What Is Leona Lewis’ Net Worth And Where Is She Now?
She blew us away with her angelic voice but what is Leona Lewis’ net worth and what has she been up to since her X Factor days?
X Factor stars blaze into existence but as we know many burn out without having had much success.
Then there’s the ones who will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. We’re thinking Emma Chawner…
Some, however ā the lucky few ā manage to keep burning bright long after their X Factor days are behind them.
Itās these stars that we actually forget appeared on the show. After all, who can believe that the boyband pop sensation One Direction actually placed third on the singing contest?
Leona Lewis was one of the fortunate stars whose voice alone was enough to keep her in the limelight after she won the show all the way back in 2006.
What Is Leona Lewis’ Net Worth?
Leona Lewis has a net worth ofĀ Ā£19 millionĀ ($24 million dollars).
Source/Instagram
How Did She Get There?
Leona Louise Lewis was born and raised in Islington, London England by her Welsh mother and Guyanese father.
Having always had a passion for singing, Leonaās parents ensured that their daughter could pursue her talent. They enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, the Ravenscourt Theatre School an the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.
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Although her parents were well-off, they have described how they made cutbacks to help their daughter achieve her dreams, paying until they could no longer afford it.
Leona wrote her first song when she was just 12 years old.
She Performed In The Lion King
Leona left the BRIT school at 17 to pursue her singing career. She began to write and record her own music, paid for by working as a receptionist and a Pizza Hut waitress.
At just 18, Leona gained a lead role inĀ The Lion KingĀ in Paris but she was forced to withdraw after she injured her back ice skating.
The singer then went on to record a demo album calledĀ TwilightĀ but she had no luck in gaining a record deal.
After having no luck trying to kickstart a career on her own, Leona thought it best to audition for the X Factor.
She said:
āI tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract. Thatās why I decided to audition for The X Factor. Itās programmes like these which provide the best place to showcase fresh new talent.ā
2006: She Auditions For X Factor
Leona auditioned for theĀ X FactorĀ in 2006 with her emotional performance of Over The Rainbow.
Source/YouTube
Belting her way through the competition, she sang her heart out to songs by Whitney, Kelly Clarkson and Mariah Carey. Making her way to the final to beat Ray Quinn with a whopping 60% of the vote, Leona won a record deal with Simon Cowell’s label Syco Music.
Her winners single was a cover of the Kelly Clarkson Song,Ā āA Moment Like Thisā which broke a world record after it was digitally downloaded more than 50,000 times in less than 30 minutes. The song was Christmas number one AND spent four consecutive weeks at the number one spot in the charts.
Life After The Show
In 2007, Leona signed a Ā£5 million contract with American record label J Records.
The record labelās owner Clive Davis and Simon Cowell said that they would work together to create Leonaās debut album āSpiritā.
The album entered the UK and Irish charts at number one and became the fastest-selling debut in both countries even reaching number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland!
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For any European artist, the real challenge is making it in America but Leona did just that. Adding two more tracks for the US release, she became the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album in the US.
On the album wasĀ the single āBleeding Loveā which stayed at number one in the UK charts for seven weeks and became the biggest-selling single of 2007.
2014: From Stage To Screen
In 2013, it was announced that Leona would star in the 1980ās inspired film musicalĀ Walking on Sunshine.Ā
She portrayed the role of Elena, a friend to the main character Taylor. The film received scathing reviews as Rotten Tomatoes:
āCrass and calculated ā and a poor substitute for the jukebox musicals it attempts to emulate.ā
Still, if youāre a fan ofĀ Mamma MiaĀ or on a girlās weekend, it’s definitely worth a watch.
Image Source/Wikipedia
2015: She Left Simonās Label To Sign With Universal Musicās Island Records
Alongside the likes of Drake, Nikki Minaj and Jessie J, Leona signed to Universal Records.
The singer later revealed that she left Syco after āseveral yearsā of consideration. She divulged that when she originally mentioned that she wanted to leave, she was threatened with the public being told that she had been dropped.
But further creative differences meant finally caused her to leave. she admitted:
āI was asked to make a record that would not have been true to myself. By all means as an artist in this climate, I was thankful to even get the chance to make another record. But I cannot make music that does not speak to my soul, and as scary as it seemed, I could no longer compromise myself, and so I decided to leaveā
2016: She Made Her Broadway Debut
In March 2016, Leona headlines Cirque du Soleilās āOne Night got One Dropā performance in Las Vegas.
Turning to Broadway, Leona made her Broadway debut playing Grizabella in theĀ CatsĀ musical although she left the role after just 4 months.
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She later left Island Records because of āsomething that didnāt clickā.
2018-Present:
Leona collaborated with Calum Scott on the song āYou Are The Reasonā as well as Pitbull on a song for the film Gotti.
In 2019, the singer acted in the American TV seriesĀ The Oath,Ā a series about a world of gangs who seek to shed light on corrupt and secret societies.
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Source/Instagram
Her Activism
Leona has been a vegetarian since she was 12 years old, becoming vegan in 2012.
She was even voted PETAās sexiest vegetarian in 2008 (yes, that is a real award) became Europeās Sexiest Vegetarian in 2009. The singer is an advocate for World Animal Protection as well as a patron for the Hopefield Animal Sanctuary.
What Is Her Relationship Status?
Leona got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Dennis Jauch after eight years together!
Source/Instagram
She teased the news on social media as she showed of her rock on holiday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The lovebirds met in 2010 as he worked as a backing dancer on one of her tours.
Although the pair make sure their relationship is kept behind the scenes, Leona has spoken about how they make long-distance work.
She said:
āBefore, I thought I wanted to be young and single, then once I was I realized it wasnāt all it was cracked up to be,ā
āWeāre together, but because we both travel so much we have to make a huge effort to see one another. If we are within an hour of each other one of us will jump on a plane to see the other. I think the most unexpected meeting place was in Romania.ā
We canāt wait to see the wedding photographs!
Source/Instagram