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{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
|Name = Leona Lewis
|Name = Leona Lewis
|Img= Leona.jpg
|Img= leona.jpg
|Img_capt =
|Img_capt =
|Background = singer
|Background = solo_singer
|Birth_name = Leona Louise Lewis
|Birth_name = Leona Louise Lewis
|Alias = Leona
|Alias = Leona

Revision as of 19:23, 23 January 2007

Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis (born April 3 1985 in Islington, London) is an English singer and songwriter, who was the winner of the third series of the The X Factor. She is the first female winner of the show.

Her debut single, "A Moment like This" was released on 20 December 2006. The single was also available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It is believed to have broken a world record, by being downloaded 50,000 times within 30 minutes of being available online.[1]

Biography

Leona Lewis was born in Islington, London, in 1985 to Joe and Marie Lewis.[2][3] She is the middle child of three, with two brothers, Kyle, who is younger, and Bradley, who is older. They grew up in Highbury and went to school at Ambler Primary School in Finsbury Park.[4] Lewis wrote her first song at the age of 12, and at the age of 13 she won the Lady D under-18 talent show at the Hackney Empire. She attended the Sylvia Young Stage School and the Brit School. Although her big passion is singing, she is also a keen dancer and actor. Before auditioning for The X Factor, Lewis recorded an album of her own songs called Twilight, but the album was never released.

Lewis now lives in Hackney. She has been with her fiance Lou Al-Chamaa for over four years. Prior to winning The X Factor, she worked as a receptionist for Head & Short Chiropodists in Stoke Newington high street. She also worked in Pizza Hut as a waitress.

The X Factor

See also: The X Factor UK and Ireland series 3

In 2006, she 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 £1million recording contract.[5] She was mentored by Simon Cowell.

During the show, her vocal talents were consistently highly praised by all three judges (Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne), and on occasions was compared with divas such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. All three judges also commented on how the British music industry needed a singer like her, and that her performances were world class. Louis Walsh remarked that her performance of "I Will Always Love You" was as good as Whitney Houston's version. In week 3 (Big Band Week), Lewis sang "Summertime", and her performance is considered one of her best throughout the whole contest. Following it, Simon Cowell said, "You are, absolutely, the best contestant I have ever had across any of these shows, and that was an amazing performance."

The only criticism Lewis received, both by the judges and in the press, was related to her confidence. On the 9 December show, Cowell remarked that of all the past The X Factor performances, her performance of "Over the Rainbow" was the best he had ever witnessed. Cowell also commented throughout the show that Lewis's lack of awareness as to how good she is, is what makes her special. 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."[6] Lewis went on to win the competition, receiving approximately 4,800,000 (60%) of the 8,000,000+ votes cast.[5]

Post-X Factor career

One million copies of the winner's single were pre-ordered by stores, making it an almost certain number one before it was released, although at the time, the winner of the show had not been announced and it was unknown who would be releasing the single, a source of controversy for those who suggest it is the show which sold the single, and not Leona. On 24 December, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's first single, "A Moment like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold approximately 571,000 copies, beating Take That's single "Patience", and outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined. It has been reported that one chain was "shifting more than 100 of her CDs a minute".[7] The single became the biggest downloaded song in 2006, beating Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Leona has also reached the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart.

It has been reported that Lewis will fly to America to meet with Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records, to try to land a £5 million record contract.[8] Davis has been responsible for the success of Whitney Houston. Houston is reported to have said that Lewis will be an international star and has offered to mentor her.[9]

A four-track download EP, "It's All for You", that she recorded before entering The X Factor went on sale online on 18 December 2006.[10] However it was banned from several online stores by her record label, Sony BMG,[citation needed] meaning the single could not chart.

Lewis will reportedly make a performance on the upcoming series of American Idol to help her launch her career in the US.[11]

Gary Barlow is now reported to be writing a song for Lewis, following his praise for the singer during the final of The X Factor.[6]

Lewis's debut album (though no tracks have yet been announced) now has a rumoured release date, being 12 March 2007.[12] However, Lewis herself has said we will not hear any new material from her until late 2007 as she will be writing new songs in Los Angeles.[13]

On 16 January 2007, Lewis's single "A Moment like This" was shortlisted for the British Single award at the 2007 Brit Awards.

Voice

It has been said many a time that Lewis has amazing vocal ability. From just her performances on The X Factor we know that she has a four octave vocal range, as she is capable of reaching notes that are in the fourth octave of her range.

  • Highest (known note): F#6
  • Lowest (known note): Ab3

Discography

Singles

Year Single Album Chart positions
UK IE
2006 "A Moment like This" TBA 1 1
2006 "It's All for You" Template:Fn - - -

Template:Fnb "It's All for You" was banned from stores by Sony BMG and was unable to chart.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Blackburn, Jen (17 December 2006). "Leona breaks world record". The Sun. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Leona's family factor". The Daily Mirror. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Lewis is also her mother's maiden name, according to England & Wales, Birth Index: 1984-2004. [1]
  4. ^ "X-tra special family Christmas for Leona". Islington Gazette. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b "Leona crowned winner of X Factor". BBC News. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Gary Barlow to pen track for Leona". Digital Spy. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Leona's single is 'selling fast'". CBBC Newsround. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Leona lines up £5 million deal". Digital Spy. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Whitney tips Leona for stardom". ITV News. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Twinkle twinkle little stars". The Daily Record. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Leona Lewis to perform on 'American Idol'". Life Style Extra. 8 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Leona Lewis - New Album TBA". Retrieved 2007-01-11.
  13. ^ "Leona writes off this year". The Daily Record. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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