situation where people are not demanding her Dance releases and if she tries to revert to Pop/Soul ballads then she will be against artists who simply do them better. Still, with an astounding talent like hers, I am certain that she will find a way to succeed eventually.

The following look from Beyonce is aimed at Lewis’ team who allowed this situation to develop into such a catastrophe:

Thoughts?