17 Things You Didn't Know About Leona Lewis

    BuzzFeed sat down with Leona to find out everything from her favourite emoji to her best piece of advice for young women.

    I'm obsessed with binge-watching series on Netflix. I loved House of Cards and I watched the entire season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidtt in two days.

    I have a long-time crush on Jake Gyllenhaal. That said, I also really liked Shia LaBeouf in the Sia video.

    Mascara is a girl's best friend. But my must-have beauty product is bronzer. I feel like it makes me look more healthy.

    My absolute biggest pet hate is when people say they're going to do something and then don't do it. Not following through on what you say. Urgh.

    The most ridiculous rumour I've ever heard about myself is that Simon Cowell bought me a castle in Norway. It was so random. I wish it was true, but sadly it's not.

    On my days off I love to be with my horses. Usually I'm exercising them, riding them, looking after them, grooming them. I have two horses called Spirit and DiAngelo, They're so cute and I love them.

    In fact, the one thing guaranteed to always make me happy is my animals. I love surrounding myself with them. Where I live, I've got my horses, my bunny and my dogs. The area where I live is quite ranch-like, so there's lots of farm animals too. That makes me very happy.

    I have loads of body insecurities. I deal with them by just getting on with it and not giving them too much attention. I try to be the best version of myself I can be and not compare myself to anyone else because that never works.

    A big thing I've learned as I've gotten older is to be more accepting of myself, who I am and what I look like. Everyone's individual and everyone has little things they worry about. You've just got to get on with.

    If I spoke Japanese I would move to Japan. I love travelling to Asia, but my favourite place is Japan. It's such a world away from how I grew up. I just love the culture.

    The most played artist on my iPod right now is Alabama Shakes. They're a really cool group and the lead singer's voice is amazing. I'm hoping to go and see them live soon, too.

    Spaghetti Bolognese is about the only thing I can cook that tastes good. It's one of my favourite foods but I love pizza too.

    My ideal pizza has to have a barbecue base, although I had a really amazing one the other day where the base was made out of sun-dried tomatoes and pastry, with vegan ricotta and salad. It was so good.

    Labyrinth is definitely my favourite film of all time.

    My favourite emoji is this one 💁

    Of my own songs, "Yesterday" from my first album is one of my favourites. I also love "Happy". And from my new album I really love "Thankyou", "I Am", and "Fire Under My Feet". That'll change, though!

    The person I most admire in life is my mum. She's really inspiring. She's always taught me to make what I love what I do. She's had so many career paths. Right now she's gone back to school to get another degree. She's always followed her passions; it doesn't matter what it is, she's always just gone for it and has always taught me to do the same.

    The best piece of advice I can give to young women would be to live in the moment. Don't let your past define you. Really be present in what's happening now. It's something I've been trying to do for the past couple of years and I feel it's really important to really be present.

    Leona's latest single "Fire Under My Feet" will be released in the UK on 28 June and you can watch the video here. Her new album I Am will follow in September.