Alexandra Burke fan site that includes info ,news ,photos ,media ,and more.official profile including the latest music, albums, songs, music videos and more updates.
As the winner of The X Factor, Alexandra released her debut single, "Hallelujah", originally a Leonard Cohen song, that became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours: selling 105,000 copies in one day; but also, the top-selling song of the year in the UK as well as becoming the 2008 Christmas number one single in the UK. By January 2009, sales of Burke's version of "Hallelujah" had passed one million copies which made her the first British female soloist to sell that amount of copies in the UK.
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988)[1] is a British R&B and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008. Burke is currently signed to Epic Records, Syco Records and RCA Records. Burke is one of only two female The X Factor winners in the UK, the other being Leona Lewis.
As the winner of The X Factor, Burke released her debut single, "Hallelujah", originally a Leonard Cohen song, that became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours, selling 105,000 copies in one day.[2] It was also the top-selling song of the year in the UK, and became the 2008 UK Christmas number one single. By January 2009, UK sales of Burke's version of "Hallelujah" had passed one million copies, a first for a British female soloist.[3]
Her debut album, Overcome, was released in October 2009 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album's lead single "Bad Boys" was released a week ahead of the album and debuted at number one, selling over 780,000 in the UK and becoming her second consecutive number-one single and first Brit-nominated single.[4] She has since followed "Bad Boys" with singles that have consecutively reached the top ten in the UK Singles Chart. Her most recent single, "Start Without You", became her third solo UK number one hit (in addition to two number one singles as a featured artist in charity singles, "Hero" and "Everybody Hurts"). To date, Burke has achieved four Number ones in Ireland: "Hallelujah", "Bad Boys", "All Night Long" and "Start Without You". Burke has been nominated three times for a Brit Award for Best British Single as a solo artist, with "Hallelujah" in 2009, "Bad Boys" in 2010, and "All Night Long" in 2011.[4] As of December 2010, Burke has sold over 4 million records in the UK with combined sales of her singles and her album Overcome.[5]
After the All Night Long Tour, Burke became the first X Factor contestant to have a judging panel role when she became a judge during the auditions of So You Think You Can Dance. She has just finished recording her second studio album, which is due to be released in early Burke started singing when she was five, and at nine years old she sang on stage in Bahrain with her mother. Burke is of Jamaican, African, Irish and Dougla descent. At the age of twelve, Burke entered the television talent show Star for a Night where she was the youngest person in the competition. She was beaten to the number-one spot by Joss Stone. At age twelve, she sang down the phone to Stevie Wonder. When Burke's mother asked her to sing to Jean Carne, Carne was so impressed that she asked her to perform at her show the next night. Burke attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, Angel and after her GCSEs she left school to pursue a career in music. Before her X Factor success, she had been working as a singer, gigging at weekends in clubs.[1] She also went on tour with "Young Voices", a charity that raises money for children with leukemia, where she performed at large venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.Burke auditioned for the second series of The X Factor in 2005 (which was eventually won by Shayne Ward). She made it through to the final seven in Louis Walsh's 16–24 category, effectively the top 21 of the competition; however, Walsh did not choose her for his final four as he felt that she was too young for the competition. Burke however did not give up and went on to seek professional singing lessons over the next three years, proving her dedication and commitment to becoming a popstar.
Burke's second bid to win The X Factor came in 2008. Falling into the "Girls" category, she was mentored by Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole who selected her for the finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. On the first live show, Burke performed Whitney Houston's classic "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". For the second live show she covered "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5. In week three, big band week, Burke performed Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" and received her first standing ovation. For the disco-themed fourth live show, Burke performed Donna Summer's "On the Radio". During Mariah Carey week on 8 November, Burke and the other finalists met Carey for individual masterclasses, with Carey complimenting Burke on her voice. Burke performed "Without You" and received a standing ovation from the judges who all gave her positive comments. Cowell commented that "by any standard, that was just outstanding". Following the show Burke's performance was also praised by Carey who called her rendition of the song "absolutely amazing".
In weeks 6 and 7, Burke received positive comments from the judging panel for her performances of "You are so Beautiful" and Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire" (the popularity of which in the UK is mostly a result of Take That's 1993 revival thereof). Week 8 saw her replace Diana Vickers as the bookies' favourite after performing Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Beyoncé Knowles' "Listen", for which she received yet another standing ovation. In week 9, Burke performed Rihanna's hit song "Don't Stop the Music" and again received positive comments, with Louis calling her "the British Beyoncé" and Simon commenting "...We may be seeing the birth of a star here [...] you've got it all, that was a terrific performance".Burke was joined in the grand final by Irish teenager Eoghan Quigg and boyband JLS. The three finalists were required to sing three songs – a Christmas song, a duet with an established music artist, and the song from their favourite performance of the series. Her Christmas song was an adaptaition of "Silent Night". She then sang "Listen" as a duet with Beyoncé (who later performed her UK number-one single "If I Were a Boy"), and after performing with the American singer she proclaimed: "I have achieved a dream". Her final song before the first-round voting result was "You Are So Beautiful".
