Leona Lewis

Leona Lewis biography

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor. Lewis is a multi-platinum selling artist.

Lewis released her debut studio album Spirit in 2007, which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and on the UK chart. It features the single "Bleeding Love", which reached number one in over thirty countries around the world, and was the best-selling single worldwide in 2008. Spirit also became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the UK and Ireland and in 2008, Lewis became the first British solo artist to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 with a debut album. Lewis was the fourth best-selling artist worldwide in 2008, and Spirit has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Spirit released several other singles including "Run", a cover of Snow Patrol that, in November 2008, set a record in the UK for the fastest-selling download-only release. She released her second studio album, Echo, in 2009, and it peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and within the top twenty in the United States, and produced her the singles "Happy" and "I Got You". Lewis's third album, Glassheart, is scheduled for release in 2012. It was preceded by "Collide", a single from the album, which became her seventh top-five hit in the United Kingdom.

Lewis's work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including three Grammy Award nominations. She was also proclaimed Top New Artist by Billboard magazine in 2008.

Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent, and Maria Lewis of Welsh, Irish, and Italian descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. From there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments, such as the guitar and piano, in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter. Lewis wrote her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, almost exclusively comprising her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret. None of Lewis's demos brought her significant attention, however, and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university. Then her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.

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