Pop fans in for a treat: Leona Lewis heads to Birmingham

Former reality star Leona Lewis will return to Birmingham on Monday as part of her first UK tour in three years. The star enjoyed a meteoric rise to global fame after winning the third series of X Factor in 2006 and since then, her incredible voice has captivated millions of people across the world.

She has broken countless sales records and smashed chart records universally and her 2010 Labyrinth Tour won her critical acclaim as well as reinforcing her position as one of the most successful British female artists to date.

Lewis has won favourable comparisons with her idol, Whitney Houston, and is looking forward to the tour. "I can't wait to get out there and play my new songs. I had such fun on my last tour and I'm really excited about doing it again."

Her live shows follow the release last year of her third album, Glassheart, which was preceded by the gothic pop masterpiece Trouble. The record followed her first two number one albums Spirit and Echo. Her latest collection of songs simultaneously showcased the sheer power and intimacy of her incredible voice. For an artist that has enjoyed unparalleled success, broken world records and sold over 20 million singles and albums, Glassheart showed Leona Lewis at her best.

Lewis has enjoyed a purple patch and has already started work on her fourth album, which she hopes to release later this year.

The performer has always been happy to be likened to artists like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, whose emotional ballads helped them to sell tens of millions of records. She said: "When I was growing up, I used to listen to Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, those kinds of big powerful kind of singers so that influences a lot of my music and a lot of the songs I like to sing."

Her other influences have included Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush and Tears for Fears. Unlike many X Factors stars, Lewis has not turned her back on the show that made her name. In May last year, she returned to the X Factor as a guest judge during auditions, passing on her tips to wannabe stars.

Lewis is a pin-up girl for vegetarianism and has shunned meat since the age of 12. She won PETA's sexiest vegetarian in 2008 and Europe's sexiest vegetarian in 2008. She famously turned down a reported £1 million from Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale on the basis that the store sold fur.

She said: "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction."