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5 months 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.
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'.
The track looks to be a dead cert to hit number one in the UK singles chart, and predicted eventually to do big things in the US.
Even bigger things await Alexandra in the next year, from a rumoured tour in support of her hero Beyonce to starring in videos with 50 Cent.
We caught up with Alexandra ahead of the release of 'Bad Boys', to see how well prepared for fame she is.
Q: How are you finding being back in the UK?
A: It's lovely to be back, I've missed home so much, I'm just so glad to be back.
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
Q: So you're not living in a penthouse apartment?
A: No, no - I don't want to waste money. I want to live safe, save and buy homes, no penthouses!
Q: Which famous people have you met recently that you've got on with
A: I introduced myself to Dizzee Rascal - I love Dizzee. I met Kelly Brook. I met Lily Allen at a photo shoot before, but I got to meet her properly this time. I saw Kate Moss again, that was it really. I saw James Corden.
Q: Reaction to 'Bad Boys'?
A: The day after it got put out on the radio I flew to the Los Angeles for auditions, so I missed a week's worth of hype. But my sisters have been on the phone screaming at me, excited every day. The reaction has been outstanding and overwhelming, to be honest. I was quite scared about this single, I mean, I love it and it's completely me and my personality and the lyrics I can fully relate to but because it's so different from 'Hallelujah', I didn't know if people would get it.
I love it and the reaction has been amazing. I'm hoping to get to number one, we all hope in this business - but I really don't know.
Q: Is this song a reflection of the sound you want to have?
A: Definitely. 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 whether we want to admit it or not, and you've got to kiss a few frogs before you meet your prince, and that's what we all do.
Q: How did you get Flo Rida on the record?
A: Well, I was in my hotel room in Los Angeles a month or two ago and my manager asked me to make a list of people who I'd like on the track. And I said, to give it the pop edge, Flo Rida would be amazing. So my agent said he'd check if he was in the country. And it so happened that he landed in Los Angeles that day. So my A+R was like if it's going to happen, then it's got to happen tonight.
So he was there at like three in the morning. And it was amazing how it came about and I met him in the studio. I was very scared to meet him, but he is like a big teddy bear, and of course he was a bad boy, but you know I like bad boys, so...
Q: Did it take much convincing to get him on the record?
A: No, apparently not much at all - he really liked the song and he wrote what he needed to write and got on with it. I loved 'Bad Boys' with me on my own, but he took it to another level completely.
Q: Would you consider working with any UK urban acts?
A: Definitely. I'm open to loads of collaborations. Obviously I don't get to pick, but I can talk about who I want to collaborate with and if management think it's a good direction and if there's the right tune, then yeah.
Q: You mentioned Dizzee Rascal...
A: Why not, I'd give that a shot. Dizzee is really cool.
Q: Your album is set for release on the same day as Cheryl's album?
A: It's not been confirmed yet, but if it is, God. It is what it is, Robbie Williams is releasing soon, Rihanna, everyone's coming out at the same time. A lot of these artists have been around for ages, then I come along from a show and I've not been around for very long and even to be mentioned in the same sentence as these people.
Q: How do you find being famous, has it hit you?
A: I don't feel any different. I am who I am and I have remained who I am - I like being a cheeky little girl! It's amazing because I am living a dream, and its great but It's strange, in a sense, that I can get to do what I love to do everyday, but the people who I surround myself with are cool and I make sure I really try to be myself every day do what I need to do and work really hard.
Q: Do you still keep in contact with Cheryl?
A: Yes, I am still in contact with her and she is still very much my mentor and she's helped along the way with this album, giving her advice and constructive criticism, and she's been there and I'm very grateful for her input.
Q: How has she influenced you?
A: Well she's always told me to remain myself. And always told me to stay true to the game, and she's told me not to read anything about myself, to keep myself truly. And that's what I've been doing.
Q: Do you get much input from Simon and the Syco label?
A: Definitely. I'm always on the phone to Simon. I speak to him a lot so if I don't think something's right, I will speak my opinion. But always take the advice from those who know best. But I'm very open to anything and they understand that.
And they respect that, which is what is really amazing and special about this project because Simon doesn't just decide things then think I'm going to just go with it, he puts it through to me and lets me have my opinion and keeps in touch. I mean, when 'Bad Boys' came in it was his favourite song for months, from May, and it wasn't my favourite song, so we had to come to an agreement, and when I heard the mix I was like 'OK, you're a smart man, I get it'.
Q. So you stand up to Simon then?
A: I definitely stand up to him. He's always told me from the beginning that if I don't like something to say; and he likes a person with balls. He likes someone to speak up. Because he is Simon Cowell I think most people are daunted and like to try and sugar-coat s**t, but not me, I'm not going to do it. I take into account that he knows what he's doing, but I'm always up for a bit of an argument because that shows who I am to him.
I have my opinions and he has his, but with my management and label we all have the same goal, so we're always on the same page, which is great.
When I first won the show they asked me where I wanted to go musically. And I said kind of Motown-ish. Then I said to my management let me go away for a week; I went to Mauritius and said, 'Nobody talk to me, let me just listen to music and study and find out where I want to go'.
After that I came back and realised I wanted to do pop. I want to be out there, I want my personality out there. And they thought that was the best way.
Q: What were you listening to?
A: All of the old school music, lots of pop, rock, anything I could get my hands on. I was on Youtube all the time and I was randomly listening to stuff I'd never listen to normally, like AC/DC and Bon Jovi, Kings of Leon, Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk, grime, R'n'B, hip-hop, everything, and learning about stuff, and researching artists. Doing what artists should be doing on a daily basis.
Q: Do you like the new format of 'The X Factor'?
A: I haven't been able to watch much of The X Factor, I think it's got balls, but I'm, very happy that it's not my year that they've gone for the live auditions, because I think it's scary, but anyone who can go through that I take my hat off to.
Q: Would you like to go back on 'The X Factor' as a mentor to the acts?
A: Most definitely, somebody get me back on that stage!
Q: What do you think of JLS's success since the show?
A: I absolutely love it. I cried at the end of their video for 'Beat Again' when I saw it. I'm so proud of them and what everyone has got and gone onto from the show. It's very special and the fact we're all friends is even more amazing.
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