  British pop star Leona Lewis has seen her career soar thanks to her win on the Brit reality TV series The X-Factor in 2006. (Michael Peake, Sun Media)
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The new music of British R&B-pop diva Leona Lewis suddenly is popping up everywhere, it seems.
She just released her second disc, Echo, and on top of that she has songs in two of the biggest holiday films. Happy, the first single and bold power ballad from Echo, is the song used prominently in the trailer for the Oprah Winfrey-produced, Oscar-buzz drama Precious. And she sings the song I See You on Canadian director James Cameron's much-anticipated sci-fi fantasy-adventure, Avatar, opening Dec. 18.
"(Happy's) got a great message in it," said Lewis, 24, in an exclusive Canadian newspaper interview with Sun Media in Toronto on Friday.
"I'm just so proud of it 'cause I wrote it, obviously, and to be associated with a film like (Precious), which is about trying to overcome troubles and trials in your life. I'm glad that someone got that message."
Lewis, who hails from Hackney, near London, said she is thrilled to have a song on the Avatar soundtrack, too.
"I saw a half-hour clip of the film. It's not finished yet, and it's insane, it's awesome, it's amazing. I can't even explain it," she said. "I heard the song -- great lyrics, very, very epic. So I went in and I did it. And then they played it to James and he phoned me up and he was like, 'Oh, my God. I love you!' He's so cool. My God, I had this perception that he was going to be, like, totally untouchable and unreachable. But he's just like your nice uncle. He's lovely."
When told Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ont., Lewis said: "That explains it, then. Canadians are so sweet. I love them. And I'm not just saying this, but this is definitely one of my favourite places."
As it stands, Lewis has no plans to act in film, but she is passionate about the art form. Her first world arena tour, kicking off late May in England, is inspired by the 1986 David Bowie fantasy film Labyrinth, with costumes by British avant-garde designer Vivienne Westwood.
"Oh my gosh, like you wouldn't imagine -- I love movies," she said. "I'm always at the cinema or renting or getting on the Internet and watching. I'm more into scriptwriting and the actual story and kind of behind the scenes. Of course, being in a film would be great, too. I wouldn't say no if it was the right thing."
In the meantime, Echo follows on the heels of Lewis' 2007 debut CD, Spirit, which spawned the huge hit Bleeding Love, and which went on to sell 6.5 million copies worldwide, garnering three Grammy nominations. Spirit also made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut disc.
Helping her again is Ryan Tedder from the band OneRepublic, who co-wrote Bleeding Love and co-wrote Happy with Lewis, who also hooked up with Justin Timberlake on Don't Let Me Down, which he co-wrote and sang backup vocals on.
"He's very, very involved -- very focused," she said of Timberlake. "It was like, literally, the day before his birthday, he stayed in the studio until, like, four o' clock in the morning. He's proper focused."
Lewis got far more excited when told American rapper Eminem would like to be a guest judge on The X-Factor, the British TV talent show on which she got her big break in 2006, when she won the contest.
"I think that would be really cool, 'cause he's a very different kind of artist," she said.
Lewis finds her Oasis with cover
Some people might be surprised that British R&B-pop ballad singer Leona Lewis covered Oasis' Stop Crying Your Heart Out on the UK version of Echo, her newly released second CD.
"What people don't know ... is that I'm very into rock bands," said Lewis with a giggle, in an exclusive Canadian newspaper interview with Sun Media in Toronto.
"I love Oasis and I did a cover of Snow Patrol's Run on the repackage of the first album (Spirit) in the UK, and that did really well. And I wanted to do another cover on this one. Originally, I was going to do, like, Wonderwall or something. And (mentor) Simon (Cowell) was like, 'Do Stop Crying Your Heart Out.' And I was like, 'It's amazing. Yeah, let's do it.'
"I was a bit scared at first. I was like, 'Maybe I shouldn't do an Oasis cover, 'cause their fans are like hardcore.' But it's a great song."
Lewis admits she's sad that Oasis split up this year but understands how it could happen.
"At some point, the thing runs its course, and people want to do their own thing," she said.
