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Alexandra Burke admits she’s still in contact with Beyoncé after iconic X Factor duet

Beyoncé Knowles and Alexandra Burke on The X Factor
Alexandra was 19 years old when she and Beyoncé performed together (Picture: Rex)

Alexandra Burke has spoken about how she and Beyoncé Knowles have remained in touch over the years since their unforgettable duet on The X Factor, describing her as an ‘incredible, humble woman’.

In 2008, Alexandra won the fifth series of The X Factor at the age of 19, beating JLS in the final and releasing her own version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah as her winner’s single.

In the grand finale, Alexandra was joined on stage by Beyoncé, with the pair singing a powerful rendition of the Drunk In Love singer’s track Listen from the 2006 film Dreamgirls.

Their performance – which Alexandra recently admitted was not rehearsed – has since become one of the most memorable moments ever on The X Factor.

Alexanda, now 32, recently made an appearance on Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail podcast, where she was asked by the author whether she has Beyoncé’s phone number.

‘I don’t, but there are ways that I do contact her and she is a very special, incredible, humble woman. Very,’ she responded.

When questioned further by Elizabeth on whether she is still in contact with Beyoncé, Alexandra replied: ‘Yeah, like when she comes over to the UK and she does her tours and stuff I go to see her shows if I’m around.’

Alexandra recalled one time when she was recording music in a studio in America when Beyoncé surprised her by coming in and offering her a drink.

‘When I was in the States as well, I’ll never forget the time when I was recording in the studio and she just casually popped in with a glass of white wine in her hands and offered me one,’ the musician recollected.

‘I thought, “Oh no, I’m not going to drink whilst I’m singing,” but it was really sweet, and I just got really flustered and nervous around her.’

EMBARGOED TO 2200 THURSDAY JANUAY 28 MANDATORY CREDIT: C4/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon Undated handout photo issued by C4/Love Productions of Alexandra Burke appearing on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer which returns to Channel 4 this spring. Issue date: Thursday January 28, 2021. PA Photo. See PA story SHOWBIZ BakeOff. Photo credit should read: C4/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon supplied by PA NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Alexandra is taking part in this year’s Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer (Picture: C4/Love Productions/Mark Bourdil)

Alexandra added that every time she has seen Beyoncé since their X Factor duet, she has ‘always been so welcoming and has always made me feel like I’m a normal person even though I’m her biggest fan’.

‘I really do act up when I see her because I start sweating and start getting really nervous,’ she said.

‘She takes no notice and she treats me like I’m just a human, and it’s great.’

In December, Alexandra spoke about how Simon Cowell only told her she would be singing with Beyoncé the night before The X Factor final.

Appearing on Angela Scanlon’s BBC series The Noughties, the singer said: ‘We literally blagged it.

‘You see us, if you watch it back, you see us going… We hold each other’s hands and you see us just going, “Your turn, okay my turn, okay your turn.” That’s how the song went. We made it all up on the spot.’

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