Alexandra Burke: “I was told to bleach my skin.”

Former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke says she was once told to beach her skin to appeal to white audiences after winning the show in 2008. 

Afro and braids were frowned upon, and she was told these styles were not allowed despite it being a very large part of her culture and identity. She was 19, and the label wanted to package her as the black British version of Britney Spears. She was put to sing cheesy cookie cutter pop songs, that did not showcase her talent at all. She is now living in her truth and rightfully so.

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I felt it was time to speak up... This is a scary moment for me. I didn’t always want to speak up.. but it is the right thing to do. So, here’s my truth, the positive and the emotional. 🤍 Side note: When I talk about ‘not seeing colour’ I’m not referring to the idea of being blind to skin colour, I’m talking about the notion within the music industry and institutionally that whiter is better. Why does an industry that should be focused on vocal ability spend so much time dictating an artists worth on their colour?

A post shared by Alexandra Burke (@alexandraburke) on Jun 19, 2020 at 4:22pm PDT