Alexandra Burke has revealed the stern warning ahead of their iconic duet on the X Factor in 2008.
The singer, 39, was just 19-years-old when the music superstar, 43, joined her for a duet of her 2007 hit Listen in the X Factor final, which Alexandra went on to win.
However, while the moment was magical and will go down as one of the best duets of X Factor history, Alexandra has revealed that Beyoncé gave her a pep talk ahead of getting on stage.
During an interview with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie on Capital XTRA Breakfast on Friday, Alexandra recalled how the Halo hitmaker urged her to rest her voice as she didn’t jet all the way from the US to perform with ‘someone that will lose.’
When asked to reflect on what was going through her mind at the time, Alexandra, remarked: ‘Lord have mercy!
Alexandra Burke has revealed the stern warning ahead of their iconic duet on the X Factor in 2008
While the moment was magical and will go down as one of the best duets of X Factor history, Alexandra has revealed that Beyoncé gave her a pep talk ahead of getting on stage
‘What’s running through my mind is, “How am I going to keep up with this woman?” Because we only had one rehearsal, and it was shocking.
‘Because she was like, “Don’t sing anymore, because you might lose your voice.” That’s what she told me. And then she said, “I didn’t come here sing with someone that will lose”.’
As Shayna expressed her shock at Beyonce’s words, Alexandra continued: ‘Yeah. She goes, “I didn’t fly all this way to do that, you’re going to win!”
‘I went, “That’s really confident of you.” But I said, “I’ve won in my heart, because I sang with you. I don’t need to win the show,” and then boom chakalaka – I won!’
The Bad Boys singer emerged victorious, beating boyband JLS and going on to release Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah as her winner’s single.
While Alexandra was delighted with the outcome, someone who wasn’t so chuffed was Louis Walsh, whose act JLS lost out on the night.
Earlier this year, Louis claimed Simon Cowell ruined his chances of winning The X Factor after recruiting ‘f***ing’ Beyoncé to sing with Alexandra.
Louis said Simon booked Beyoncé for Cheryl, who coached Alexandra, which ruined Louis’ chance of winning the show with JLS.
The singer, 39, was just 19-years-old when the music superstar, 43, joined her for a duet of her 2007 hit Listen in the X Factor final, which Alexandra went on to win
Alexandra recalled how the Halo hitmaker urged her to rest her voice as she didn’t jet all the way from the US to perform with ‘someone that will lose’
‘What’s running through my mind is, “How am I going to keep up with this woman?” Because we only had one rehearsal, and it was shocking’
‘Because she was like, “Don’t sing anymore, because you might lose your voice.” That’s what she told me. And then she said, “I didn’t come here sing with someone that will lose”‘
As Shayna expressed her shock at Beyonce’s words, Alexandra continued: ‘Yeah. She goes, “I didn’t fly all this way to do that, you’re going to win!”
Speaking in the Celebrity Big Brother house in March, the Irish music manager and television personality, 72, told his CBB housemates Zeze and David: ‘We were in the final, JLs, alongside Alexandra Burke, and we got West Life.’
‘Simon loved Cheryl and what did he do, book her Beyoncé. That’s what he’s like. That’s why he’s liked.
Louis added: ‘I wanted to beat her. She’s not perfect, but she’s nice, I like her. She doesn’t know that, but I like her.’
Meanwhile, Alexandra is currently on cloud nine as she and and footballer Darren Randolph announced their engagement last month after he popped the question.
The Strictly Come Dancing runner up shared the happy news of her engagement in September with snaps of her partner down on one knee.
While Alexandra was delighted with the outcome, someone who wasn’t so chuffed was Louis Walsh, whose act JLS lost out on the night – with Louis blaming Simon Cowell
Louis said Simon booked Beyoncé for Cheryl, who coached Alexandra, which ruined Louis’ chance of winning the show with JLS
Alexandra looked stunning in a green lace midi dress for the romantic proposal – with a table covered in flower petals seen behind them.
The singer captioned the snaps with ring emojis as a host of stars wished the couple congratulations.
‘Woooohoooo! ❤️,’ comedian Dawn French said, while Mrs Hinch added: ‘❤️congratulations beautiful ❤️.’
The couple welcomed their first child in June 2022 and second in September 2023, choosing to keep their names private.
Opening up on her engagement, Alexandra added on Capital EXTRA Breakfast: ‘Don’t, it was magical! The engagement was so well thought through. Like, Darren is… I didn’t even know how romantic he could actually be until that day!
Meanwhile, Alexandra is currently on cloud nine as she and and footballer Darren Randolph announced their engagement last month after he popped the question
The Strictly Come Dancing runner up shared the happy news of her engagement in September with snaps of her partner down on one knee
Opening up on her engagement, Alexandra added on Capital EXTRA Breakfast: ‘Don’t, it was magical! The engagement was so well thought through’
When I walked out into that terrace and saw him with the babies, oh my god. Oh my god. I just couldn’t stop crying! I’m getting tearful now, because it’s the man of my dreams’
‘The post we’ve put up on Instagram – is ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong. That’s my granddad’s song, and that song played just before it happened. And I thought, ‘If he doesn’t do it now, it is never going to happen for us – this is just an anniversary!’
‘But when I walked out into that terrace and saw him with the babies, oh my god. Oh my god. I just couldn’t stop crying! I’m getting tearful now, because it’s the man of my dreams.
So, I’m just grateful. I’m so grateful. My gosh, I’ve got him, my little family, and I just couldn’t ask for more. God has really blessed me.’
Tune into Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce & Shayna Marie weekdays from 6:30am-10:00am, also available on the Global Player app.