British singer Leona Lewis, 39, gushed over her pop star pal Taylor Swift, 34, in an emotional Instagram post.
The X factor star revealed that she was at Taylor’s concert in Vancouver, with Travis Kelce’s girlfriend finally approaching the end of her worldwide Eras Tour. Leona shared a photo of herself sporting “Swiftie” friendship bracelets for the event, alongside a bright red top and lipstick.
She also shared a video of herself dancing at the gig, with another showing Taylor playing the guitar and singing on stage. Alongside the photo and videos, Leona shared a memory of meeting Taylor early on in her career, and revealed that while Leona felt like “an outsider,” the American star made her feel welcome at an exclusive event.
"Years ago at the beginning of my career I was asked to perform at an awards show in America,” she began. “After my performance some of the artists gathered outside and everyone seemed to know each other and have their own cliques. I remember feeling very awkward and I just sat on the pavement feeling lonely and just wanting to go home. I remember Taylor spotted me and rushed over. We chatted about music and she was so kind and welcoming. Her words meant so much to me at a time when I felt like a bit of an outsider. She truly lifted my spirit.”
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Instagram/ @leonalewis)Image:
Instagram/ @leonalewis)The London native added: “Years later Taylor invited me to perform at a very special show with her. She is still the kindest most warm soul and I'm so blessed I got to watch and support her in all of her glory last night. In a time when there is so much to be sad about, the audience got to experience pure joy together and that is truly a gift. Love you @taylorswift13,” finishing the post with a white heart emoji.
Leona divulged that she felt uncomfortable at the high-profile event, after becoming an overnight success thanks to winning the third series of The X Factor in 2006. Throughout her career, she has won two MOBO Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, and two World Music Awards. She was also nominated for six BRIT Awards and three Grammy Awards.
While Simon Cowell was essential in setting Leona up for success, her career only went from strength to strength after she parted ways with his record label Syco in 2014. "Simon Cowell has been incredible but at the end of a day it's a huge label now," she told The Independent at the time.
"I felt like at that stage all they were doing was holding me back from fulfilling my potential, to ask me to do a covers album was… there was no love in it. Simon probably doesn't even know what went on in that way, but I felt disrespected and I felt it was a very callous way to act when all I was trying to do was do what I loved. I was in limbo and that's the worst place to be. You can't leave me hanging on a string."
Leona landed a new record deal with Universal and later explained that there was no bad blood between her and Simon. "Simon sent me a really lovely note the other week saying they miss me at the label," she said, adding, "There's nothing but love there. He knew I had to leave. He was upset about it but it was time for something new so I'm excited about moving on and doing something different."
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