Leona Lewis

Leona Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and winner of the third series of UK television talent show The X Factor. Her UK debut single, "A Moment like This", was released in December 2006, breaking a world record after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within 30 minutes. Her second single, "Bleeding Love", was the biggest-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom, topped over thirty national singles charts and became a number one single on the first week in France on March 22 and number one in the US on April 5, 2008.

Her debut album, Spirit, was released in Europe in November 2007, and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Released in North America in April 2008, Spirit debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 chart and made Lewis the first British artist to top the chart with a debut album. With her album reaching number one in at least three continents and nine countries, Lewis has had the most successful launch of any television talent show contestant ever

Leona Lewis was born in Highbury, in the London borough of Islington, to parents Aural Josiah, an Afro-Caribbean Guyanese youth worker, and Maria Lewis, a Welsh social worker. At the age of five, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and later the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School. Lewis wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and won a number of talent competitions. After leaving school, Lewis took a number of jobs to pay to get into a recording studio, including waitressing and several receptionist jobs. When her career seemed to be going nowhere, she was considering quitting the music industry until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor.

In 2006, Leona Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor, singing "Over the Rainbow". She made it through to the final stages and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a 1 million recording contract. She was mentored by Simon Cowell.

Lewis' voice was consistently highly praised by all three judges. Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. On occasions, she was compared with divas such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Celine Dion. However, Lewis was also criticised, by both the judges and in the press, in relation to her confidence. Vocal coach Mark Hudson also criticised her lack of star quality. On the final night of the show, Take That joined Lewis on stage for a duet of their song "A Million Love Songs". After the performance, singer Gary Barlow told Cowell, "This girl is probably fifty times better than any other contestant you have ever had, so you have a big responsibility to make the right record with her."

On the Oprah Winfrey Show on 17 March 2008, Simon Cowell said that it was during Lewis' barefoot performance of "Summertime" in the third live round of The X Factor (broadcast 28 October 2006) that he "could see her transform from a great singer into a superstar".

In February 2008, Leona Lewis broke the major American charts as "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85. It peaked at number one for at least four non-consecutive weeks in three separate runs beginning on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated 5 April 2008. "Bleeding Love" became the first track by a UK female to hit number one since Kim Wilde in 1987. Lewis is also the third British female to go to number one with a debut single, the other two acts being Petula Clark with "Downtown" in 1965 and Sheena Easton with "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" in 1981, and only the sixth British female to ever top the US singles chart, following Clark, Easton, Wilde, Lulu and Bonnie Tyler. "Bleeding Love" is only the second single to ever fall out and return to the number one position on the Hot 100 twice, returning to number one on the charts dated 26 April 2008 and again on 10 May 2008. The first was Le Freak by Chic in 1978 and 1979.

Lewis' third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The songs reached a peak of number 2 in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in it's first week of physical release. As a part of Sport Relief, Lewis has set up a website, yougivemestrength.com, for people to share their inspirational stories.