Alexandra Burke: 'If I Can Make One Person Smile, That's My Job Done'

Alexandra Burke“Today, my little one woke up at three in the morning. My baby is potty training at the moment, and was like, ‘oh… I’ve wet the bed’. So, I was up at three, sorting that out. Then, I tried to get that baby back down to sleep, but that didn’t quite work out – and then the other baby woke up.“So, I thought, ‘do you know what? Let’s start the day!’. At 4.30 in the morning!”These words might seem like they’re lifted from any of the many forums for parents of young children, or a slightly frazzled WhatsApp group, but they’re actually from British pop superstar and celebrated musical theatre performer Alexandra Burke, describing life on the road for her latest touring production.Alexandra and her partner, footballer Darren Randolph, welcomed their first child in June 2022, and their second in September 2023. Both of the couple’s children are currently on tour with Alexandra (in fact, she’s tending to them throughout our conversation as we speak over Zoom), with her four dogs only adding to the dynamic.“Life on the road is so very different to how it used to be,” she tells HuffPost UK. “But it’s great. I’ve been at a trampoline park this morning. I’ve done some interviews, some admin, been to the gym – and now I’m about to do a show. That’s how different life is.”If that sounds hectic, that’s because it is, but it’s the kind of chaos that Alexandra says she thrives under.“The key thing is to probably rest when I can. But because I’m a thousand-miles-an-hour type of personality, I can’t seem to do that,” she admits. “So, when I get a moment, I take it and either I spend time with the children or I’m in the gym.“I can’t really complain. I feel very blessed to have the kids on the road with me. But it is so very different. [On previous tours], I would be getting eight to 10 hours sleep a night. At the moment, as you can hear, I’m now pouring dog food out, because we have four dogs with us, on the road, as well as two kids. I know I sound nuts. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”She recalls that just a day earlier, her manager rang to ask, “how are you touring with your children and waking up and living on like four hours sleep, if that?”. Her response? “Darling, I love life.”Alexandra BurkeFor most of us, the first time we were introduced to Alexandra was when she competedon the fifth season of The X Factor back in 2008. It was the first series with Cheryl Cole (as she was then still known) on the judging panel, and the show was just about to hit its imperial phase.Under Cheryl’s mentorship, Alexandra was a strong contender throughout the competition, but as the live shows progressed, she became a firm favourite to win. This was solidified in the final, when she famously duetted with Beyoncé, and went on to score a deal with Simon Cowell’s now-defunct record label Syco.The X Factor was always a controversial presence in the British media landscape, but in recent years, the show has faced even more scrutiny, and a number of perdoerms once associated with the Syco machine have spoken disparagingly about their experiences (among them are former Little Mix singer Jade has used her difficult experiences in the music industry as the inspiration for several of her solo offerings, accompanied by several not-so-subtle digs at her former label boss, and X Factor finalist Rebecca Ferguson, who also signed to Syco after her time on the show, and has become a vocal campaigner for more safeguarding for those in the music industry in recent years).For her part, Alexandra says she “loved” her time on The X Factor, insisting it’s something she has “fond memories of”.“I’m just so appreciative of the show obviously, because it’s got me to where I am today,” she enthuses. “And I’m still able to do so many wonderful things in my career and to keep going nearly 17 years later. That’s a real blessing.”Alexandra performing her iconic – and very emotional – duet with Beyoncé on The X Factor back in 2008She points out that because she “grew up in the industry” thanks to her late mother Melissa Bell – who had been a vocalist in the group Soul II Soul, and worked with everyone from Whitney Houston, Elton John, George Michael and Stevie Wonder over the course of her career – she was perhaps better prepared than many others who found themselves in her position. “I was so lucky to have her teaching me, guiding me,” Alexandra recalls of her early years in the public eye. “Going into the business so young, I had someone there that was like, ‘this is what you don’t do’, ‘this is what you do do’, do you know what I mean? It was so different for me, because I had my mummy. I was really one of the lucky ones [to have] somebody there to nurture me and make sure I didn’t make silly decisions.”