NEW YORK (AP):

Leona Lewis made a name for herself with her debut song Bleeding Love, a soaring ballad that flew the 24-year-old to the top of the charts worldwide.

But the British pop singer says her sophomore CD Echo goes a step further, and is "full of big, emotional, dramatic songs".

"It's just really like big songs. The main thing is about the song and the melody," she said of the album, to be released on November 17.

"I don't have any songs on there that are just like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah'," she said in a whispery tone while bopping her head.

The first single, the gloomy-yet thumping Happy, is one Lewis co-wrote with Ryan Tedder, the producer behind Bleeding Love.

"It's a contradiction of song because, yes, it's named Happy, but the song's kind of dark; a bit sad, sombre," she said.

"In my songs I want people to go on a journey, and (to get to) happiness, you go through a lot of pain and sadness to get there sometimes, and that's what we wanted to convey on the song," she added.

The new CD is also a departure for Lewis as she tackles more uptempo dance songs, like Outta My Head, written and produced by Max Martin (Pink, Backstreet Boys).

Lewis also teamed up with Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake and John Shanks on the new CD.

Echo is the follow-up to Lewis' 2008 platinum-selling debut, Spirit, which garnered three Grammy nominations, including record of the year for Bleeding Love.

Lewis says she's happy now in her career and life - and ready for round two as an international singer.

"I'm just embarking on going back on the road and tra-velling and doing it again," she said.