| Biography | Leona Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist.
Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and it broke a world record for reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes.
In the US, Lewis became the first UK solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album, with Spirit. The lead single, "Bleeding Love", spent seven weeks at number one in the UK where it became the best-selling single of 2007. She achieved international recognition with the album in 2008 when it topped charts around the world. She was proclaimed Top New Artist by Billboard in 2008.
In 2011, Lewis released the non-album single "Collide", a collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii, and her first extended play, Hurt: The EP. Her third album, Glassheart, was released in 2012. It marked a new creative direction for Lewis, drawing inspiration from dubstep and electronic music. However, it failed to match the commercial performance of her two previous albums, peaking at number three in the UK and becoming her first to not be certified platinum.
In 2014, Lewis made her film debut in the supporting role of Elena in the romantic comedy musical, Walking on Sunshine. In 2016, Lewis made her Broadway debut as Grizabella in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. A year later, she signed a modelling contract with Wilhelmina Models. She then collaborated with Calum Scott on the single "You Are The Reason" (2018) which achieved chart success, and had a recurring role in the American television series The Oath (2019). As of 2015, Lewis is the second best-selling act from The X Factor franchise in the UK, behind One Direction, having sold over 30 million records worldwide. |