Huge hype and potential

The buildup to Leona Lewis’ stateside debut has been so great that you half expect her to be surrounded by heavenly angels when she appears.

Backed by music mogul Clive Davis, the budding British diva has already drawn endless comparisons to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston for her booming voice. No less than Oprah Winfrey fawned over her talents on a recent show. She even managed to win over Simon Cowell, who fell in love with her talent when she won “The X Factor,” the British version of “American Idol.” Cowell and Davis both executive-produced her debut album, “Spirit,” which was released in the U.S. this week.

“It was blindingly obvious when this girl came on the show that this wasn’t just someone who had the potential to be a good singer, this was someone who had a potential to be a star,” Cowell said.