Leona Lewis

  Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British musician, singer model, actress, model and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she studied at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third season of The X Factor in 2006 and was awarded the PS1 million contract to record with Syco Music. The winner's song which was a cover version of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" reached the top spot at the top spot for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. Lewis signed a deal for five albums with the United States with Clive Davis and her record label J Records. In February 2007, Spirit (2007) became Lewis's debut studio album. It reached platinum status 10 times over in the UK and was the fourth-most-sold album of the 2000s. According to the Official Charts Company, Spirit is the top-selling debut album by an artist of female gender in the 21st century. The first single, "Bleeding Love", was a seven-week standout at the top of the charts in the UK and was the top-selling single of the year 2007. In the US it was the best-selling single of 2008 and Lewis was named the as the Best New Artist by Billboard the same year. In 2009, she released her second studio album, Echo, and recorded the theme song, "I See You", for the film Avatar.