Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of the ITV talent show The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
Lewis's success continued with the release of her debut studio album, Spirit (2007), which was certified 10× platinum in the UK and became the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s and one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. The lead single, "Bleeding Love", spent seven weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart and was Britain's best-selling single of 2007. Her second studio album, Echo (2009), entered at the top of the UK Albums Chart.