Alexandra
Cassandra was a beloved of Apollo who had granted her the gift of prophecy, but then cursed her after she scorned his love so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She is depicted in this painting from antiquity being raped by Ajax after the fall of Troy.
Pronunciation	IPA: /ˌælɪgˈzændrə, -ˈzɑn-/ Phonetic: [al-ig-zan-druh, -zahn-]
Gender	Feminine, the masculine variant being Alexander.
Language(s)	From the Latin Alexandra, itself based upon the Greek Alexandros, from alexein meaning "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect" and aner meaning "man".
Origin
Meaning	"Defender, protector of man".
Other names
See also	Alejandra, Aleksandra, Alessandra, Alexandrine, Alex, Alexa, Alexis, Cassandra, Kassandra, Lexi, Lexie, Lexa, Alessia, Alessiya, Alesiya, Olesia, Olesiya, Olessiya, Sandra, Sandrina, Sandrine, Sally, Sandy, Sendy, Shandy, Sasha, Shura, Xandra, Ksandra. The name Alexandria is similar, though itself means "land, place of Alexander".

Look up Alexandra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Alexandra (Greek: Αλεξάνδρᾱ) is the feminine form of the given name Alexander, which is a romanization of the Greek name Αλέξανδρος (Alexandros). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (alexein) "to defend" and the noun ἀνδρός (andros), genitive of ἀνήρ (anēr) "man". Thus it may be roughly translated as "protector of man". The name was one of the titles ("epithets") given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek a-re-ka-sa-da-ra, written in Linear B syllabic script.^[1][2]

Feminine variants[link]

• Alastríona Irish Gaelic
• Alejandra Spanish
• Aleka Greek
• Aleksandra Polish, Latvian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Estonian, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian
• Alessia Italian
• Alessandra Italian
• Alex English
• Alexa English, Romanian
• Alexandra Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian,Swedish
• Alexandrea English
• Alexandria English
• Alexandrie French
• Alexandrina English
• Alexandrine French, German
• Alexxa English
• Alissandra Sicilian
• Allie English
• Alondra Spanish
• Lekszi Hungarian
• Leska Czech
• Lesya Russian, Ukrainian
• Lexa English
• Lexi English
• Lexie English
• Lexine English
• Lexy English
• Ola Polish
• Oleksandra Ukrainian
• Oleńka Polish
• Olka Polish
• Olunia Polish
• Olusia Polish
• Sacha French
• Sanda Romanian
• Sandie English
• Sandra Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish Polish
• Sandrina Italian
• Sandrine French
• Sandy English
• Saša Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
• Saška Serbian
• Sascha German
• Sasha Russian
• Saundra English, Scottish
• Shura Russian
• Sondra English
• Szandra Hungarian
• Xandra Dutch, English
• Zandra English

People[link]

People whose full name is Alexandra[link]

• Alexandra or Cassandra, a prophetess in Greek mythology
• Saint Alexandra, a martyr of the Diocletianic persecutions
• Alexandra (singer) (1942–1969), German singer (stage name; real name Doris Nefedov)
• Princess Alexandra (disambiguation), list of princesses named Alexandra

People with the given name Alexandra[link]

• Alexandra (singer), German singer, real name Doris Nefedov, maiden name Treitz (1942-1969)
• Alexandra Elena Apostoleanu (born 1986), Romanian singer, better known as Inna
• Alexandra Burke (born 1988), British singer
• Alexandra Caso (born 1987), Dominican Republic volleyball player
• Alexandra Chando (born 1986), American actress
• Alexandra Charles (born 1946), Swedish "nightclub queen"
• Alexandra Daddario (born 1986), American actress
• Alexandra Dahlström (born 1984), Swedish actress
• Alexandra David-Néel (1868–1969), French explorer and spiritualist
• Alexandra Dulgheru (born 1989), Romanian tennis player
• Aleksandra von Engelhardt (1754–1838), Russian lady-in-waiting
• Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) (1872–1918), wife of Nicholas II of Russia
• Alexandra Fusai (born 1973), French tennis player
• Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952), Russian politician
• Alexandra Lee (stage name Alexandra Starlight), American singer and songwriter
• Alexandra Maria Lara (born 1978), German actress
• Alexandra Lencastre (born 1965), Portuguese actress
• Alexandra Mavrokordatou (1605–1684), Greek intellectual
• Alexandra Mowday (born 1985), New Zealand scientist
• Alexandra Panova (born 1989), Russian tennis player
• Alexandra Paul (born 1963), American actress
• Alexandra Raisman (born 1994), American gymnast
• Alexandra Shiryayeva (born 1983), Russian beach volleyball player
• Alexandra Sokoloff, American novelist and screenwriter
• Alexandra Stevenson (born 1980), American tennis player
• Alexandra Stan (born 1989), Romanian singer
• Alexandra Tydings (born 1972), American actress
• Alexandra Tolstaya (1884–1979), daughter of Leo Tolstoy
• Alexandra Zaretsky (born 1987), Israeli ice dancer
• Alexz Johnson (born 1986), Canadian actress
• Aleksandra Wozniak (born 1987), Canadian tennis player
• Aleksandra Krunić (born 1993), Serbian tennis player

Fictional characters[link]

• Alexandra Mack, aka Alex Mack, main character in the popular American Television series The Secret World of Alex Mack
• Alexandra Brooks DiMera, aka Lexie Carver, character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives
• Alexandra Nuñez, aka Alex Nuñez, character in Degrassi: The Next Generation
• Alexandra Russo, aka Alex Russo, character in Wizards of Waverly Place
• Alexandra (Nikita character)
• Alexandra Dunphy, aka Alex Dunphy, character in popular American Television series "Modern Family"

References[link]

See also[link]

• Alessandra
• Alexandria (disambiguation)
• Sandra (given name)
• Alexander

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (May 2012)

Alexandra Stan
Background information
Birth name	Alexandra Stan
Born	(1989-06-10) 10 June 1989 (age 23)
Origin	Constanța, Romania
Genres	House, pop, dance
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, entertainer, model, dancer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Maan Music, Media Pro Music, Ultra Records
Website	alexandrastan.ro

Alexandra Stan (sometimes stylized as Alexandra Staи) (born June 10, 1989) is a Romanian singer-songwriter. She released her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)", in late 2009. The song impacted Romanian mainstream radios in early 2010, peaking at number-eighteen. Her sophomore release, "Mr. Saxobeat", became her worldwide breakthrough hit, selling almost 1,000,000 copies in less than a year and reaching the top five in over twenty countries such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom and the top thirty in Australia, Canada and United States. She released her debut album in August 2011, entitled Saxobeats. The album spawned another single called "Get Back (ASAP)".

Early life and early career[link]

Alexandra Stan was born in Constanța.^[1] She studied at the "Traian" High School in Constanța, and as of 2011 she is enrolled in her second year as a student at the Faculty of Management Andrei Saguna.^[1] In the past, she took part in various music-related contests with a notable appearance at the Mamaia Festival vocal performance-section.^[1] She took one year of canto lessons. During an interview, she stated that she believes in God and she has her religious principles, and she does believe in the Church.^[2]

[edit] Saxobeats era (2009–present)

In 2009, Stan released her debut promotional single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)"^[3] The song was out in late 2009 but impacted some major Romanian mainstream radio stations in early 2010, with an A-list addiment in May 2010. During summer 2010, she premiered a new track "Show Me The Way" and toured Romania. In September 2010, Stan premiered her second release "Mr. Saxobeat". In less than two months, the song became her greatest hit in Romania, peaking at number-one on the Romanian Top 100 and defending the position for eight consecutive weeks.^[4] The song was commercially successful worldwide. In early 2011, it entered the Spanish Singles Chart and debuted inside the top ten of the French Singles Chart as well as in the Canadian Hot 100. It has firstly hit the #1 position in Italy and Denmark, then in Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. In late May, "Saxobeat" became the first Romanian song to reach #1 in Germany since "Dragostea din Tei". It was a number-one in Austria, Germany and Switzerland for twenty weeks in total. It was also a top-five success in over twenty countries, including #2 in Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Scotland, as well as #3 in Spain, Sweden and the UK Singles Chart. In New Zealand it peaked at number-four, while on the Brasil Hot 100 at.number-six while in Australia, Canada and the US Billboard Hot 100 at #21, #24, 25 and 29 respectively. It was also a #1 in the UK Dance Chart and in the US Hot Dance Airplay for seven weeks (the longest run in the 2010s).

