Leona Lewis: ‘I’d like to be a man for a day to see how differently I would be treated’ | Life and style

Born in London, Lewis, 38, went to stage school at the age of six. After winning The X Factor, she released her debut album, Spirit, in 2007. Her song Bleeding Love was No 1 in 35 countries and became 2008’s bestselling single worldwide. In 2009, she sang I See You, the theme for the film Avatar. Nominated for three Grammys and six Brits, she has won Mobo, MTV and World Music awards. This year, she celebrates the 10th anniversary of her album Christmas, With Love, which gave her the festive hit One More Sleep. She is married, with a daughter, and lives between London and Los Angeles.

What is your greatest fear?
Spiders.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I can be a people-pleaser, to the detriment of my own needs sometimes.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Cruelty to animals or children.

Describe yourself in three words
Sensitive, kind, silly.

What would your superpower be?
To see into people’s souls.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Dinosaurs – just the ones that eat leaves.

What is your most unappealing habit?
I don’t do it that much any more, but I get strands of my hair and wrap them around my lip. It’s really weird.

What scares you about getting older?
Having regrets.

Who is your celebrity crush?
Jason Momoa.

Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Probably all of them because I am not big into English literature. I read a lot of self-improvement books.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A singer.

What is the worst thing anyone’s ever said to you?
It happened when I was younger, somewhere outside London. We were on bikes, and this older girl pulled up and said something racist that I won’t repeat. I will never forget that, because it was the first time, and I was like, “Oh, I am feeling different from everyone around me right now”.

What does love feel like?
Selfless and open, freeing.

Have you ever said ‘I love you’ without meaning it?
I don’t say it unless I mean it.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I say “like” a lot. Sometimes I listen back to myself and I’m like – I just said it – I’m like – and I just said it again. I can’t help saying it!

What is the worst job you’ve ever done?
I quite enjoyed all my retail jobs (I worked in H&M and Gap), but the worst times were the sale periods. The summer sales – awful.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I would tell myself to stop being such a worrier.

If not yourself, who would you most like to be?
A man for a day. I wouldn’t mind seeing the world through a man’s eyes and how differently I would be treated.

What keeps you awake at night?
Thinking about all the children that are affected by all the wars that are going on right now.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Nothing’s guaranteed and things change in an instant, and to get used to that and stay in the moment.

Tell us a joke
What happens when you eat tinsel? You get tinselitis.

Born in London, Lewis, 38, went to stage school at the age of six. After winning The X Factor, she released her debut album, Spirit, in 2007. Her song Bleeding Love was No 1 in 35 countries and became 2008’s bestselling single worldwide. In 2009, she sang I See You, the theme for the film Avatar. Nominated for three Grammys and six Brits, she has won Mobo, MTV and World Music awards. This year, she celebrates the 10th anniversary of her album Christmas, With Love, which gave her the festive hit One More Sleep. She is married, with a daughter, and lives between London and Los Angeles.

What is your greatest fear?
Spiders.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I can be a people-pleaser, to the detriment of my own needs sometimes.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Cruelty to animals or children.

Describe yourself in three words
Sensitive, kind, silly.

What would your superpower be?
To see into people’s souls.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Dinosaurs – just the ones that eat leaves.

What is your most unappealing habit?
I don’t do it that much any more, but I get strands of my hair and wrap them around my lip. It’s really weird.

What scares you about getting older?
Having regrets.

Who is your celebrity crush?
Jason Momoa.

Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Probably all of them because I am not big into English literature. I read a lot of self-improvement books.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A singer.

What is the worst thing anyone’s ever said to you?
It happened when I was younger, somewhere outside London. We were on bikes, and this older girl pulled up and said something racist that I won’t repeat. I will never forget that, because it was the first time, and I was like, “Oh, I am feeling different from everyone around me right now”.

What does love feel like?
Selfless and open, freeing.

Have you ever said ‘I love you’ without meaning it?
I don’t say it unless I mean it.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I say “like” a lot. Sometimes I listen back to myself and I’m like – I just said it – I’m like – and I just said it again. I can’t help saying it!

What is the worst job you’ve ever done?
I quite enjoyed all my retail jobs (I worked in H&M and Gap), but the worst times were the sale periods. The summer sales – awful.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I would tell myself to stop being such a worrier.

If not yourself, who would you most like to be?
A man for a day. I wouldn’t mind seeing the world through a man’s eyes and how differently I would be treated.

What keeps you awake at night?
Thinking about all the children that are affected by all the wars that are going on right now.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Nothing’s guaranteed and things change in an instant, and to get used to that and stay in the moment.

Tell us a joke
What happens when you eat tinsel? You get tinselitis.