It's been a long time since a British woman topped the US pop charts, but Leona Lewis' amazing voice, passionate stage presence and her modest, unaffected behavior seem to have done the trick. The British soul diva won the hearts of her American audience and as a result, her first single, "Bleeding Love", hit number one in the US pop charts. The last British pop star to achieve the prestigious position was Kim Wilde, who topped the charts in 1987 with a version of The Supremes hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On". Lewis, who won Britain's most popular talent show "The X Factor", the British version of "American Idol", gained widespread acknowledgment in the States and is now headed towards a prodigious career on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Hackney-born singer, who once used to work as a receptionist, shot to international fame and achieved what other famous Brits such as Madonna or more recently Amy Winehouse didn't. She it set to top American charts and gain affirmation in the notoriously tough-to-crack American market. Let's not forget that the much-acclaimed but extremely controversial Amy Winehouse debuted at No.7 in the US charts with her jazz hit album "Back to Black" and never managed to top the singles chart despite being awarded a handful of Grammys. Lewis, on the other hand, received four Brit Award nominations but failed to win any of her country's top musical distinctions. Her Brit Awards Roberto Cavalli purple dress however was successfully auctioned for charity by Sport Relief and raised no less than £3,200.

Leona Lewis' "good girl" reputation received a crucial endorsement from US talk show queen Oprah, who upon hearing Leona perform live on her show exclaimed "you're the real-deal girl. Talk about a star is born". Oprah's seal of approval contributed to a surge in download sales for the Brit's "Bleeding Love" single, while the Hot 100 chart also counts radio airplay. For her commercial success, Leona can thank her mentor and infamous "Mr. Nasty" American idol judge and music mogul Simon Cowell, who flew the singer to the states and secured for her a £5 million album contract with the rich and famous Clive Davis. As a result, she had the chance to record with some of the finest US producers, and it all paid off just nicely: "Bleeding Love" became the biggest-selling British single last year, and Leona is headed for glory, fame and fortune.