“When you’re in the business young, it is easy to [feel] overwhelmed,” she continues. “And I’m not going to lie, there were, of course, overwhelming moments in my career and stuff like that, because it was all kind of overnight. “But at the same time, I feel like I was really looked after, because I had my mum. I had her to be there for me, and I had a really supportive network around me.“And when I did have those overwhelmed moments, I was never afraid to speak up about it, and say, ‘oh my gosh, I need a break, this is too much’. I don’t think a lot of people had the guts to do that. Nowadays it’s way more encouraged to speak up about what you’re going through, if you’re feeling anything. Whereas back in the day, I don’t think it really was encouraged.”Speaking up for herself was something Alexandra notes was instilled in her by her mother. “My mum always taught me, from being a child, to speak up, and to always try your best to stay positive in situations,” she explains.Alexandra Burke and her mum Melissa Bell at an event in 2012One area of life in the spotlight that any public figure has less control over is their relationship with the press. In the past, Alexandra has also spoken up when she’s felt she’s been misconstrued and misrepresented in the media (most notably during her stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, when false stories about her began appearing in the tabloid press.“If I’m honest with you, I don’t really think about that nowadays,” she says. “People who know me, they know me. And that’s just not something I go back to, mentally.”Since her early X Factor days, Alexandra’s career has only continued to evolve. As well as her six UK top 10 singles and three studio albums, she’s also taken the lead in stage productions like The Bodyguard, Sister Act, Chess, and Chicago, which opened the door for a screen acting career.Alexandra has also kept up her successful streak on reality television, winning a charity special of Great British Bake Off and making it to the final of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and Strictly (her music has also twice been used as a lip sync on Drag Race UK, with RuPaul himself among the most vocal fans of Alexandra’s music, something she says continues to “blow my mind”).Of her Strictly experience eight years ago, Alexandra maintains she had “such a great time on that show”.“To be able to do Latin and ballroom dances – and learn stuff that we couldn’t afford as kids to be able to go out and do – it was my childhood dream,” she reveals. “I don’t even know how I made it to the finals, but I’m so lucky, because I got to literally complete every single dance. I really had a great time, and then when I look back at it, I kind of don’t recognise myself.”Alexandra Burke on the official Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2018Back in 2022, Strictly fave Johannes Radebe – with whom the singer worked on her big-screen debut Little Red Dress – named Alexandra as the celebrity he’d most like to be paired with on a future Christmas special or All Stars series.“You are kidding me!” she responds when this is brought up. “I love him so much.”While she’s adamant that she’s “too short” to be coupled with someone as “gorgeously tall” as Johannes, she concedes: “Right, here it is. If Strictly gave me the opportunity to come out on an All Stars series or a Christmas special, it would be a dream to dance with Johannes. An absolute dream.”For now, though, Alexandra is focussed on her current tour as part of the cast of the musical The Addams Family, in which she stars as the iconic matriarch, Morticia.By this point in her career, the Brit Award nominee is certainly no stranger to musical theatre, but given how different the fast-talking, energetic and effervescent Alexandra is from the soft-spoken and aloof portrayals of Morticia that people are used to, she admits this is the “most challenging role” of her career so far.“It took time to find her,” Alexandra shares, admitting that it wasn’t until the show finally opened in Birmingham that she truly felt comfortable embodying Morticia. “In rehearsals, I struggled trying to find her. I was talking too fast at times, where Morticia is very laidback. “Our director was really, really kind and really supportive in my lack of self-belief. He was like, ‘you can do this, this is why we want you, this is why we picked you. And I believe you can do this, and this is how I want you to portray her’. he said, ‘just be yourself, because when you are calm and when you talk in your lower register, that is Morticia...’”Alexandra Burke in character as Morticia in The Addams Family“It’s not an easy role when I’ve had five coffees in a day,” she jokes. “And then, when I get on stage, everyone is always questioning me, ‘how do you do this when you’re hyper, hyper, hyper; and then you’ve got to go on stage really relaxed and deadpan, how are you doing it?’