Early life and career beginnings Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke was born in
Islington,
London on 25 August 1988, daughter of David Burke (born 1954) and
British soul singer
Melissa Bell (1964–2017). Burke shares the
middle names Cecelia Ewen with her mother and her sister, Sheneice. 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 separated in 1992, while she was still young, but the pair continued to co-parent their children. She performed the single again alongside the other X Factor contestants, and at parts she was too moved to sing. The single went on to become the
Christmas number one of 2008, holding the top spot for three weeks and selling one million copies. At this time 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. The campaign was fuelled by Jeff Buckley fans' dislike of
The X Factors commercialism and the song's arrangement, as well as a desire by this contingent to introduce younger music fans to Buckley's version. Burke herself was not enamoured of the choice of song, and dismissed the original by remarking "It just didn't do anything for me".
2009–2010: Overcome, international breakthrough and All Night Long tour '' in 2011 On 13 February 2009 it was reported that Burke signed a £3.5 million, five-album US record deal with
Epic Records. 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. 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. On 18 October 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 Burke to join her for the second European leg of her
I Am... World Tour.
Bad Boys was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on 7 January 2010. 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 would also model their clothes and accessories in her music videos. Burke performed on the
Royal Variety Show on 7 December 2009. Burke confirmed on 17 November 2009 that "
Broken Heels" would be the second commercial and third overall single from
Overcome. She also confirmed via her official Twitter page that the video was shot in Los Angeles on 22 and 23 November 2009. On 18 January 2010, Burke began her European Promo Tour in
Brussels, Belgium. On 12 March 2010, Burke confirmed on Twitter that "
All Night Long" would be her new single, featuring
Pitbull. She appeared on
Dancing on Ice during the semi-final to perform
All Night Long. On 29 April 2010, Burke entered FHM's poll for the world's
top 100 sexiest women 2010 at number 75. This was her first appearance on the poll since she rose to fame in 2008. Burke's next single was a completely new song, "
Start Without You", which was released on 5 September 2010. The video for "Start Without You" debuted on 19 August through VEVO on later premiered on The BOX. The song was performed at T4 on the Beach on 4 July 2010, and later released internationally. Additionally, Burke was announced as the first ever brand ambassador for
Sure Women, starring in a television advertisement for the company. Burke achieved her fifth consecutive top ten hit, and her third number one single, when "Start Without You" stormed to the top of the charts, beating Katy Perry to the top spot. The re-packaged edition of
Overcome is to be released of 29 November 2010.
Music Week reports that the deluxe makeover includes three brand new tracks; "Perfect", "Before the Rain" and "What Happens on the Dancefloor" featuring
Cobra Starship; as well as three number one and two Top 10 singles (including "Start Without You"). A DVD accompanying the release features seven videos, including an exclusive promo for the track "The Silence". The magazine also confirmed that Burke would promote the record with a performance on
The X Factor. A new track on the album was said to be a
duet with "an amazing group", the group was later announced as
Cobra Starship. On 25 October, Burke announced via her Twitter that a new version of "
The Silence" will be the album's fifth commercial single being released in early December. The official music video for "The Silence" was released on 27 October 2010, via MSN Videos UK. It was confirmed that there would be no further singles from the album after "The Silence".
2010–2012: New record deal and Heartbreak on Hold {{Quote box Burke stated that her next album would get "down, raunchy and dirty", promising the record would take risks. Burke took a break from recording so that she could embark on her first headline concert tour, the
All Night Long Tour and said she would continue recording two days after the tour ends. Burke featured on
Swizz Beatz new album,
Haute Living on the track "Show Off". In June it was reported that Burke had signed a record deal with
RCA Records and the album will be jointly handled by the
Syco and RCA Records. The album will be released in the United States after she signed a £3 million record deal with
Epic Records. It was thought that Burke's album would be released just under RCA; however, she said that the album would be jointly handled by RCA and SyCo. Burke said that she went to "writing camp" while she was in Los Angeles. She said that it is when many songwriters and
music producers flew in to work with her. was released on 11 March 2012. It debuted and peaked at number-three on the
UK Singles Chart. The second single from the album, "
Let it Go", premièred on
Kiss Radio on 13 April 2012. She announced in mid-April 2012 that her second studio album's title would be
Heartbreak on Hold which was released on 4 June 2012. On 18 April 2012, she was confirmed for
T4 on the Beach 2012. In February 2012, it was reported that Burke had left the
Syco label to join
RCA Records. In June 2012, Burke parted company with her management company.
