X FACTOR winner Leona Lewis has become the first British female solo artist to top the US pop chart in 21 years.

The 22-year-old singer from Hackney has landed the Billboard Hot 100 chart Number One with her ballad Bleeding Love.

The last British female solo artist to do the same was Kim Wilde in 1987, with her cover of the Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On.

It's also the first time in 27 years that a British female artist has debuted at Number One in the US.

That feat was last achieved in 1981 by Sheena Easton with Morning Train (Nine To Five).

In the UK, Bleeding Love was the biggest-selling single of 2007 selling more than one million copies. Leona's debut album Spirit was the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK.