Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music.

In 2011, Lewis released the single "Collide", a collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii, and her debut extended play, Hurt: The EP.

Leona Louise Lewis was born on 3 April 1985, in Islington, London, England,[2] to a father of Afro-Guyanese descent and a mother with Welsh, Irish and Italian ancestry.

By then, she had already begun to write and record her own material, and she worked as a receptionist at a solicitor's office and as a Pizza Hut waitress in order to fund the studio sessions.

[4] At 18, Lewis secured a lead role in The Lion King theatre show in Paris; however, she withdrew after injuring her back while she was ice-skating.

[6] Although the album was never released commercially, Lewis performed a couple of the tracks live on BBC Radio 1 music station in 2004.

[7] Another demo album was recorded under license from UEG Entertainment, Best Kept Secret, which have reportedly claimed to have spent £70,000 trying to launch Lewis's career with no success.

[11] Despite being released on 17 December, "A Moment Like This" became the second best selling single in the United Kingdom in 2006,[12] and it has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments of over 600,000 copies.

[15][16][17] A press release described how Cowell and Davis would work together in a "first-of-its-kind" partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, Spirit.

[36][37] It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States.

[39] Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity.

[51] Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder,[52] Justin Timberlake,[53] Max Martin,[54] Arnthor Birgisson,[55] Kevin Rudolf,[56] and John Shanks.

[64] The single was released on 15 September 2009,[65][66] peaking at number two in the UK,[67] and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.

[70] Another usage of Lewis's album can be found in "My Hands", which was used in the international release of the Square Enix video game Final Fantasy XIII.

[71] In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

[74] Lewis performed a 13-piece set list at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May 2010, including songs from Spirit and Echo.

[89] For the album, Lewis worked with numerous writers and producers including Ammo, Jonas Quant, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T Smith, Al Shux, Steve Robson,[90] Dallas Austin,[91] Rico Love[92] and Ne-Yo.

[104][105] Following the announcement that Lewis would be an ambassador, she performed a special Live Lounge at the Hackney Empire, with a reggae version of "Better in Time", which incorporated Rihanna's "Man Down", and a cover of Labrinth's "Let the Sun Shine".

[126] On 26 September 2015, Lewis appeared as a special guest at the Nashville concert on Taylor Swift's The 1989 World Tour, where the pair performed "Bleeding Love" as a duet.

[144] In December 2020, Lewis sang alongside Smokey Robinson, Tori Kelly and Sam Fischer on a cover of "What The World Needs Now", with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross.

In August 2021, Lewis featured alongside singer James Morrison on the debut album of songwriter Diane Warren, on a song titled "Grow Old with Me".

Music critic Neil McCormick, of The Daily Telegraph, has praised Lewis's technical skills: "Her mezzo-soprano range allows her to take melodies from luxurious low notes to high-flying falsetto, gliding with elegant power and impressive control through all kinds of fluctuations and modulations".

[158] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic added, "Lewis can hit [high belted] notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax....

[160] In the same vein, Slant described Lewis's vocals as "technically unimpeachable" in a review of her album Echo, but criticised them for "lacking any warmth or emotional expression".

[167] In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a seven-figure sum from Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale.

[181] Lewis headlined Cirque du Soleil's One Night for One Drop performance in Las Vegas in March 2016, to help to raise funds and awareness for critical water issues worldwide.

[185] Lewis and MTV Staying Alive partnered with Kiehl's to create a Creamy Eye Treatment, with £10 from every product sold going towards educating young people in preventing HIV/AIDS.

[186] Moreover, she supports (RED)'s Global Fund to end AIDS, and in association with the app Calm contributed narration of a sleep story, thus providing 100,000 people with life-saving HIV medication.

[195] Furthermore, Lewis sang alongside Smokey Robinson, Tori Kelly and Sam Fischer on a cover of "What The World Needs Now", with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross.

[145] Lewis also continued to raise money, via Cameo, for Hopefield Animal Sanctuary and RED on World Aids Day, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.