After the success of "Mr. Saxobeat", Stan released a follow-up "Get Back (ASAP)". So far, it peaked at number-one in Slovakia, at number-four in the Romanian Top 100, at number-eight in Finland and inside the top twenty in over five countries. The song "Lollipop" was re-released for international digital markets exclusively, but with no success. In summer 2011, Stan released another single, "Million", featuring famed German rapper Carlprit. As of September, 2011 the song has received little airplay in France and missed the top forty. Its music video's shots started on December 6, 2011.

On August 29, 2011, Alexandra Stan released her debut album, entitled "Saxobeats". It features eight tracks plus five remixes. The album was first released in France, then in Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Spain, Poland and Italy.^[5][6] It was released in the United States and Canada on October 25, through Ultra Records. It is yet to be released in the UK. Her fourth overall single "1,000,000" ft. German rap star Carlprit has just been sent to mainstream radio stations in Belgium, France and Romania.^[7] As of January 14, 2012, "1,000,000" has currently peaked at #13 on the Romanian Airplay Chart, its highest peak on the chart to date.^[8]

Stan received multiple certification awards for "Mr. Saxobeat", including platinum in Australia^[9] and Spain,^[10] Platinum in Denmark^[11] and Sweden^[12] and Multi-Platinum in Italy.^[13] At the 2011 Romanian Music Awards she received two nominations for "Mr. Saxobeat" ("Best Dance" and "Best Song", winning the latter) and two nods for herself "Best Female" and winning the "Borderbreaker Award". She was also nominated for Best European Act at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, after winning Best Romanian Act where she was nominated alongside rapper Guess Who and Puia, singer Smiley and band Fly Project. In November, Stan lost the Best European to Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany.

Discography[link]

• Saxobeats (2011)

Singles[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexandra Stan

• Official website

Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke October 2011
Background information
Birth name	Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke
Born	(1988-08-25) 25 August 1988 (age 23) Islington, London, England, UK
Genres	R&B, soul, pop, electro
Occupations	Singer, dancer, model
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Epic, Syco, RCA, Subliminal
Associated acts	Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Flo Rida, Cobra Starship
Website	alexandraburkeofficial.com

Alexandra Imelda Ceclia Ewen Burke (born August 25, 1988)^[1] is a British R&B and pop recording artist, songwriter, dancer and model. Born and raised in Islington, London, United Kingdom. Burke was exposed to music from an early age, with her mother being the lead singer of Soul II Soul. Burke rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008. Burke currently stands as one of the most successful winners of The X Factor and she is currently signed to four record labels, Epic Records, RCA Records, Syco Music and Subliminal.

After winning The X Factor, Burke released the winner's single and Debut single "Hallelujah", which became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours, the song sold 105,000 in one day.^[2] The song also became the top-selling single of 2008 in the UK and the UK's Christmas 2008 number one. By January 2009, the single had sold over one million copies in the UK alone, a first for a British female soloist.^[3] Burke went onto release her Debut album, Overcome, in 2009, which debuted at number-one on the UK Album Charts and spawned four number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart—"Hallelujah", "Bad Boys", selling over 780,000 in the UK and becoming a Platinum selling single, "All Night Long" and "Start Without You"—and the album became one of the most successful albums of that year in the UK, the singles released from the album earned her three BRIT Award nominations.^[4] The album also saw the release of UK top 10 hit, "Broken Heels" and "The Silence". In late 2010, Burke decided to release Overcome: Deluxe Edition. Overcome and the six singles released from the album have sold over four million record in the UK alone.^[5] "Elephant" was released as Burke's comeback single in February 2012, which became a hit single, with a peak position of number three in the UK. "Let It Go" served as the second single and Burke's sophomore album, Heartbreak on Hold is set to be released in June 2012.^[6]

