Alexandra Burke
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Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewan Burke (born 25 August 1988) [1] is a British pop and R&B singer who won the fifth series of British reality TV show, The X-Factor. Alexandra had previously auditioned for the 2005 series of the TV show; not being considered for Louis Walsh's final four. She eventually became winner of the 2008 series of The X-Factor and the second female winner after fellow Londoner and international star Leona Lewis.
Early life
Alexandra was named after her Grandfather and Great Grandmother when she was born on 25 August 1988 in Islington, London. Alexandra got a gig every weekend- Friday, Saturday and Sunday as a job until she joined The X Factor.[2] Burke is the daughter of ex-Soul II Soul singer Melissa Bell.
Music career
2005: The X Factor
In 2005, for the second series of The X Factor, Alexandra auditioned for the first time, getting through to Boot Camp. She then sailed through Boot Camp until she arrived at the Judges Houses. Louis Walsh was her mentor but turned her down before the live shows. The series was later won by Shayne Ward. Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue have repeated on live shows of series five that what he did was wrong and forced him to apologise to Alexandra.
Record Deal
2008: The X Factor
On the first live show, Alexandra performed the Whitney Houston classic, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". For the second live show, Alexandra covered "I'll Be There" by The Jackson Five for which she was again criticised by Simon, who called her a copycat. In week three, Big Band week, Alexandra performed "Candyman", a Christina Aguilera song, for which she received her first standing ovation. For the disco-themed fourth live show, Alexandra performed the Donna Summer song, "On the Radio". During Mariah Carey week on 8 November, Burke and the other finalists met for an individual masterclass. Mariah complimented Alexandra on her voice. Alexandra performed "Without You" and received a standing ovation from the judges. All the judges gave her positive comments following her performance; Simon Cowell commented that "by any standard, that was just outstanding". Following the show Alexandra's performance was praised by Mariah Carey who commented that her rendition of "Without You" was "absolutely amazing".
In weeks 6 and 7, Alexandra received positive comments from the judging panel for her performances of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" and Take That's "Relight My Fire". Week 8 saw her replace Diana Vickers as the bookies' favourite after performing Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Beyoncé's "Listen", for which she received yet another standing ovation. In week 9, Alexandra performed Rihanna's hit song "Don't Stop The Music" and again received positive comments, with Louis calling her "the English Beyoncé" and Simon commenting "...We may be seeing the birth of a star here [...] you've got it all, that was a great performance". Diana Vickers was eliminated in the semi-final, meaning Alexandra was the last remaining girl and Cheryl's last hope of winning The X Factor. She pursued further in the final singing an incredible duet with Beyoncé. She then sang her record single for the first time, after Eoghan Quigg was voted out. Alexandra and JLS were in the final two. With over 8 million votes in total, Alexandra came on top and won X Factor 2008.
U.S. rapper 50 Cent has expressed an interest in Alexandra predicting her to win the X Factor (which she did) and going as far as saying he would like her to appear in his upcoming video, most likely for a song from his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct.[3] According to Play.com Burkes debut album will be released March 16 2009.[4]
| Round | Song choice | Original artist | Theme (if any) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions | "Saving All My Love For You" | Whitney Houston | None | Four Yesses |
| Boot Camp | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Roberta Flack | None | Final 6 |
| Judge's House | "Listen" | Beyonce | None | Final 3 |
| Week 1 | "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" | Whitney Houston | Number One Songs in UK and US | Safe |
| Week 2 | "I'll Be There" | The Jackson Five | Songs from Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five | Safe |
| Week 3 | "Candyman" | Christina Aguilera | Big Band | Safe |
| Week 4 | "On the Radio" | Donna Summer | Disco | Safe |
| Week 5 | "Without You" | Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey's Songbook | Safe |
| Week 6 | "You Are So Beautiful" | Joe Cocker | Best of British | Safe |
| Week 7 | "Relight My Fire" | Take That | Songs by Take That | Safe |
| Week 8 | "Toxic" | Britney Spears | Songs by Britney Spears | Safe |
| "Listen" | Beyonce | American Classics | ||
| Semi-Final | "Don't Stop the Music" | Rihanna | "Mentor's Choice" | Safe |
| "Unbreak My Heart" | Toni Braxton | "Contestant's Choice | ||
| Final | "Silent Night" | Christmas Carol | Christmas Song | Winner |
| "Listen" (with Beyonce) | Beyonce | Celebrity Duet | ||
| "You Are So Beautiful" | Billy Preston | Contestant's Favourite | ||
| "Hallelujah" | Leonard Cohen | Winner's Single |
Discography
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK |
IRL |
EUR | |||
| 2008 | "Hero" (with The X Factor Finalists 2008) |
1 [5] | 1[6] | 8 | TBR |
| "Hallelujah" | TBA | TBA | TBA | ||
External links
References
- ^ http://xfactor.itv.com/stories/story-detail/item_100462.htm
- ^ http://xfactor.itv.com/stories/story-detail/item_100462.htm
- ^ 50 Cent after X Factor winner. Mirror celebs]
- ^ http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/8316099/X-Factor-Winner-The-Album/Product.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7705172.stm
- ^ "X Factor "Hero" peaks". X-Factor Finalists - Hero - Music Charts.
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