Leona’s rough upbringing
Friday 08 February 2008
She may seem like the good girl of pop, but Leona Lewis has revealed her childhood was plagued by violence as most of her friends have been shot, attacked or knifed.
The Bleeding Love singer has told how her determination to become a pop star kept her out of trouble and away from the temptations that suck many inner city kids into a spiral of despair.
The 22-year-old said: “Most of my friends have been shot, stabbed or beaten up. Not so much the girls but the guys. There was a 17-year-ol boy shot dead before Christmas in my area.
“All my friends have been in trouble. It’s part of being young in London.”
She added: “I always had a goal, which kept me off the streets. I didn’t get involved in trouble because I was focused on singing. My parents had rules, like when it was dark they wanted me home.”
Talking to next month’s Cosmopolitan magazine Leona, who grew up in Hackney, revealed that she doesn’t touch a drop of alcohol not even to celebrate getting to No.1 in the charts.