Leona Lewis Picture and Photo Gallery:

Leona Lewis's music career has been short, but charmed.

The London singer rocketed to fame in 2006 when she took the top prize on X Factor, the British precursor to American Idol. Lewis had reportedly considered giving up her music career to attend college, before being persuaded by her boyfriend to audition for the television music talent show.

After being taken under the wings of notoriously fickle judge Simon Cowell music mogul Clive Davis, Lewis was soon being touted as the next Mariah Carey.

With the US debut of her 2008 single, "Bleeding Love," Lewis was well on her way to living up to the hype.