Leona Lewis buying Hackney home

Leona Lewis is buying an apartment the area of London she grew up in.

The 23-year-old singer was raised in the East End borough of Hackney and is proud of her working class roots, so has decided to splash out on a property in the area with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa.

She said: "We were renting it but the landlord was like, 'You have to get out now.' I talked him into selling it to me. When you're settled it's hard to move. I really love the place - it's really private and the neighbours are cool - and it's very close to my parents."

Despite her success in America, Leona has no plans to move Stateside permanently. Although she enjoys travelling and meeting new people, she always finds the pull of her home city too strong to contemplate living abroad.

She said: "'I don't think I'd move permanently. I love going to America, there are so many great people there and I spent a lot of time there when I was recording the album, but I like spending time between the two countries.

"I'm not sure I could permanently uproot myself from the UK - it would be too hard." The 'Bleeding Love' blamed her jet-setting lifestyle for her failure to appear at this year's MOBO awards.

She scooped two accolades at the prestigious event - Best Video for 'Bleeding Love' and Best Album for 'Spirit' - but was viciously booed by the audience when she failed to accept them.

Leona added to Britain's Hello! magazine: "I had a commitment to be out of the country from a long, long time ago, so I couldn't really break that.

"I wish I could have been there so badly, but I just hope people remember that when I am in different countries, I'm representing UK music, British singers and artists, so I'm always representing our country."