After the elimination of Quigg she sang what was to become her debut single, a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah, for the first time. Finally, with over eight million votes cast in total, Burke was revealed as the winner with 58% of the final vote.[6] The single went on to become the Christmas number one of 2008, holding the top spot for three weeks and selling one million copies. There was also a campaign to take Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah to the top of the Christmas chart to deny Burke the top spot.[7][8] The campaign was fuelled by Jeff Buckley fans' dislike of The X Factor's commercialism and the song's arrangement,[9][10] as well as a desire by this contingent to introduce younger music fans to Buckley's version.[11] Burke herself was not enamoured of the choice of song, and dismissed the original by remarking "It just didn’t do anything for me".[10] As winner, Burke received a recording contract with record label, Syco, which is co-owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The contract had a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 was a cash advance and the remainder allocated to recording and marketing costs.[On 13 February 2009 it was reported that Burke signed a £3.5 million, five-album US record deal with Epic Records.[13] Burke's first album was originally scheduled for March 2009, however, Simon Cowell confirmed that her album was scheduled for release later in the year to allow Burke to polish her skills and find the right songs for the album, so that it would not be rushed. The album was released on 19 October 2009 in the UK, titled Overcome.[14]
Burke's first commercial single from her debut album is titled "Bad Boys", which features Flo Rida. The single premiered in the UK on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 on 25 August 2009.[15] On 18 October 2009, Bad Boys topped the UK Singles Chart.[16] After visiting Burke in the studio, Beyoncé spoke of possibly recording a duet with her[17] and also asked for Burke to join her for Beyonce's second European leg of her I Am… Tour.[18] Bad Boys was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on 7 January 2010.
American rapper 50 Cent has expressed an interest in Burke, correctly predicting that she would win The X Factor and invited her to appear in an upcoming music video of his, most likely for a song from his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct.[19] On 19 July 2009, Burke confirmed that she had signed a six figure contract with Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana, to become the face of a new fashion line. She will also model their clothes and accessories in her music videos. Burke performed on the Royal Variety Show on 7 December 2009.[20]
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As the winner of The X Factor, Alexandra released her debut single, "Hallelujah", originally a Leonard Cohen song, that became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours: selling 105,000 copies in one day; but also, the top-selling song of the year in the UK as well as becoming the 2008 Christmas number one single in the UK. By January 2009, sales of Burke's version of "Hallelujah" had passed one million copies which made her the first British female soloist to sell that amount of copies in the UK.
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988)[1] is a British R&B and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008. Burke is currently signed to Epic Records, Syco Records and RCA Records. Burke is one of only two female The X Factor winners in the UK, the other being Leona Lewis.
As the winner of The X Factor, Burke released her debut single, "Hallelujah", originally a Leonard Cohen song, that became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours, selling 105,000 copies in one day.[2] It was also the top-selling song of the year in the UK, and became the 2008 UK Christmas number one single. By January 2009, UK sales of Burke's version of "Hallelujah" had passed one million copies, a first for a British female soloist.[3]
Her debut album, Overcome, was released in October 2009 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album's lead single "Bad Boys" was released a week ahead of the album and debuted at number one, selling over 780,000 in the UK and becoming her second consecutive number-one single and first Brit-nominated single.[4] She has since followed "Bad Boys" with singles that have consecutively reached the top ten in the UK Singles Chart. Her most recent single, "Start Without You", became her third solo UK number one hit (in addition to two number one singles as a featured artist in charity singles, "Hero" and "Everybody Hurts"). To date, Burke has achieved four Number ones in Ireland: "Hallelujah", "Bad Boys", "All Night Long" and "Start Without You". Burke has been nominated three times for a Brit Award for Best British Single as a solo artist, with "Hallelujah" in 2009, "Bad Boys" in 2010, and "All Night Long" in 2011.[4] As of December 2010, Burke has sold over 4 million records in the UK with combined sales of her singles and her album Overcome.[5]
After the All Night Long Tour, Burke became the first X Factor contestant to have a judging panel role when she became a judge during the auditions of So You Think You Can Dance. She has just finished recording her second studio album, which is due to be released in early Burke started singing when she was five, and at nine years old she sang on stage in Bahrain with her mother. Burke is of Jamaican, African, Irish and Dougla descent. At the age of twelve, Burke entered the television talent show Star for a Night where she was the youngest person in the competition. She was beaten to the number-one spot by Joss Stone. At age twelve, she sang down the phone to Stevie Wonder. When Burke's mother asked her to sing to Jean Carne, Carne was so impressed that she asked her to perform at her show the next night. Burke attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, Angel and after her GCSEs she left school to pursue a career in music. Before her X Factor success, she had been working as a singer, gigging at weekends in clubs.[1] She also went on tour with "Young Voices", a charity that raises money for children with leukemia, where she performed at large venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.Burke auditioned for the second series of The X Factor in 2005 (which was eventually won by Shayne Ward). She made it through to the final seven in Louis Walsh's 16–24 category, effectively the top 21 of the competition; however, Walsh did not choose her for his final four as he felt that she was too young for the competition. Burke however did not give up and went on to seek professional singing lessons over the next three years, proving her dedication and commitment to becoming a popstar.
