Alexandra Burke

Hailing from Islington, London, UK, Burke is the daughter of ex-Soul II Soul vocalist Melissa Bell, growing up surrounded by music. At the age of 12, Burke had already reached the final of a BBC talent show, "Star for a Night," losing out to Joss Stone for the top place. Burke decided to pursue a career in music upon leaving school, performing at various clubs whilst touring with Young Voices, a charitable choir raising money for children for Leukemia.

It in fact took two attempts for Burke to realize her talents on The X-Factor, entering the 2005 series of the show but missing out on a mentorship with Louis Walsh, having made it to the last seven of her category. Yet in 2008, Burke shot to victory, being a major contender right from the start. Her rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and duet with Beyoncé helped to beat JLS and Eoghan Quigg to victory, gaining 58 percent of the vote. Her debut single, Cohen's "Hallelujah," became the Christmas number one single in the UK, selling 576,000 copies in the first week, breaking the record for the fastest selling solo female artist.

Burke signed to RCA Records in 2009, for a five-album deal, releasing her debut album, "Overcome," in October of that year. Her debut featured the single, "Bad Boys," featuring Flo Rida, which went on to become an international success, as well as topping the UK SIngles Chart. Five more singles followed, all finding commercial success.

Her second effort, 2012's "Heartbreak on Hold," displayed Burke's desire to move towards a more raunchy, dirty sound, which featured the singles "Elephant" and "Let it Go," with the former peaking at number three in the UK charts. This was followed by the 2013 EP, "#NewRules," which featured a cover of Coldplay's "Fix You." In 2014, Burke lent her talents to musical theatre, performing the lead role of Rachel Marron in the West End musical, "The Bodyguard."