| Leona Lewis Biography |
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Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer. She rose to fame as the winner of the third series of The X Factor, and became the first female winner of the show. Lewis has gone on to become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee, who is worth £10 million as of May 2009.[1] She signed a £1 million recording contract to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music and went on to sign a £5 million ($9.7 million) five album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.[2] Her debut single "A Moment Like This", went on to become the fastest selling UK single after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release.[3] Her second single, "Bleeding Love", was released worldwide and reached over thirty number one positions in charts around the world including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, the Republic of Ireland, France, Italy, Germany and Russia. Her debut album Spirit, was released in the UK and Ireland, and went on to became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both countries. In early 2008 it was released throughout Europe and Asia.[4][5] A revised edition of Spirit was released in North America in mid 2008, making its debut at number one on the United States' Billboard 200 album chart. Lewis is the first British solo artist to top the chart with a debut album. The album also reached number one in ten other countries wordwide.[6] To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide[7] and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.[8] In November 2008 Lewis set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 in just two days.[9]
Early lifeLewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis, a British youth worker of Guyanese Black African descent and Maria Lewis, a British social worker of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent.[10] Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School. It was here that she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano and began to write her own songs in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter.[11][12] She initially trained in opera, but changed direction, singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Eva Cassidy as her main influences.[13] At the age of 12 she wrote her first full length song and won a number of small music competitions that she had entered.[14] After leaving the BRIT School, Lewis took a number of jobs to fund studio recordings sessions, including waitressing and several receptionist jobs.[15] At 15 she recorded a version of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" with music producer Marley J. Wills, who commented that "Leona could hit the notes and I think she did it better than the original."[16] She wrote and recorded songs for a demo album called Twilight.[17][18] Another demo album, Best Kept Secret, was recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment.[18] However, neither album was released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.[19] The X FactorSee also: The X Factor (UK series 3)  In 2006, 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.[3][20] She was mentored by Simon Cowell. Her voice was consistently praised by all three judges — Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Consistently, she was compared with divas such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion.[21] Lewis was also criticised by some of the judges and in the press for her lack of self-confidence. 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."[22] Lewis's debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded fifty-thousand times in thirty minutes.[3] On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined.[23] The single became the biggest downloaded song in 2006, beating Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". The single stayed at number one for four weeks, and also stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.[24] It went on to sell in the region of 850,000 copies. A four-track download EP, "It's All for You", that she recorded before entering The X Factor was released digitally on 18 December 2006, through The Schizofreniks record label.[25][26] The single was banned from several online stores by Lewis's record label, Sony BMG, and was therefore unable to chart.[citation needed] Music career2007–2008: Spirit and international breakthroughIn February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.[27][28][29] On 25 April 2007, a press release was sent out revealing that Simon Cowell and Clive Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit.[30] The album was released in Ireland on 9 November 2007, where it entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one, being Ireland's fastest-selling debut album of all time.[4] It was released on 12 November 2007 in the United Kingdom, where it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, and was also the UK's fastest selling debut album, and the fourth fastest selling album of all time.[5] The album was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland.[31] Spirit was released in the United States on 8 April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one.[6] Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta.[32] She worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dr. Luke, Dallas Austin, Max Martin, Steve Mac, Stargate, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Kara DioGuardi, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Richard Page, Ne-Yo and Novel.[33] Two further tracks were recorded in early 2008 for the U.S. release of the album, "Forgive Me", which was produced by Akon and "Misses Glass", which was produced by Madd Scientist.[34] Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by One Republic's Ryan Tedder, and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released on 22 October 2007 in the UK. The single sold 66,000 copies on its first day of release and went on to sell 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date.[35][36] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks.[37] It also debuted at number one in the Irish Singles Chart, remaining there for eight weeks.