Leona Lewis has teased that her first album in 11 years will be released this year, marking her musical comeback after a decade away from the spotlight. The X Factor winner, who shot to global fame on the ITV show 20 years ago, has been working on the project for years.
From X Factor winner to global star
Following her X Factor win, Leona picked up two MOBO Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, and two World Music Awards. She has also been nominated for six BRIT Awards and three Grammys. After recording five albums, the Bleeding Love singer seemed to disappear from the spotlight completely.
Her last album, I Am, was released in September 2015. A 14-date UK tour followed, and she fulfilled her dream of performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Health struggles and a break from performing
A year later, the Hackney-born singer moved to New York after being cast in the Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. She landed the role of Grizabella, originally made famous by Elaine Paige. However, after her contract ended in October 2016, she took a break from performing.
Leona had been suffering from chronic fatigue and "really bad pains" in her neck and throat. In 2017, she announced she had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Speaking to Glamour magazine at the time, she said: "When I was first diagnosed, I was absolutely devastated. I felt very scared and alone until I began to research and understand how others were living with the disease. When my symptoms were the most severe, I could hear my body telling me that I needed to slow down. I just got to a point where I wanted to start over physically and emotionally."
Life away from music
Though she continued working, appearing on tracks with James Morrison and Smokey Robinson, and supporting Gary Barlow on his All The Hits tour in 2021, Leona pressed pause on releasing new music of her own. She ventured into acting, landing her first TV role in Sony Crackle series The Oath, voiced London Lilly in Snoop Dogg's Doggyland, and starred in animated Christmas film Glisten and the Merry Mission.
Leona, who splits her time between London and Los Angeles, co-founded a plant-based coffee shop in LA called Coffee and Plants. She hopes to open one in London in the future. In her personal life, she split from childhood sweetheart Lou Al-Chamaa in 2010 and met German choreographer Dennis Jauch on her Labyrinth tour. The couple married in a Tuscan vineyard wedding in July 2019 and welcomed a daughter, Carmel Allegra, who has just turned four.
New album details
Now 41, Leona is set to make her musical comeback. Though no release date has been set, she has been teasing fans with behind-the-scenes studio clips. Speaking to The Sun, she revealed: "I've actually been in and out of the studio for the past couple of years. It's been a real labour of love."
Leona taught herself to play the bass and guitar so she could write, produce, and play the instruments herself. The new album is thought to be released later this year.
