LEONA LEWIS: BREAKS UK CHART RECORD....

X-Factor champ Leona Lewis has the fastest selling debut album ever. Apparently, Leona gave the Spice Girls a severe beating in the album charts with new album Spirit. It went to number one on Sunday with sales of nearly 376,000 in one week. It is the fastest selling debut album of all time. The previous record was held by the Arctic Monkeys with 363,000 sales in the first week.

This is great news and the career-boost that Leona needs. We don't have talent like hers in the UK so I think her success is very much deserved as she worked extremely hard for it. As to whether she can duplicate that very same success in the US next year is yet to be seen. However, with Simon Cowell behind her and American Idol hitting our screens in mid-January 2008, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll manage to secure her a performance slot on the live heats. And as 35m people watch American Idol, this could do be a step in the right direction in the battle to appease the hard-cracking American market. Does she have what it takes?