I think you're overstating Oprah's influence hugely here. The song had already hit #1 in most of the major music markets around the world and as such its success shouldn't be seen as that much of a surprise.

Ms Lewis had been the hot sales gainer for two weeks on the Hot100, seen the biggest % airplay rise among Hot100 songs and sold the second highest amount of downloads in the USA BEFORE the Oprah appearance.

The young Brit had also knocked Usher off the top of the iTunes chart whilst halfway across the Atlantic flying to Chicago after completing a month of European promotion.

With Oprah her song is #1, without Oprah she'd have probably just missed out and hit #2. She may have got that same small boost from other promo.

The Oprah effect? Nah. Talent + song + hard work = success.

It's not just Oprah. Perez Hilton has been blogging about this girl on his site ever since she was on X-factor. It's not just Oprah's influence - it's Perez's. Which is maybe more frightening. But then again, Leona Lewis is actually an amazing singer. Ever consider that maybe people like her cause she is talented?
Don't understand why the writer is saying it's a negative thing that a "black female" talk-show host is one of the biggest arbiters of American cultural taste

@paperdoll: She is talented! I actually like her single! I wasn't trying to imply anything to the opposite. Obviously, she wouldn't have even gotten on Oprah if she couldn't sing in the first place. It was more a testament to the immediate bump appearing on her show gives someone. I never watch Perez, but if he is the Oprah, than we are in serious trouble.

Re: the "black female" comment--that came out wrong. It still astounds me that millions of people around the country will stop what they're doing and pick up a book/cd based simply on the recommendation of one person. I didn't mean anything else by it!

"I never watch Perez, but if he is the Oprah, than we are in serious trouble."

By watch I mean "read". And by "if he is the Oprah" I mean "if he is the new Oprah." It saved before I could proofread. Sorry!

@neelsah: I didn't really think you meant anything by the "black female" thing, it would be pretty un-Radar if you did, I just thought it was peculiar... And I get your overall point... It is pretty scary that one person can have so much influence... I just thought that in this case, it's a good thing because Leona Lewis deserves the recognition.
If you're interested in how Oprah impacts people's musical taste, you might also want to take a look at Perez's influence... He often promotes artists he happens to like personally, and it gives many of them a HUGE profile boost. Leona Lewis is probably the best example. I've become a fan British singer Kate Nash, only because I read about her on his site - never would have heard of her otherwise.
He uses his powers for other things too... e.g. the day he mentioned "FreeRice.com" the number of grains donated doubled from the day before.
Oh and as long as I have the attention of a Radar writer - you are great. All of you are. Geniuses. Thank you for your writing.