Pop/R&B beauty LEONA LEWIS has made history by becoming the first British solo artist ever to score a number one in the U.S. album chart with a debut LP, according Nielsen SoundScan. The singer, discovered on “The X Factor,” Simon Cowell’s British talent show, leads the list with opening-week sales of 205,000 copies. âSpirit,â which has already sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide in the last six months, saw off competition from last week’s (ends11Apr08) number one, Troubadour by George Gait, which only sold 59,000 copies. Last year, Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” set a record for the highest bow by a British female’s solo debut when it entered at No. 7, although that set had not been Winehouse’s first British release. The accomplishment makes Lewis the first British solo act to top the legendary countdown since Rod Stewart released Still The Same… Great Rock Classics Of Our Time in 2006. The release of “Spirit” stirs an 11% rise for Lewis’ lead single, “Bleeding Love,” which returns to No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs with 223,000 sold for the week (2-1). The song has sold 1.1 million copies since U.S. downloads became available in late December, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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