. And I’m like, ‘well, this is what I’ve had to learn to do’.”As we’re speaking, Alexandra says she has just over half an hour left of her evening to feed her two children, before heading out to the theatre for the night.“By 6.15pm, I’ll have finished my whole vocal warm-up, physical, and then it takes me about 20 to 25 minutes to put on makeup, gargle some TCP, whack on Chanel No. 5 because it represents my mummy, and then I get on stage,” she explains. “It takes me just under an hour once I’ve finished my warm-up to get ready and be ready on stage. And I make a point of being ready on time.”So, no time to take a second and slow down, to help get into Morticia’s mindset?“You say that, babe, but I clearly don’t know how to slow down!” she responds. “When I start the show, I’m as hyper as anything… I’m so hyper that people go, ‘what is wrong with her? How is she going to be Morticia?’.“And then I just walk on stage and something clicks. I don’t know what it is – but I think that’s training from my mum if I’m completely honest with you. She trained me very well to know, when the lights are on, it’s lights, camera, action…”During the musical’s second act, Alexandra has a 20-minute gap between scenes, where her main goal is to keep up her momentum until the end of the performance.“If I’m not careful, my energy goes, so I’ve got to get up and got to keep moving,” she explains. “So, I’m eating my dates in the background and having a banana with some peanut butter.”And after the show?“Oh, I’m done in,” she laughs. “I’m done in, darling! I go straight to bed. It gets to the end, and I know I’ve got nothing to do, the kids are in bed, I am done. Done. And that’s when I try to sleep.”Alexandra on stage with her Addams Family co-star Ricardo Afonso“Done in” though she may be, Alexandra insists that having her family with her has made the Addams Family tour such a “lovely” experience, particularly as someone who often struggled with homesickness while on the road.“I’ve never really liked touring because I’ve never liked being away from home,” she admits. “I would hate leaving home – I’m such a homebody. I am quite boring when it comes to things like that, to be honest with you. I love being at home.“The only good thing about touring is seeing cities you wouldn’t usually be able to go to – and also meeting my fans. Oh my god. The only thing that gets me through touring is knowing that I’ve got people out there supporting me that come and watch these shows.”When the Addams Family tour is over, Alexandra will be getting back in the studio to continue work on her long-awaited fourth album, which marks a return to the pure pop sound of her early years.“It’s been so long in the making,” she says of her next release, which she began work on before she and Darren started their family.“I was recording the album, then I fell pregnant,” she recalls. “Then I went back to it,and then I fell pregnant again. And then, I didn’t like how I sounded, so I scrapped a lot of my vocals and re-recorded a lot of the music.”Alexandra Burke on stage at the Mighty Hoopla music festival in 2021Recording has been “going well”, she notes, and she’s “desperate” for fans to hear what she’s been working on – although she’s taken a break from recording while she focusses on the Addams Family tour.“This album is a reflection of where I’m at right now in my life, how happy I am, how content I feel,” she beams. “It’s really nice, and actually I can’t wait for everyone to hear it, and hopefully get a little bit of insight to where I’m at in my life right now: being a mum of two, still working and trying my hardest just to keep going.”She continues: “And this album is so positive, it’s so upbeat, it’s so happy and joyous. I think in the world we’re in right now, with so much going on, I feel like my music needs to reflect some positivity or happiness out there.“We need uplifting joyous music, don’t we? As a world, we need things to uplift us. I’m not saying that I’m going to uplift the world – I really hope I do! – but you never know how people can perceive and take on someone’s music. And if it makes one person smile, that’s my job done.”Alexandra Burke is starring in The Addams Family UK tour. Find tickets here.READ MORE:Jake Shears: 'It Really Feels Like The World Might Need Scissor Sisters Again'Self Esteem: ‘I Achieved Everything I Set Out To Do, And I Was Sadder Than Ever’Katherine Ryan: ‘I’m At That Age Where I’m A Bit Of An Old Straight White Man Myself’

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