Alexandra Burke Has Superstar Factor

Saturday 10th October 2009 - 08:15:18

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.

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.