Friday, March 28, 2008
Leona Lewis: First Brit in Two Decades as No 1 in the
Billboard Hot 100; Gets Good Looks from Italian Ancestry
The ANNOTICO Report
Leona Lewis the
2006 Winner of the "X Factor", the Brit version of "American
Idol" became the first British woman in more than two decades to top
the US singles chart. She has embarked on a US /World Interviw Tour, that
started with Oprah Winfrey, and NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
and will include Regis & Kelly, Ellen DeGeneres Show,
ABC's Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel's late night
talk show.
Leona was born in the London district of Islington to mother Maria Lewis,
a social worker of Italian-Irish descent, anf father
Aural Josiah, a Guyanese Afro-Caribbean youth worker. At the age of five,
she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and later the Italia Conti
Academy, and the BRIT School.
The Oprah Effect: America's
Next Big Thing
Leona Lewis, the TV talent show winner from Hackney, yesterday became the
first British woman in more than two decades to top the US singles chart
Independent - London,England,UK
By Ciar Byrne
Friday, 28 March 2008
"Wow, wow, wow... Talk about a star is born. You're the real deal, girl."
It was with these words that Oprah Winfrey bestowed her blessing
on Leona Lewis.
Following a live performance on her chat show last week by the talent show
winner from Hackney, east London, the all-powerful Winfrey advised viewers
they could download Lewis's single "Bleeding Love" from iTunes,
or buy it from Target record stores.
Americans did so in their droves and yesterday Lewis's single shot to No
1 in the Billboard Hot 100, knocking Usher from pole position " the first
British woman to top the US singles charts since Kim Wilde in 1987 with
her cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
Lewis, 22, a former receptionist and pizza waitress, who has earned comparisons
with Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, is also the first winner
of The X Factor to make it big on the other side of the Atlantic.
When she won the ITV talent contest in 2006, the judge Simon Cowell said,
in an uncharacteristically gushing critique: "For every little girl who
dreams about being a pop star while they're working in an office, you're
a role model."
But British music critics have not always been so kind, dismissing Lewis's
music as too mainstream. Despite being nominated in four categories at
the Brit Awards last month, Lewis walked away empty-handed.
The Billboard endorsement might force some of those who have sneered at
Lewis's success in the UK to revise their opinion.
Only two other UK female artists in history have topped the US chart with
their debut release - Petula Clark in 1965 with "Downtown" and Sheena Easton
in 1981 with "Morning Train (Nine to Five)".
Lewis has even trumped Amy Winehouse, who, despite winning five Grammy
Awards, has not yet achieved a No 1 in the US. It is Cowell's involvement
above all which has helped to catapult Lewis to fame in the US.
As a judge on American Idol, the US version of The X Factor, Cowell is
one of the most high-profile Brits in America. Through his record label,
Syco, in tandem with Sony BMG, he has the first option on all winning acts
to emerge from The X Factor.
While previous winners have sunk without trace, Cowell spotted something
different in Lewis, describing her as the most talented singer he has heard
in more than a decade, and did the groundwork for her to become a global
star.
In 2006, Lewis enjoyed a Christmas No 1 hit with "A Moment Like This",
which broke the world record by selling 50,000 downloads in its first half-hour
on sale and went on to sell 600,000 copies in its first week.
Realising that her success was dependent on the right material, Cowell
contacted Clive Davis, the founder of J Records also part of Sony BMG
and told him: "You might have the next Whitney Houston on your hands."
Davis, the man who discovered Houston and Alicia Keys, agreed with Cowell's
judgement: "I was immediately knocked out by her range, her versatility,
and the pure beauty of her voice. She is an artist who will be a true star
for many years to come."
Lewis signed a recording contract with Syco in the UK and with J Records
and Syco in the US, earning a reputed ?5m advance, and started work on
her debut album, Spirit, working with musicians who have previously
played with Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Beyonc?.
For nine months, Lewis went quiet as far as her fans were concerned. Then,
in September 2007, she re-emerged at a VIP music industry event in London,
where she previewed some of her new material, including the single "Bleeding
Love". She went on to premiere the single on her old stamping ground, The
X Factor, on 20 October last year. Two days later, the track became the
biggest-selling week-one single of 2007, shifting 218,805 copies in seven
days.
