Alexandra Burke Has Superstar Factor

1 month ago 10th Oct 08:15

Alexandra Burke is on the verge of establishing herself as a pop superstar, so different to a year ago

Alexandra Burke is on the verge of establishing herself as a pop superstar.

A year ago Alexandra was a nervous 'X Factor' contestant, star-struck and crying as she greeted her idol, Beyonce Knowles, who then performed a duet with her. Today, the 21-year-old can proudly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the idol as her debut single 'Bad Boys' takes over the UK airwaves and she is set to storm the charts.

At this stage last year Alexandra had just been announced as one of judge Cheryl Cole's three acts to perform in the televised final of 'The X Factor' - the biggest show on British UK TV - and she was up against eleven other acts vying for the crown. She was an outsider in the competition to begin with, as the media quickly focused their attention on the budding romance between contestants Eoghan Quigg and Diana Vickers, the early favourite to win the show.

It reflects the way I am, I am quite a beastly person I like a drink and I love going out and being young. It's what every girl is afraid to say, that we all are attracted to bad boys

Although she put in a strong performance of Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' in the first week, it wasn't until the third week of the ten week televised live final that Alexandra begun to get noticed. She performed a perfect rendition of Christina Aguilera's 'Candyman', earning her a standing ovation, and extremely positive comments from the judges - Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Cheryl and Dannii Minogue.

Then in the fifth week of the show, Alexandra took on her hardest vocal challenge yet, a rendition of Badfinger's 'Without You', inspired by the most popular version of the song by Mariah Carey - which was mentored by the performer herself. Alexandra's interpretation earned her another standing ovation and further hefty praise from the judges.

Alexandra then put in further strong performances and established herself as the favourite going into the show's final.

The next week, after her incredible duet with Beyonce on her song 'Listen', Alexandra beat boy band JLS and Irish teenager Eoghan to claim victory. Her subsequent single, a version of the Leonard Cohen song 'Hallelujah', sold over a million copies in the UK by January 9, making her the first British female solo artist to do so.

After the show Alexandra - who still lives with her mother in Islington, north London - was given a record contract worth £1 million with Simon's Syco record company. Huge changes were afoot, and as Alexandra got used to the idea she was preparing to be a star, she took a holiday in Mauritius to get perspective on which direction she wanted to head in with her career. After a brief flirtation with the idea of taking on a Motown sound, she realised her heart lay in pop music, and was promptly whisked off to Los Angeles for intensive training, and to work on her debut album.

The result, the eagerly awaited 'Overcome', sees collaborations from Alexandra with some of the best producer outfits in the world including Ne-Yo, Freemasons, and Ryan Tedder - the man behind former 'X Factor' winner Leona Lewis' international breakthrough hit 'Bleeding Love'.

Preceding the album, first single 'Bad Boys' - featuring rapper Flo-Rida - is a hot mix of pop hooks and an upbeat, catchy chorus, and a video showing Alexandra clad in leather and dancing with a group of guys from the 'wrong side of the tracks'.