Leona Lewis holds onto the top spot - Nov 12 2007
X-Factor winner Leona Lewis is celebrating the biggest selling song of the year after holding on to the top spot in the UK singles chart.

The 22-year-old’s hit, Bleeding Love, again saw off competition from veteran boy band Take That to remain at number one for a third week.

It is the second time Leona has released the biggest selling single of the year - in 2006 her single A Moment Like This claimed the title after becoming Christmas number one.

Bleeding Love sold 111,978 copies over the last seven days - 72,398 more than Take That’s single Rule The World, which remains in second spot.

Westlife’s single Home slipped from third to fifth, with rap record Apologise, by Timbaland, and Mark Ronson’s reworking of Valerie both moving up to third and fourth place respectively.

Sugababes’ former number one hit About You Now remains at six, followed by Craig Davis’s Hot Stuff (Let’s Dance) which soared 12 places to seventh.

Britney Spears’ Gimme More slipped a place to eight, while No One, by Alicia Keys, and the Freemasons’ Uninvited complete the top ten.

In the album charts, Westlife’s new release, Back Home, went straight in a number one with legendary 70s rockers The Eagles slipping to second place with Long Road out of Eden.

Whitney Houston’s The Ultimate Collection climbed two spots to three, while McFly’s Greatest Hits, a new entry, and Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss complete the top five.


X Factor’s Leona lights up West End - Nov 8 2007
X Factor star Leona Lewis lit up Britain’s most famous shopping street when she switched on the Christmas lights.

The singer, whose debut album is due for release next week, brightened up Oxford Street when she flicked the switch.

Thousands of revellers enjoyed the switch-on party with live performances by Westlife and the cast of West End musical Mary Poppins. The theme of this year’s lights is the Disney Christmas film, Enchanted.

Lewis said: "I’m really excited about switching on the lights. Just really honoured that I was asked to do it. I’m going to spend Christmas at home chilling out with my family. I’m going to open my presents and then just veg out. I had a wonderful Christmas last year. The number one was the best present ever and since then I’ve just been on a high. I’ve just got back from the X Factor tour and I’ve been writing and working on the album too.

Her album, Spirit, is released next Monday.

Lewis said: "Making the album was a lot of fun. It was hard work because I recorded so many songs and then we had to whittle it down, which was the really hard part."

She said she is still working on which song is going to be the next single. "There are no plans to tour at the moment but hopefully in the future I will be. Hopefully after this album I will be able to get back into the studio and produce more songs," she added.

After the lights were switched on, Lewis, who won X Factor last year, headed to the premiere of Disney’s Enchanted.

Westlife performed their 2001 number one hit World Of Our Own and also Home from their new album, Back Home, which is released next week. The band said they were really excited to be at the event. "Every Christmas we have a new album out so it’s always a very busy time for us but also an exciting time too," they said.

They added that they are taking next year off because they are "knackered" and want to to prepare for the future.