{"id":89894,"date":"2025-08-24T16:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T16:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/89894\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T16:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T16:44:13","slug":"leona-lewis-snubbed-by-own-daughter-3-before-huge-career-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/89894\/","title":{"rendered":"Leona Lewis snubbed by own daughter, 3, before huge career move"},"content":{"rendered":"

As X Factor winner Leona Lewis gets set to take Las Vegas by storm, she chats about becoming a mum, music and making a difference – and being snubbed for another megastar<\/p>\n

13:00, 23 Aug 2025Updated 13:19, 23 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

\"LeonaSinger Leona Lewis is about to make her dream come true with her huge new role(Image: Dave Benett\/Getty Images for evi)<\/p>\n

Catapulted to stardom almost 20 years ago on The X Factor , Leona Lewis<\/a>\u2019s life changed in an instant. A sweet and shy 21-year-old from Hackney, London, she blew the judges away with her rendition of Over The Rainbow and the rest is history. She went on to become a Grammy-nominated singing sensation, selling over 40 million records worldwide with hits like Bleeding Love and Run .<\/p>\n

Now, hot off the back of being honoured with an OBE<\/a>, mum-of-one Leona, 40, is getting ready for her first-ever Las Vegas residency and working on exciting new music, which she is producing for the first time. \u201cI\u2019m very excited and scared,\u201d she giggles, talking about the months ahead. \u201cBut more excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll headline Voltaire at The Venetian \u2013 where Kylie Minogue had her own debut residency. Leona says it\u2019s been a long-held dream and she was inspired by one of her own musical heroes.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Sarah Jessica Parker breaks Carrie’s rule of no flats in these must-have autumn boots<\/a>\"LeonaLeona is preparing to take to the stage for her Las Vegas residency(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen years ago I saw Celine Dion in Vegas,\u201d she remembers. \u201cJust watching her bring the culmination of her life\u2019s music and work on the stage was pretty mind-blowing. It\u2019s definitely been a dream and a goal. I didn\u2019t know if I would get there. It\u2019s very surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show, called A Starry Night , is billed as a Christmas<\/a> spectacular and will run for 33 dates from November. \u201cI think we\u2019ve created a really special show,\u201d Leona beams.<\/p>\n

And there will be one very special guest in the audience watching on \u2013 Leona\u2019s three-year-old daughter Carmel.<\/a> The singer lights up at the mention of her little girl, who has yet to see her mummy perform a full show. But Leona admits Carmel would rather see another music legend on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually just took her to see Beyonc\u00e9 and now she keeps saying, \u2018Can we go and see Beyonc\u00e9 again?\u2019\u201d Leona laughs. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018No, we can\u2019t go see Beyonc\u00e9 like every week. You don\u2019t want me?\u2019 She said, \u2018No, Beyonc\u00e9.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeonaLeona is devoted to three-old-Carmel, even if she does prefer Beyonc\u00e9 (Image: leonalewis\/Instagram)<\/p>\n

Carmel has been front-row at many a home concert, with Leona pulling out all the notes from her impressive vocal range to soothe her. \u201cWhen she would cry a lot, I\u2019d sit her on the bed and I\u2019m singing full concerts for her,\u201d recalls Leona. \u201cShe\u2019s the hardest audience, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The apple hasn\u2019t fallen far from the tree and Leona says Carmel has already found her own voice, mastering the song which put her mum on the path to success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI taught her to sing Over The Rainbow ,\u201d Leona says proudly. \u201cI just sang it to her every single night, and now she sings it back to me and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my God.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Motherhood has changed Leona, she says. Welcoming Carmel with her professional dancer husband Dennis Jauch in July 2022, Leona says becoming a parent has shifted her priorities and made her more selective with what she does.<\/p>\n

\"LeonaLeona won over the nation with her X Factor performances(Image: ITV)<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it definitely unlocks a different part of your brain,\u201d explains Leona. \u201cYou do start seeing things differently. It distills everything in such a way that you are just kind of picking out what\u2019s really right for you.<\/p>\n

“What I truthfully really want to do. I feel like it cuts out a lot of the noise because you literally just don\u2019t have the time to do everything, so you just pick out the golden nuggets. I was definitely a big people pleaser \u2013 make people happy, be there for everyone. But sometimes the power is in the \u2018no\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changes you as a person. I keep saying, like, it\u2019s not even a new chapter, it\u2019s a new book for me. This is a whole new life and I\u2019m relearning myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The love for her daughter is also inspiring new music, with Leona challenging herself like never before in the studio, by producing for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very new territory for me,\u201d she tells Capital FM DJ and This Morning host Sian Welby<\/a> at a talk at 180 House in London. \u201cI\u2019m doing it all \u2013 writing, singing and producing. I taught myself how to play the bass and the drums. I don\u2019t want to do the same thing I did before. How can I push myself? What can I achieve? It means that it\u2019s very unfiltered, it\u2019s very raw. With the birth of my daughter, I did not know the depth of love until she was born and I\u2019m writing a lot about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leona now lives in LA, but she will never forget how it all started on The X Factor . \u201cIt definitely has been a crazy ride,\u201d she says. \u201cBut the platform that it gave me has been incredible. It\u2019s given me so many opportunities. It\u2019s opened up so many doors for me. I can only be grateful for everything it\u2019s done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeonaLeona says she’ll never forget where it all started for her(Image: ITV)<\/p>\n

Signed by Simon Cowell<\/a> \u2019s Syco label after winning the show, Leona hasn\u2019t ruled out working with the music mogul again. \u201cThere have been a few things that he\u2019s wanted to do,\u201d she teases. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t materialised yet. He\u2019s shown me a lot of love and backed me from day one. I could always call him up and ask for support, so if he asks me to do something, I\u2019d be like, \u2018Yeah, sure.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits the show with giving her a voice and a platform which has allowed her to campaign for causes she feels strongly about, including animal welfare and children.<\/p>\n

Involved in international lawmaking for animal rights, she\u2019s also a trustee at Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Brentwood, Essex. Her work was recognised when she was awarded an OBE by King Charles<\/a> last month at Windsor Castle. Watched by her whole family, Leona says it was a \u201cproud moment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"LeonaLeona was made an OBE earlier this summer for services to music and to charity(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But she says her strong stance on issues has lost her work. \u201cIn my career, it\u2019s been interesting because a lot of brands don\u2019t really go near me because I\u2019m always like, \u2018What are your animal welfare guidelines?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they\u2019re like, \u2018OK, not you.\u2019 It has hurt me, I guess, in that way, but morally, it hasn\u2019t, so I feel very good about that. A lot of work that I\u2019ve been doing in recent years has been with children\u2019s charities, like Save the Children. Especially now, they need our support more than ever with what\u2019s going on in Gaza, with the starvation of children there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just been someone that\u2019s always spoken up about things like that, so if brands don\u2019t want to touch me, fine, I don\u2019t care. I\u2019ve always thought if you have a platform, you do have a responsibility to give back. If you have a voice, we need to use it for something bigger than ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

* Leona takes to the stage in Christmas spectacular A Starry Night at the Voltaire in The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas, from 1 November \u2013 3 January<\/p>\n

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok <\/a>, Snapchat <\/a>, Instagram <\/a>, Twitter <\/a>, Facebook <\/a>, YouTube <\/a>and Threads <\/a>.<\/p>\n