I have lost count of how many artists have been featured who got their start from a reality talent One reason that I stopped viewing the shows was that I knew the day would come when those runner-ups would go on to have better careers than the winners. It didn’t take long for that scenario to unfold and to be repeated many times. However, this week Weekly Music Commentary will feature a past winner of the show The X Factor. English singer, songwriter and actress Alexandra Burke has enjoyed a career somewhere in the middle of winners throughout the years. She has shown that talent may transcend the business issues that come with winning an X Factor competition. As usual we will explore Alexandra Burke’s beginnings, as well as her career after The X Factor.
Alexandra Burke was born in Islington, London on August 25, 1988, daughter of David Burke and Melissa Bell. Her mother was a soul and R&B singer, and featured as a singer in the band Soul II Soul. Burke said that she had to grow up very fast, at a very young age as her mother was always touring with her band and that she had to look after her young brother, which included taking him to and picking him up from school. Burke’s parents broke up in 1992, while she was still young, but the pair continued to co-parent their children.
Burke began dance classes at a very early age, and began singing when she was as young as five years old. She went on to sing on stage at the Bahrain when she was only nine years old, where she sang with her mother, who was still in band Soul II Soul. When she was aged twelve, Burke entered the television talent show, Star for a Night and was the youngest person in the competition. She was the runner-up after she was beaten for the winners title by Joss Stone. At the age of twelve, her mother put her in contact with Stevie Wonder who rang Burke and she sang down the phone to him. Her mother, Bell, also asked her to sing to Jean Carne who was said to be so impressed by Burke’s vocals that she asked her to perform with her at one of her shows the following night.
The young singer attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, where she studied for her GCSEs (Certificate of Secondary Education). Once she had passed her exams, Burke left school to pursue a career in music. She started gigging weekends in popular night clubs. 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.
Before her start gigging, Burke started working with The X Factor. Burke auditioned for the second series of The X Factor in 2005. 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. Perhaps he was right, but this would not be the end for Alexandra Burke. In fact, this is where her story would start. Burke 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.
Burke was joined in the grand final by Northern 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 favorite performance of the series. Her Christmas song was an adaptation 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.
Upon winning The X factor, or any reality talent show, a recording contract is a large part of the prize. As most artists would tell you this is by no means a sure fire push to success. However, Burke was able to find the business ear for a much larger payday. On February 13, 2009 it was reported that Burke signed a £3.5 million, five-album US record deal with Epic Records. Her debut album was released on October 19, 2009 in the UK, titled Overcome. Burke’s first commercial single from her debut album was titled “Bad Boys”, which features Flo Rida. The single premiered in the UK on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 on August 25, 2009. On October 18, 2009, Bad Boys topped the UK Singles Chart. After visiting Burke in the studio, Beyoncé spoke of possibly recording a duet with her and also asked for Burke to join her for Beyoncé’s second European leg of her I Am… Tour. Bad Boys was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on January 7, 2010.
After her big start and then a long tour, the time came for her followup recordings and eventual album. The music business part of the development crept into the creative side. Alexandra Burke’s second studio album Heartbreak on Hold was released digitally on June 1, 2012 through Syco and RCA Records, and a physical version was issued three days later. The album marks her final record with both record labels, parting between 2012 and the following year. Burke would also part ways with her management team.
After the release of her second album, Alexandra Burke would eventually make a move toward the musical theater. Burke made her West End debut as a leading cast member in the £5 million production of The Bodyguard on June 2, 2014, at London’s Adelphi Theater, taking over the lead role from Beverley Knight. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name and made famous by Whitney Houston, Burke played Rachel Marron – a superstar receiving threats from a love stricken obsessed fan, who falls in love with the new bodyguard hired to protect her. Burke was approached to play the role two years prior to her 2014 debut, but due to scheduling commitments was forced to turn down the opportunity. Two years later Alexandra was again invited to audition for the role and was subsequently offered the part.
Alexandra Burke is quite successful in the entertainment industry, although not quite becoming the recording artist many thought she would be. At least not yet. To date she has delivered three studio albums, and much acclaim for her appearances in the musical theater. She has recorded new music earlier this year, which means there might be another studio album coming soon. Like many, I feel that Alexandra Burke is very underrated as a recording artist. She’s not alone. The musical world is filled with very underrated singers who never had a major hit. Nevertheless, if this is Alexandra Burke’s career trajectory she is doing just fine since The X Factor win.