News the Stars Bring Today

In the second straight year, British audiences have chosen a stunning female vocalist as the winner in the X-Factor. She is, like last year’s winner, Leona Lewis, a humble person. Alexandra Burke showed great determination, because three years ago, she hadn’t even been accepted for the first step by X-Factor judge Louis Walsh. She is not a complete unknown, according to her Myspace profile “at only nineteen years of age, she has performed for Prince Phillip, Stevie Wonder, Beverly Knight and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.”

She pretty much grew up singing R& B. Now Alexandra comes from a musical family (Daughter of the Legendary Former Lead singer of Soul II Soul, Melissa Bell) and, I believe both parents are musicians. She did, however, grow up in a single parent household, due to her father’s absence since she was six years. Apparently, David Burke, her Jamaican-born father was having another child, her secret half-brother, at the same time that Alexandra was being born. That caused a lot of tension and according to Newsof the world led to the inevitable breakup years later. While her mother toured the world, Alexandra’s grandparents raised her. During the competition, it was reported that father and daughter had met briefly for lunch.

The other 2 acts in the final were JSL, a quartet, and Eoghan Quigg. Eoghan, only 16 and from Northern Ireland, had been the front-runner for most of the 10 shows. But Alexandra showed her determination and innate superstar qualities and the “diamond came out of the rough.” Approximately 16 million votes were cast for the winning vote.

In this Christmas time, I have decided to post her version of “Silent Night”. I do not have any other personal details, such as her birth date, so I will have to wait to do her astrology.

I couldn’t help but include her rendition of “Crossroads”, which she performed with Beyonce later when she won the tournament. Here she is when she turned the tournament around in late November: