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Leona Lewis defends the X Factor to The Independent

Leona Lewis speaks about the X Factor and meeting horrible people with The Independent.

She’s the biggest solo star to have come out of the X Factor and six years on, Leona Lewis still thinks the talent show is something for contestants to be proud of.

Speaking to The Independent on Sunday, Leona, who won the show back in 2006 and has had a hugely successful career both in the UK and the USA, said that whilst she doesn’t think she would have given up on singing if she hadn’t been on the show, she knows she has a lot to thank it for.

“I believe I could have had a career in the music industry without the X Factor,” she said. “But it was an amazing platform that propelled me to what's happening now. I won't listen to anything people say against it. I got up every week and sang on stage without that lip-syncing that a lot of artists do these days – that takes a talent that you can't fake.”

The singer has performed live on the Sunday night show of the current series, and even guest-judged in the audition process – though, unsurprisingly, said yes to more people than the other judges, as not only had she been in the same position but she’s famously one of the sweetest people in the industry.

She’s not always been treated with kindness herself though. “I've met some deplorable people over the past six years, who have done some really bad things, and I've seen their betrayal of my trust unfold before my eyes,” she said. “But I've learned from it and grown from it and I'm much better now at knowing who I should avoid.”

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Posted by Claire Sharp.

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