Burke is heavily involved with charities and is a known supporter for No Child Born To Die, Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion and has been involved in two number-one charity singles on the UK and Irish Singles Charts, this is includes—"Hero" (2008) with her fellow X Factor Finalists and then again as part of a celebrity super group, Helping Haiti and released "Everybody Hurts" (2010), Burke thought that she was not doing enough for the Haitian people and travelled to Haiti to give them clothes and food.^[7] She has endorsed brands including, Sure Women, Nintendo DS and signed a major six-figure contract to endorse Dolce & Gabbana^[8] and in 2010, Burke also signed a contract with IMG Models as a Model.^[9] In early 2011, Burke began her solo tour, All Night Long Tour and she was also invited to perform on Beyoncé Knowles's I Am... Tour.^[10] Burke was the first and only X Factor contestant to have a judging role, when she became a guest judge on BBC's So You Think You Can Dance UK. She later made more history to be the first contestant of the X Factor to return to the show as a judge, when she joined the show as a judge during the Eighth series of Week 4 live finals.^[11]

Life and career[link]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Burke was born in Islington, London, United Kingdom and is the daughter of Melissa Bell on August 25, 1988. Her mother was also a soul and R&B singer, as she was a member of band Soul II Soul, the band successfully enjoyed a number of number-one singles and albums. She is of African , Dougla , Jamaican , and Irish descent. Although her mother was in a band, she was under investigation of suspicion benefit fraud.^[12] Her mother said that she has not done a professional gig for years, and has never claimed benefits when she did.^[12] Burke has three other siblings Sheneice, David, and Aaron.^[13] Burke attracted the names Cecelia Ewen as they are also her mothers middle names, her sister, Sheneice also shares these names.^[12] 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 and picking him up from school.^[14] Burke's parents broke up in 1992, while she was still young, but the pair remain close friends for their children.^[14]

Burke began dance classes at a very early age, and began singing when she was as young as five years old. She went onto 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.^[1] She she was aged twelve, Burke entered the television talent show, Star for a Night she she became the youngest person in the competition. Throughout the competition, she was the runner-up after she was beaten for the winners title by Joss Stone.^[1] Still 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 very impressed by Burke's vocals that she asked her to perform with her at one of her shows the next night. Burke attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, Angel where she worked for her GCSEs, once she achieved her GCSEs Burke left school to pursue a career in the music industry. Before Burke was successful on The X Factor she had been working as a singer, gigging at weekends in popular night 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.^[1]

[edit] 2005–09:The X Factor era

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.^[15] 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.^[16][17] The campaign was fuelled by Jeff Buckley fans' dislike of The X Factor's commercialism and the song's arrangement,^[18][19] as well as a desire by this contingent to introduce younger music fans to Buckley's version.^[20] Burke herself was not enamoured of the choice of song, and dismissed the original by remarking "It just didn’t do anything for me".^[19] 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.^[21]

[edit] 2009–10: Overcome, international breakthrough and All Night Long tour

Alexandra Burke during the 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.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24] On 18 October 2009, Bad Boys topped the UK Singles Chart.^[25] After visiting Burke in the studio, Beyoncé spoke of possibly recording a duet with her^[26] and also asked for Burke to join her for Beyonce's second European leg of her I Am… Tour.^[10] Bad Boys was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on 7 January 2010. The single went onto be a big successful single in international territory.

A lot of people were comparing and still do compare Burke to the boy band JLS who finished second behind her in The X Factor. Statistically, Burke is more successful than they are, but JLS are more popular with younger generation girls whilst Burke's fan base ranges from young to old. 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.^[27] 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.^[8]

It was confirmed by Burke on 17 November 2009, that "Broken Heels" would be the second commercial single, (third overall), from Overcome.^[28] She also confirmed via her Official Twitter page that the video was shot in Los Angeles on 22 and 23 November 2009.^[29] On 18 January 2010, Burke began her European Promo Tour in Brussels, Belgium.^[30] On 12 March 2010, Burke confirmed on Twitter that "All Night Long" will be her new single, featuring Pitbull. She appeared on Dancing on Ice during the semi-final to perform All Night Long.^[31] On 29 April 2010, Burke entered FHM's poll for the world's top 100 sexiest women 2010 at number 75. This is her first appearance on the poll since she rose to fame in 2008.^[32] It has been since confirmed that Burke's next single will be a completely new song, "Start Without You", which is set to be released on 5 September 2010.^[33] The video for "Start Without You" debuted on August 19 through VEVO on later premiered on The BOX.^[34] 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, for which she starred in a television advert.^[35] Burke gained her fifth consecutive top ten hit, and her third number one single, after "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 November 29, 2010.^[36] 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 accompanies the release featuring seven videos, including an exclusive promo for the track "The Silence". The magazine also confirmed that Burke will 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.^[37] On October 25, 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.^[38] The official music video for "The Silence" was released on 27 October 2010, via MSN Videos UK.^[39] It was confirmed that there would be no further singles from the album after "The Silence".^[40]

