Leona Lewis debuts at No. 1, sets U.S. chart record

There appears to be no stopping Simon Cowell, the sharp-tongued judge of "American Idol" and man behind U.K. singing competition "The X Factor." His latest discovery, British R&B singer Leona Lewis, has debuted at No. 1 on this week's U.S. pop chart, selling 205,000 copies of her Syco/J Records debut, "Spirit," according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Lewis, who's been heavily endorsed by gossip blogger Perez Hilton and last month appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," has become the first British solo artist to ever make her debut atop the Billboard charts, according to the magazine's website.

Lewis has already secured a No. 1 single in the United States with her "Bleeding Love," and don't look for her momentum to slow. While she will likely be dethroned next week by another pop diva, Mariah Carey, Lewis is slated to appear on "American Idol" next week.

But don't call her a TV-made artist, said J Records head Clive Davis in a recent interview with The Times. "The TV aspect is irrelevant. I was impressed with [Leona] in the same way Whitney Houston or Alicia Keys auditioned for me. There's no connection with television with my getting involved with her. ... I don't think anyone in this country knows of 'The X Factor.'"

Lewis, who scored a record deal with Cowell's Syco Music after winning the 2006 edition of the series, said she was talked into auditioning for the televised talent competition. Lewis had been working odd jobs as a waitress and a receptionist, and was about to give up on her music career ambitions.

"I had watched the show, but I never thought I was going to go and do it," she said. "But someone said I should just try it, and it was an opportunity. At the end of the day, you should take every opportunity that comes your way."

Lewis' "Spirit" has an easy lead on this week's No. 2 album, George Strait's "Troubadour," which sold 59,000 copies in the runner-up position. Previously, Billboard notes that the highest chart post for a solo British female artist came from Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," which hit No. 7 when it was released last year. That album, however, was not Winehouse's debut, and only sold 51,000 copies when it was released.

Also of note, Lewis' smash single "Bleeding Love" sold a whopping 223,000 digital downloads this week. To date, Billboard reports that more than 1.1 million downloads of the song have been sold since it was released in December.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Leona Lewis: Superstar? If Clive, Oprah, Perez & Simon say so.

The time of Leona Lewis is upon us.

With her debut, "Spirit," being released today (April 8) on the heels of her No. 1 single, "Bleeding Love," expect a high debut for the U.K. newcomer. And when it does so, it will  be a triumph of old-school marketing tactics mixed with some reality-show magic.

And while Lewis' winning turn on "American Idol" -like "The X-Factor" won't mean much to citizens of the United States, her appearance on "Oprah" last month certainly does. To wit: With just seven total weeks on Billboard's Hot 100, the slow-building, Whitney Houston-influenced "Bleeding Love" has already topped the chart, and remains in the top five, having been relieved of its post last week by another Lewis influence, Mariah Carey. To date, the single has sold 724,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

And the last artist Oprah championed? Crooner Josh Groban, who only walked away with one of 2007's biggest albums.

The music biz, with album sales in 2008 once again facing a double-digit decline in CD sales, needs a new pop star. And Lewis looks to fill the bill. She's already been showcased at Clive Davis' star-launching pre-Grammy party in February, and "Bleeding Love," if not "Spirit," will be all over the 2009 Grammy Awards. But is Lewis A) worth the hype or B) even healthy for the music business?

The hype: When "Spirit" was released in the U.K. late last year, it topped the U.K. chart, and made headlines for becoming the fastest-selling in the the territory's history. On these shores, gossip blogger Perez Hilton deserves credit for spreading the gospel of Lewis, and has been championing the singer since last fall, declaring that the singer will "give you chills."  Lewis, a winner of Simon Cowell- produced "The X-Factor," has been compared to Houston by Cowell in the press, and the man releasing Lewis' album in the U.S., Clive Davis, is credited with making Houston a star.

Davis brought Lewis to the U.S. this winter, and the singer was the showcase of his annual pre-Grammy party. The show, and Leona's performance, is reviewed here, and the party has a rep for introducing future major label stars, be it Alicia Keys or Maroon 5. Aside from setting the industry abuzz for his new artist, the party presents new talent to a Grammy-centered audience, and is an early campaign for some future nominations.

Yay/nay? Lewis follows a formula, and it's one designed for non-offensive mass appeal. "Bleeding Love" is a diva anthem, and while it may not be on the level of Keys' "No One," it's glistening keyboard and heavily synthesized hip-hop groove do indeed make for a scorching slow-dance number. Lewis' vocals stop just short of Carey-like theatrics, but come with enough wails to please the "American Idol" audience. The lyrics, touching on the tortured excitement of a new love, are vague enough to inspire an easy crowd singalong.

So what's the problem? Most of the songs follow the same or similar formula. Even a more upbeat number, "Forgive Me," never really takes off, settling for glossy R&B production and light hip-hop flourishes. And the formula sounds forced on "Take A Bow," its shuffling beats distracting from what should have been a more organically constructed R&B song.

Lewis is a nice singer, but a pleasantly unremarkable one, which becomes all too apparent when she tackles "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face," a song popularized by Roberta Flack. She certainly doesn't embarrass herself, and it may have made for a nice moment on "Idol." But Lewis doesn't yet have the nuance to create a lasting impression, or prove yet that she's truly more than a singles artist.

And what it means: For all the talk of Web-driven artist development and much-ballyhooed "360-deal," the major label music business in 2008 is starting to look a lot like the TV business. Take a look at the top of Billboard charts. Reality show vets Day26 and Danity Kane are in the Top 5, and Miley Cyrus owns two albums inside the Top 30. Later this month we'll see the first single from Pussycat Dolls off-shot group Girlicious, and albums from the "Idol"-made Daughtry and Jordin Sparks are hovering around the Top 30.

Lewis continues the trend.

Her overseas success, and her early achievements in the U.S., are another victory for multi-platform artists. At a time when major labels have trimmed their rosters and their staff, Lewis represents a carefully handled safe bet. Lewis, and the string of "Idol" artists who have come before her, are representative of an extremely risk-averse major label climate, one where artist development means winning a contract on a television show.

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