2012–2014: Renegade, U.S. launch and other projects In September 2012, it was revealed that Burke would take part in
Les Misérables for
Children in Need. Burke later announced that she was working on an album for a US release. Again in October 2012, Burke revealed that she was working on a follow-up album to
Heartbreak on Hold, which would be released in 2013. On 3 November, she performed "All The Lights" at MAMA Awards with Zico, leader of the k-pop group Block B, as part of a special stage from H-Artistry in Malaysia . Burke said she wanted to go back to her original sound which was featured on her debut album,
Overcome. She told fans to expect "R&B bangers" on her third album. On 10 February 2013, it was revealed that Burke was recording two new songs a night for her third album and aimed to have around 60 in total to choose from. She also revealed that she was recording the album in the United States and at her home studio; "I've actually built a studio in my house, downstairs, I'm literally in it every day, recording, I'm flying to the states a lot, I've been in Los Angeles and New York a lot, and if the producers can't fly to me, I fly to them." On 13 February, she explained that her third album would focus on live instruments and would channel Soul music. On the same day, she revealed that she was taking acting classes and had hopes to pursue a career in films, musicals, theater. The concerts sold out in under a week. In May 2013, it was reported that Burke signed a deal with a US management company after impressing former
Def Jam president
Kevin Liles during a meeting with him in New York. In June 2013, Burke parted ways with her record label,
RCA, over "differing views" between herself and the label regarding her third studio album. Burke made her U.S. performance debut at
Apollo Theater on 10 June 2013 as part of the line-up for The Apollo Theater Legends Hall of Fame 2013, honouring the induction of
Chaka Khan. Burke shared the stage with other artists including
Mary J. Blige,
Patti LaBelle, and
Jennifer Holliday. On 30 August, Burke released her second EP,
#NewRules. The EP contains 5 tracks, including a cover of
Coldplay's "
Fix You". On 20 November, Burke revealed that the lead single from her upcoming third record had been decided and a video was to be shot in the coming weeks. She previewed two new songs on her Facebook page on Christmas.
2014–2017: Musical theatre and Strictly Come Dancing Burke made her West End debut on 2 June 2014 as a leading cast member in the £5 million production of
The Bodyguard at London's
Adelphi Theatre, 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 lovestruck 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. Later in the year Burke was nominated for 'Best West End Debut' at the West End Frame Awards 2014. In early 2014, prior to Burke joining the West End cast, it was announced the production would tour the UK and Ireland from February 2015, with the cast yet to be confirmed. Shortly after the production closed it was announced, in October 2014, that Burke would reprise her role as Rachel Marron in the nationwide tour, kicking off her year-and-a-half residency in the show on 12 February 2015 at the Southampton Mayflower Theatre. The production and cast briefly transferred to an international stage in
Monaco, playing four nights at the Grimaldi Forum, with Burke's final ever
Bodyguard performance after two years leading the production taking place on 26 June. An original cast recording featuring Burke was released in June 2015 to accompany the nationwide tour. It was announced on 8 January 2016 that Burke would be taking over the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier in an all-new UK touring production of
Sister Act: The Musical. Directed and choreographed by
Craig Revel Horwood. Burke commenced a year long residency in the show, making her debut on 30 July 2016 at the Curve Theatre Leicester. Alexandra's final performance in the critically acclaimed production took place on 27 August 2017 at Wintergardens, Blackpool. On 21 August 2017, Burke was announced as a contestant for the
fifteenth series of
Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with professional dancer
Gorka Márquez. and made it to the final, in which she was beaten by Joe McFadden. She broke the record for most 10s in the history of the show, with 32.
Strictly Come Dancing scores 2018–present: The Truth Is, return to musical theatre and pantomime debut On 22 December 2017, it was announced that Burke had signed with
Universal Music Group's
Decca Records for her third record,
The Truth Is, which was released on 16 March 2018. The album's lead single, "Shadow", was released on 23 February 2018. Burke then announced her first full UK and Ireland tour in seven years; encompassing 13 venues, would commence in Southend on 1 September 2018, but this was cancelled in June. In February 2018, it was formally announced that Burke would be returning to musical theatre, starring in the first West End revival production of
Chess since 1986. Burke played Svetlana, in a role made famous by
Barbara Dickson in the 1980s. The production ran for five weeks at London's
Coliseum Theatre, and saw Burke playing opposite theatre icon
Michael Ball. The opening night was on 26 April 2018. In July 2018, it was announced Burke would guest star as Roxie Hart in the London West End production of
Chicago for an eight-week run. In 2019, Burke reprised her role as Rachel Marron in a worldwide touring production of
The Bodyguard which finished in late 2019. From 12 July 2021, Burke played the Narrator in the
West End revival of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the
London Palladium opposite
Jason Donovan as Pharaoh and Jac Yarrow as Joseph until 5 September 2021. It was announced Burke was due to star as Julianne Potter in ''
My Best Friend's Wedding The Musical'' based on the
1997 film beginning September 2021 on a UK and Ireland tour (originally September 2020 but postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic). It was announced this was cancelled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, it was announced that Burke will star in a movie with her character inspired from
Tina Turner. In October 2021, Burke shared a snippet of new music on social media, with the words "new music?" along with a pair of suspicious emojis. In February 2022, Burke revealed she was pregnant with her first child. In late April 2022, it was revealed Burke would be playing the role of Mrs Blunderbore in the latest London Palladium pantomime,
Jack and the Beanstalk, from 10 December 2022 to 15 January 2023. In 2023, Burke co-starred in the film
Pretty Red Dress, directed by
Dionne Edwards. ==Artistry==