[edit] 2011–present: New record deal and Heartbreak on Hold

Burke stated that her next album will get "down and dirty", promising the record that will 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.^[40] She is working with RedOne for a lot of the album, but will also reunite with Bruno Mars, StarGate, Rico Love, Autumn Rowe and Ne-Yo, among others.^[40] Burke became a guest judge during the auditions of English version of So You Think You Can Dance.^[41] This made Burke the first ever The X Factor contestant to have a judging role.^[42] Burke stated that she had recorded a duet, with an "amazing" artist. She said, she was working in the studio with songwriter, Autumn Rowe, and met him through Rowe and the duet just sort of "happened".^[43] Burke featured on Swizz Beatz new album, Haute Living on track "Show Off".^[44] 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.^[45] The album will be released in the United States after she signed a £3 million record deal with Epic Records.^[46] 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.^[47] Burke said that she went to "writing camp" while she was in Los Angeles. She said that it is when lots of Songwriters and Music producers flew in to work with her.^[48] She also said that she wrote two or three songs a day for a couple of weeks. After writing camp, "the elephant in the room" was one of the phrases which she came up with, which a lot of Americans say, she explained: "It's about not discussing something you know needs to be discussed whether it's in a relationship or with friends or family," she said of the song. Burke got the idea of using the saying from when she was in writing camp with a lot of Americans.^[49]

Since April 2011, Burke has supported T4's Battlefront show, helping young campaigners Hope and Abby raise awareness about the organ donor register for their Sign Up, Speak Up, Save Lives project. After Burke made history with being the first X Factor contestant to have a judging role, she later went onto make more history after she returned to The X Factor as a judge during Week 4 of the live shows during the eighth series of the X Factor, this was because main judge, Kelly Rowland was unable to appear on the judging panel due to a viral throat infection during 29th and 30th of October, when Burke stood in. Producers wanted Burke as she has been one of the most successful contestants of the show and went on to win the show, which made her know exactly what the contestants were going through.^[11] Burke's lead single from the album titled "Elephant", which is produced by Erick Morillo,^[50] was released on March 11th 2012. It debuted and peaked at number-three on the UK Singles Chart.^[51] The second single from the album, "Let it Go", premièred on Kiss Radio on 13 April 2012^[52]. She announced in mid-April 2012 that her second studio album's title would be Heartbreak on Hold which would be released on June 4, 2012.^[53][54] On 18 April 2012, she was confirmed for T4 On The Beach 2012.^[55][56]

Artistry[link]

Music and voice[link]

	"Bad Boys" noicon The song features R&B genre, however the track explores genres in the song and Digital Spy said the song had a "stomping electro-R&B tune".[57] "Start Without You" noicon The song incorporates reggae fusion and dancehall, feauting the line "drip drop it way down low."[58]
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Burke's music is contemporary R&B, however her music has a feature of soul and pop in her some of her songs. All the music Burke has recorded to date has been in English language, although she has expressed interests in recording in Spanish, French or Italian.^[59] Burke is known for her big powerful vocals after winning hit television show, The X Factor. Burke also processes a Mezzo-soprano voice.^[59] Burke's vocal range has been compared to Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston and Beyoncé Knowles."^[60]

