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During London’s 8-minute show at the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, fans were thrilled by the performance of a young British singer with the famous rock guitarist Jimmy Page.Who was that curly-haired singer?
She’s Leona Lewis, a 23-year-old pop and R&B singer-songwriter, and the winner of the 2006 UK television talent show The X Factor.Her UK debut single(首张单曲唱片),A Moment Like This, broke a world record after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within 30 minutes.
Leona was a working-class girl from London, with a normal family, a steady boyfriend and a job as a receptionist when she tried out for the show.Her father was a part-time DJ, and there was always music in the house.From an early age, she was always jumping on the coffee table, singing along to Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.When she went to stage school, everyone else in her class was richer than she was.But she didn’t feel left out.She just focused on her singing.Lewis wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and won a number of talent competitions.After leaving school, Lewis took a number of jobs to pay to get into a recording studio, including waitressing and several receptionist job.
Her efforts finally paid off.Her first album, Spirit, released in several countries in 2008, went to No.1 in the US, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Swizerland.A second album is planned for release in 2009, and it has been reported that she is planning a £15 million(190 million Yuan)world tour in 2010.
Leona has succeeded before everyone’s eyes, turning from a pretty 21-year-old in 2006 into a star singer in 2008.But to some degree, she still seems to be the girl next door.Leona has her feet on the ground.She hasn’t changed.She is very polite and respectful, but she knows what she wants.
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