In November, Lewis's Spirit was released in Britain and became the
fastest-selling debut album of all time in the UK, with 375,872 copies
sold in its first week, breaking the previous record set by the Arctic
Monkeys, who sold 363,735 copies of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What
I'm Not in January 2006. This week's Billboard triumph suggests that when
Spirit is released in the US on 8 April, Lewis will enjoy a similar level
of success.
As Lewis told Winfrey, she was always destined to sing. "I remember singing
into my hairbrush and every chance I could I'd be doing a show or performing
in the front room for my family."
Tall and slender, with a tousled mane of brown hair and sultry green eyes,
Lewis's stunning looks come from her half-Italian, half-Irish ballet teacher
mother and her Guyanese father.
As a young girl in Hackney, Lewis already had one eye on stardom. She attended
the Sylvia Young Theatre School and later the Brit School in Croydon, a
crucible for the current generation of young British music talent the
state school counts Kate Nash, Adele Adkins and Winehouse among its alumni.
At the age of 15, she sent a demo tape of herself singing Minnie Riperton's
"Loving You" to Sony in America, but at that time the record giant failed
to sign her up. After leaving school, Lewis worked as a waitress at the
Stamford Hill branch of Pizza Hut and as a receptionist, to earn money
to pay for studio time.
A teetotal, animal-loving vegetarian, Lewis still lives in a rented flat
in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa an elctrician. But for the
rest of 2008, Lewis is unlikely to be spending much time at home. She kicked
off her assault on the US last month with a performance at Clive Davis's
pre-Grammys party, which won her critical acclaim and a profile in US Weekly.
Over the next few weeks, she will continue her promotional tour of the
US, which has already included an appearance on NBC's Tonight Show with
Jay Leno, with interviews scheduled for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, ABC's
flagship breakfast programme Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel's late
night talk show. Then it is on to Australia, one of the 10 other countries
where "Bleeding Love" has topped the charts, followed by Asia.
All the overseas attention will do Lewis no harm back in the UK. An HMV
spokesman, Gennaro Castaldo, said: "There was always a slight cynicism
over artists that emerged through the reality TV process, but they've developed
a truly global star here, not least because Simon Cowell has such a massive
profile in the States that he really can open doors. Few people would dispute
that she does look amazing; she has an incredible voice; and she's working
with the right recording industry people over there, so if you give her
the right material, that's a winning formula in the US.
"It's a virtuous circle which will then spill back to the UK. If there's
anyone with an outstanding cynical attitude towards her, this will convince
them she is more than an X Factor winner."
Despite finding her music "very safe" and "overwhelmingly mainstream",
the Billboard contributor Paul Sexton agrees that Lewis has undoubtedly
hit the big time. "There's no denying she's a big star now," he said. "Getting
to No 1 in America is a very big endorsement, whatever you think of her
music."
He was surprised that Lewis did not win at the Brits. "What that did is
emphasise that the Brits are not stage-managed. Everyone expected her to
walk away with at least a couple of awards. The performance she gave was
powerful on the night."
Of Lewis's US success, he added: "Simon Cowell has become a huge celebrity
in his own right on American Idol; that has got to be a huge factor in
promoting a new act."
Cowell said he was "incredibly proud" of Leona. "What she has achieved
in the last year is simply amazing." Speaking on Winfrey's programme, Cowell
described his prot?g?e as "one of the nicest people I have ever met in
this business".
In the first of a series of blogs on the US teen website Cosmogirl, Lewis
lived up to this description with a breathless account of her US tour.
"I'm so excited to be able to spend some time in the US and showcase my
work to everyone here. It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a little
girl and I just can't wait! Thanks to everyone for the support so far.
It's just incredible and I appreciate it so, so much."
She may have been compared with some of pop's greatest divas, but, thus
far at least, Lewis exudes the charm of a pleasant and modest young woman,
albeit with a star quality and stunning voice that has propelled her to
international fame.
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[Formerly Italy at St Louis]
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