Since winning X Factor and signing a record deal with Syco Music and recording her debut album Overcome, Burke has been heavily involved in what type of music she records and releases.^[61] She said about being involved with the albums music: "I said to my manager I want my music to be fun, to be uplifting and to be bold. I want it to reflect my personality. I want it to be in your face, I want it to be a beast. I want it to be energetic and fun. When I record the ballads I want to cry. And if I go through a roller coaster recording this album then I want the listener to go through a roller coaster when they hear it."^[62] During her first studio album, the genre ranged from heavy R&B songs to Dance-pop tracks, after she collaborated with dance production team RedOne, as well as working with Stargate and Ne-Yo.^[63] Burke labelled her first album as "very Americanised".^[14] "The Silence", Burke's sixth single from Overcome was a strong R&B ballad, and the song was inspired by her auntie's relationship with her boyfriend.^[64] She said: "My auntie was going through that situation and she came over to Los Angeles to spend some time with me and get away from her fella etc. And she was telling me about her situation and [...] why does he let the silence do the talking? Why doesn't he let you know how he feels? And then this song came about".^[64] Burke said that her first album's music was Pop and R&B and she decided to do this type of music because "everyone expected her to do the opposite."^[65] She said that her voice will give the tracks soul, but the music is pop and R&B.^[65] Although Burke did not have any writing credits on her first album, during the production of her second studio album, Heartbreak on Hold she went to writing camp with many Americans.^[66] Burke has received co-writing credits on a number of songs on her second album.^[66] She said that she was going to get "down and dirty", "sexier", and a lot "fiercer". Burke also announced she wanted to take more risk on the second LP and that she was going to go "insane" on Heartbreak on Hold.^[40] On her second album, Burke's album features Electropop,^[67] R&B and electro house.^[68] Burke said that people assume that she is a Diva and people always say "I didn't realise you were this bubbly. I heard you were a bitch."^[14] Someone said that Burke's success in music made her a Diva and that one person called her rude, which made her cry.^[14] She is the Executive producer on her second album and she said what "she says, goes" but she will still take advice from her management.^[14]

Influences[link]

Burke's known influences in music include Beyoncé Knowles, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Aretha Franklin, Kelly Rowland and Whitney Houston.^[69] Burke has also listed Alicia Keys, John Legend and Mary J. Blige as an inspiration in music.^[70] Burke performed with Knowles during The X Factor (UK) 2008 final. When Burke welcomed Knowles to the stage she said "I cannot believe I am about to introduce this person, my hero, Beyoncé."^[71] Knowles later described Burke as a "superstar" and Burke has a "beautiful voice" as well as being a "beautiful young lady" and that Knowles was proud to sing with Burke.^[71] Burke later said that performing with Knowles made her "dreams come true".^[71] Knowles later announced her tour, I Am... Tour and that she hoped to see Burke again.^[71] Knowles later invited Burke to perform on her tour in May 2009, and she did.^[10] Simon Cowell dubbed the duet as "one of the most memorable moments in the history of X Factor.^[71] Burke later said that she took influence and inspiration on her debut tour, All Night Long Tour from Knowles and Jackson.^[69][72] Knowles and Burke remain close friends and after Knowles visited Burke in the studio, she spoke of possibly recording a duet with her.^[73] In February 2011, Burke said that she took inspiration and influence from Robin S., Donna Summer and her mother's band, Soul II Soul on her second LP.^[74] American rapper, 50 Cent is a known supporter and fan of Burke's predicting that she would win The X Factor, he also asked her to feature a cameo in one of his upcoming music videos, as well as perform on a track from his Before I Self Destruct.^[27] Swizz Beatz is a known fan of Burke's music, he invited Burke to perform on a track from his second studio album, Haute Living which the pair collaborated on track, "Show Off".^[44]

Other ventures[link]

[edit] Launch of clothing range and 2KX

In 2010, it was said that Burke and JLS who came second to Burke during the X Factor were in talks to release a clothing line together.^[76] JLS and Burke said that they have wanted to release a clothing line since before they were famous.^[77] The pair have been getting together and using ideas and inspiration which they have collected together over the years.^[77] It was later revealed that the company would be called 2KX and the company would sell a rang of men and women's clothing which could be worn casually during the day or for a dressed up night out.^[77] With the clothing range being sold exclusively at branches of USC around the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[77] 2KX was released in Spring 2011 during a heat wave in the United Kingdom which raised sales of the company.^[77] In order to promote the company, both artists began wearing the clothing at gigs performances, music videos as well as Facebook page opening for the company, an offical website launch and youtube adds.^[9] JLS wore the clothes in their music video for "Love You More".^[9] Burke later signed a contract with IMG Models as a Model.^[9] Burke and JLS later completed a photoshoot wearing the clothing to promote the clothing range. In one of the images, the pair show their figures while they pose in their range of underwear. Another image shows the pair in clothing ranges which will be included in the Spring Collection.^[78] The company will accommodate for men and women, with JLS designing for the men and Burke designing for the women.^[78] The company will reflect their personal styles and their love for fashion.^[78] In January 2011, an interview with Burke she said; "We are eagerly waiting for the first stocks of the ultra-hyped men's and women's underwear range, due very soon."^[79] It was revealed that the Underwear Collection would launch in March 2011,^[78] and their Clothing Collection would be released in April 2011.^[80][81] The underwear which went on sale in March 2011, price ranged between £15 - £19^[82] Burke said that they wanted to give the range a "reasonable price" which people would be able to afford.^[78] The dresses which Burke created were praised saying that she has marked her stylish fashion on the fashion range.^[83] Burke and JLS decided to release a t-shirt from the company, almost five month before the company was due to launch, however they were releasing the t-shirt for Charity in aid of Capital FM's Help a Capital Child The business' target aims was to raise £10,000 for charity by January 1, 2011. The t-shirts price were £15 with £1.50 from each sold t-shirt would go to the charity.^[84] The company did reach their target aims.^[78] The title of the company, 2KX came about as the name stands for "2010" which was when the company was founded by Burke and JLS, and when the label was officially launched. 2K is the abbreviation for the year "2000" and "X" is the Roman numeral for 10.^[85] The company is based London, United Kingdom.^[86]

Reality television[link]

Burke first appeared on reality television when she took part in Star for a Night she she bacame the youngest person who was competing within the competiton. Burke became the runner-up of the show and was beaten to the winner's title by Joss Stone.^[1] She later went onto audition for the second series of The X Factor which she made it through all the way to the judges houses stage before mentor, Louis Walsh decided she was too young to continue in the competition. She later returned in series five was was assigned Cheryl Cole as her mentor, she went onto win the competition, winning 58% of the views votes.^[87] Burke returned to reality television on BBC when she assigned as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance UK, making history for any X Factor contestant as she was the first ever contestant to have a judging role.^[88] Burke featured as a guest judge throughout a number of the Auditions and Choreography camp stages. It was revealed that BBC producers decided to cast Burke in as she had a big fanbase and the show's rating's were poor, in order to gain more views they asked Burke to become a guest judge.^[89] She later made futher history when she returned to The X Factor as a judge during series eight live finals. She took the place on the seat alongside, Burke's former series two mentor Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa Contostavlos. Burke was said to be really looking forward to be seeing what it's like to be on the otherside of the show, meaning what it will be like as a judge and not a contestant.^[90] Producers of the show decided that they would choose Burke as a replacement for Rowland as she was the only one who is experienced in both as a judge and as a contestant.^[91]

Philanthropy[link]

From a young age Burke has supported a number of Charities around the United Kingdom.^[1] Before Burke went onto audition for The X Factor and achieved a successful music career, Burke went on tour with band, Young Voices.^[1] Young Voice's was a band which goes on tour in order to help charity raise money for children with leukemia. Burke performed in large audience venues, such as the Royal Albert Hall before she made fame.^[1] Burke went on tour with her mothers band, Soul II Soul where Burke sang to raise money for charity.^[12] Burke's mother, Melissa Bell who got accused of benefit fraud, said that herself and Burke only do professional gigs together for charity.^[12] In 2008, while Burke was a contestant on X Factor she and her fellow series five contestants released a cover of Mariah Carey's "Hero" for the Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion charities. The release was backed by, and originally suggested by, The Sun newspaper.^[92] On October 30 of 2008 it was announced that the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, would waive all tax on copies sold on the single. He said, "I support the efforts being made by the X Factor contestants and in recognition of that I'm proposing effectively to waive the VAT on the sale of these singles. We will do that by making a donation equivalent to the value of the VAT."^[93] Simon Cowell ordered the song to have a big "promotional push" in order for the song to top the UK Singles Chart, and the contestants performed the song live on the X Factor and again performed it with Carey herself.^[94] On November 2, 2008 it debuted atop of the UK Singles Chart, staying there for three consecutive weeks and becoming the fastest selling single of 2008.^[95] The song sold 100,000 copies in the first day of its release and 313,244 copies by the end of the week. It has sold over 770,000 copies and raised over one million pounds for Help For Heroes foundation.^[96] Many shops had to order urgent copies of the single due to high demand."^[93] It was listed as the second biggest single of 2008 and the nineteenth best selling single of the decade.^[97] The single sold 1.2 million copies within the UK getting certificated double platinum.^[98]