NEW pop sensation Leona Lewis debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart this week, the first British woman to achieve this feat, her record label said Wednesday.

Just three weeks ago, the 23-year-old winner of British talent show “X Factor” rewrote the history books when her song “Bleeding Love” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart.

It was the first time a British female solo artist had topped the chart since Kim Wilde went to No. 1 in 1987 with a cover of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”

“Bleeding Love” is from the album “Spirit,” which sold 205,000 copies this week in the United States.

Simon Cowell, a record executive who groomed Lewis and appeared as a judge on “X Factor,” called the achievement “simply incredible.”

“This is the hardest market to crack and for her debut album to go in at No. 1 is unbelievable,” he said in a statement.

The Daily Variety trade publication said “Spirit” ranks as the biggest-selling debut by a female artist since former “American Idol” champ Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts” debuted at No. 2 with 314,500 copies in November 2005.(SD-Agencies)