Leona Lewis - Profile

Birth name Leona Louise Lewis
Born 3 April 1985, Hackney, London, England
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Voice type(s) Mezzo-soprano
Years active 2006 - present
Label(s) Sony BMG, Syco, J Records

Leona Lewis was born in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, to parents Aural Josiah Lewis, an Afro-Caribbean Guyanese youth worker, and Maria Lewis (also née Lewis), a Welsh social worker. At the age of five, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and later the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School. There she learned guitar and piano and also worked hard to write her own songs in order to be taken seriously as an accomplished musician.

Lewis wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and won a number of talent competitions.[10] After leaving school, Lewis took a number of jobs to pay to get into a recording studio, including waitressing and several receptionist jobs.

She wrote, recorded and produced a number of songs including a demo album called Twilight. When she was fifteen years old, 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."

Unable to secure a contract, Lewis considered placing her music career on hold to attend university, before her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor.

Leona lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately ten years old.

A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008.

Lewis is a close friend of Sugababe Keisha Buchanan, to whom she introduced Buchanan's current boyfriend.

Discography
Album
2007 Spirit

Single
2006 "A Moment Like This"
2007 "Bleeding Love" [click here for lyric ]
2008 "Better In Time" [ click here for lyric ] [ click here for music ]
2008 "Footprints in the Sand"
2008 "Forgive Me"
2008 "Just Stand Up!"