[38] Elsewhere, it reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. The video for the single became the third most viewed music video on Youtube, and the fourth most viewed overall. As of 1 January 2009, it has 85.5 million views, topped only by Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" (111.6m views) . On 16 December 2007, "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year 2007 award.[39] On 31 October 2007, Lewis appeared on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, with acoustic performances of "Bleeding Love" and a cover of Snow Patrol's 2003 single "Run".[40] Her version of "Run" was popular with listeners, and as a result, was added to Radio 1's A list (a list of songs receiving the most airplay).[41] On 6 November she won 'Newcomer of the Year' at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards.[42] In the 30 November 2007 edition of American magazine Entertainment Weekly, Lewis was included among "8 to Watch in '08" in their 2007 "Entertainer of the Year" issue.[43] On 14 January 2008, Lewis was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love".[44] She also performed at the awards ceremony on 20 February 2008.[45] Despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none.[46] In February 2008, Lewis broke the major American charts as "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks beginning on the 5 April 2008. "Bleeding Love" became the first track by a UK female to hit number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hanging On" in 1987.[47] Lewis is also the third British female to go to number one with a debut single, and the sixth British female to top the US singles chart. 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.[48] The songs reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the U.S. on 15 July 2008. It reached a peak of number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[49] As a part of Sport Relief, Lewis set up a website, yougivemestrength.com, for people to share their inspirational stories.[50] Lewis performed at the MTV Asia Awards 2008 where she won the award for Breakthrough Artist.[51] On 24 August 2008, Lewis performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Her performance was watched by a worldwide TV audience of around three billion people.[52] On 5 September 2008, Lewis joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that which aired on all major U.S. television networks.[53] Two days later, she made a surprise performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, performing "DontGetIt" alongside rapper Lil Wayne. On 15 October 2008, Lewis won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love".[54] "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in physical CD format and digitally. It was released on 3 November 2008 and reached number five in its first week of release in the UK.[55] In addition, Lewis re-released her album Spirit, on 17 November 2008 in Europe. The version contains the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a studio version of her cover of Snow Patrol's "Run".[56] The album later went straight in at number one in the UK album charts. "Run" was also released as a download-only single in the United Kingdom, reaching number one. Lewis received three Grammy nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards on 3 December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. The video for Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", co-starring Chace Crawford, was released on 23 January 2009.[57] The single was only released in North America and peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 33 on the Pop 100.[citation needed] 2009-present: Forthcoming second album
Lewis's second album is planned for a worldwide release in November 2009.[58] Production was said to have begun in February 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder,[59] Justin Timberlake[60] and Timbaland.[61] Timberlake has contributed production and vocals to several songs,[60] and produced the album's first known success from recording sessions, "Don't Let Me Down", written by Timbaland's protegé James Fauntleroy and recorded at Chalice Studios.[62] Tedder stated in an interview that he and Lewis spent a week in a recording studio, where they produced two and a half songs.[59] He is also keen to work with Lewis again for a week or two in the time leading up to the album's release, when they both are free to do so. Two tracks produced by Tedder have been confirmed: "I Got U" and "Strangers".[63] Work began with Timbaland in April 2009 in Los Angeles.[61] Production and songwriting duo Xenomania are reported to have written five songs for Lewis's second album.[64] Ne-Yo has confirmed that he has written songs for the album,[65] and Will.i.am and Jay-Z are said to be working with Lewis on the album, which will contain ballads, racier tracks and dancefloor anthems.[66] Lewis expressed interest in working with Coldplay/Chris Martin to give the album a rockier edge,[67] and several demos are said to be influenced by Coldplay.[68] It has also been reported that Lewis has collaborated with Aqualung.[69] It has been reported that Lewis is planning a £15 million, 24 date world tour in 2010.[70] Her tour will be supporting her debut album Spirit and her second studio album. Personal lifeLewis lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately ten years old.[19] A vegetarian since she was 12,[71] Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008,[72] and again in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen.[73] She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008.[74] On October 9 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open the Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. Lewis also announced that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories. She also stated whilst at the Grammy Awards that she is in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.[75] Discography
Awards and nominations
See also
References
External links
Categories: English female singers | English pop singers | English rhythm and blues singers | English singer-songwriters | English soul singers | Black British musicians | Sony BMG artists | J Records artists | The X Factor contestants | Sylvia Young Theatre School pupils | Former students of the BRIT School | Ivor Novello Award winners | Reality show winners | People from Islington | English people of Irish descent | English people of Guyanese descent | English people of Welsh descent | English vegetarians | 1985 births | Living people |
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