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Click above for exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of Lewis' video for "Bleeding Love" and find out what she sings to warm up.

After winning "X Factor," the U.K. version of American Idol, in 2006, Leona Lewis was hailed as a diva for a new generation: a big-haired, big-voiced prodigy with Mariah's range and Whitney's soul. In England, the Londoner is already a big star, and when Clive Davis showcased her at his Grammy party, Lewis was shocked to find that her idol, Houston, knew her name. "Everyone on my iPod was there!" she says.

PLAY THIS "Bleeding Love"

Lewis mined Nineties-style poppy R&B for her debut, Spirit, which features songwriters Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey) and Max Martin (Kelly Clarkson). The result is a collection of dramatic power ballads ("Here I Am") and midtempo tunes laden with synths and strings ("Take a Bow"). Musically, Lewis is influenced by her dad, a DJ who schooled her on Minnie Riperton and Michael Jackson.

Lewis' family nearly went broke on her classical-vocal training, and at seventeen she left school to pursue music, working as a Pizza Hut waitress. After charming Simon Cowell, though, Lewis broke a string of U.K. chart records. Her 2-million-selling Spirit, out in the U.S. in April, has soared thanks to "Bleeding Love," a tender ballad that shows off her gymnastic vocals. But despite her growing profile, the most diva thing about her is also the most innocent. "Disney made a doll of me: Princess Leona," she says. "That was surreal." CARYN GANZ

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Photograph by David Tiltow

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