Burke's second bid to win The X Factor came in 2008. Falling into the "Girls" category, she was mentored by Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole who selected her for the finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. On the first live show, Burke performed Whitney Houston's classic "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". For the second live show she covered "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5. In week three, big band week, Burke performed Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" and received her first standing ovation. For the disco-themed fourth live show, Burke performed Donna Summer's "On the Radio". During Mariah Carey week on 8 November, Burke and the other finalists met Carey for individual masterclasses, with Carey complimenting Burke on her voice. Burke performed "Without You" and received a standing ovation from the judges who all gave her positive comments. Cowell commented that "by any standard, that was just outstanding". Following the show Burke's performance was also praised by Carey who called her rendition of the song "absolutely amazing".
In weeks 6 and 7, Burke received positive comments from the judging panel for her performances of "You are so Beautiful" and Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire" (the popularity of which in the UK is mostly a result of Take That's 1993 revival thereof). Week 8 saw her replace Diana Vickers as the bookies' favourite after performing Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Beyoncé Knowles' "Listen", for which she received yet another standing ovation. In week 9, Burke performed Rihanna's hit song "Don't Stop the Music" and again received positive comments, with Louis calling her "the British Beyoncé" and Simon commenting "...We may be seeing the birth of a star here [...] you've got it all, that was a terrific performance".Burke was joined in the grand final by Irish teenager Eoghan Quigg and boyband JLS. The three finalists were required to sing three songs – a Christmas song, a duet with an established music artist, and the song from their favourite performance of the series. Her Christmas song was an adaptaition of "Silent Night". She then sang "Listen" as a duet with Beyoncé (who later performed her UK number-one single "If I Were a Boy"), and after performing with the American singer she proclaimed: "I have achieved a dream". Her final song before the first-round voting result was "You Are So Beautiful".
After the elimination of Quigg she sang what was to become her debut single, a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah, for the first time. Finally, with over eight million votes cast in total, Burke was revealed as the winner with 58% of the final vote.[6] The single went on to become the Christmas number one of 2008, holding the top spot for three weeks and selling one million copies. There was also a campaign to take Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah to the top of the Christmas chart to deny Burke the top spot.[7][8] The campaign was fuelled by Jeff Buckley fans' dislike of The X Factor's commercialism and the song's arrangement,[9][10] as well as a desire by this contingent to introduce younger music fans to Buckley's version.[11] Burke herself was not enamoured of the choice of song, and dismissed the original by remarking "It just didn’t do anything for me".[10] As winner, Burke received a recording contract with record label, Syco, which is co-owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The contract had a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 was a cash advance and the remainder allocated to recording and marketing costs.[On 13 February 2009 it was reported that Burke signed a £3.5 million, five-album US record deal with Epic Records.[13] Burke's first album was originally scheduled for March 2009, however, Simon Cowell confirmed that her album was scheduled for release later in the year to allow Burke to polish her skills and find the right songs for the album, so that it would not be rushed. The album was released on 19 October 2009 in the UK, titled Overcome.[14]
Burke's first commercial single from her debut album is titled "Bad Boys", which features Flo Rida. The single premiered in the UK on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 on 25 August 2009.[15] On 18 October 2009, Bad Boys topped the UK Singles Chart.[16] After visiting Burke in the studio, Beyoncé spoke of possibly recording a duet with her[17] and also asked for Burke to join her for Beyonce's second European leg of her I Am… Tour.[18] Bad Boys was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on 7 January 2010.
American rapper 50 Cent has expressed an interest in Burke, correctly predicting that she would win The X Factor and invited her to appear in an upcoming music video of his, most likely for a song from his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct.[19] On 19 July 2009, Burke confirmed that she had signed a six figure contract with Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana, to become the face of a new fashion line. She will also model their clothes and accessories in her music videos. Burke performed on the Royal Variety Show on 7 December 2009.[20]
Alexandra Burke
