Unboxing Leona Lewis - Spirit 2008

Spirit is the debut studio album by English singer Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, followed by a worldwide release during early 2008. The album made Lewis the first UK solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album, in the US, on 26 April 2008. The release of the album marked Lewis as the first winner of a major television talent show in both the UK and US to be given a major global launch with a debut album.
The album debuted at number one in nine countries, including the United Kingdom, United States and Germany, and peaked in the top five in a further eight countries. It held the record for the biggest digital album sales in a week ever for a new artist. The album was the sixth biggest-selling of 2008 in the world, as according to the IFPI. It has gone on to sell over eight million copies worldwide, and was the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, where it has since sold over 3.12 million copies and remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist. In October 2019, Spirit was recognised as the seventh best-selling album of the 21st century in the UK.
Spirit spawned seven singles, including two from a re-release of the album. Lead international single "Bleeding Love" went on to top the charts in 36 countries, becoming one of the best-selling singles by a female of all-time. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards, and British Single of the Year at the 2008 Brit Awards. Follow-up single "Better in Time" also fared well, charting in the top 10 in 13 countries and reaching number 11 in the US. After a well received performance of Snow Patrol's "Run" whilst promoting Spirit, Lewis recorded a cover version for the re-release of the album, titled Spirit - The Deluxe Edition, which was released as a download-only single in the UK, where it charted at number one, going on to be the third Platinum-selling single from Spirit, following X Factor winner's single "A Moment Like This" and "Bleeding Love".
On 19 November 2007, Spirit debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number one with first-week sales of 375,872 copies, making it the fastest selling debut album in the UK, beating Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) by 12,000 copies, until the release of Susan Boyle's debut album I Dreamed a Dream in November 2009, which sold 410,000 copies in its first week. It was the fourth fastest selling album of all time, behind Be Here Now (Oasis, 1997), X&Y (Coldplay, 2005) and Life for Rent (Dido, 2003). The album remained at number one for seven weeks, and reached one million sales after 29 days, making it the fastest album to sell one million copies by a solo female in the UK. Spirit was the second biggest selling album of 2007 in the UK, behind Back to Black (Amy Winehouse, 2006). For each of the first seven weeks it sold over 100,000 copies, a record which was later equalled by JLS (JLS, 2009), and beaten by 21 (Adele, 2011), which sold over 100,000 copies for twelve weeks. On 23 November 2008, the album returned to number one for a week, following the release of the deluxe version of the album. In the UK Spirit was the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s, and is the twentieth best-selling album of all time. The album has been certified ten-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, with sales of 3.1 million by December 2014. It is the 4th best selling album of the millennium in the UK, and as of November 2015 has sold 3,132,668 copies in the UK.
The standard version of the album has been certified seven-times platinum, and the deluxe version four-times platinum. In February 2008, the album debuted at number one on both the Australian ARIA Chart and the New Zealand RIANZ chart and went on to be certified platinum in both territories. In Germany the album spent one week at the top spot, and went on to be certified triple-gold for shipments of 300,000 copies. Spirit also topped the Austrian and Swiss charts, reaching certifications of platinum and double-platinum respectively. It was certified four-times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales of more than four million copies in Europe.
In the US, Spirit debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week, which made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the chart with a debut album, and the first British female to hit number one with an album in over twenty years when Sade Adu topped the chart in February 1986 with Promise. As of 30 June 2008 the album has been certified platinum. The album also reached number one in Canada and was certified platinum on 30 May 2008. According to the IFPI, Spirit was the sixth best selling album of 2008, and has gone on to sell over seven million copies worldwide.