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. By Ciar Byrne

The Oprah Effect

"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 Beyonce.

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.