Alexandra Burke, who won The X Factor in 2008, is set to play soul legend Chaka Khan in a new West End musical, I'm Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical, at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre for 10 weeks from next month. The 37-year-old singer admits she has been 'taking the role home' to her fiancé, Irish former footballer Darren Randolph, 39, and their two children, aged four and two.
An Intense Role
Burke, hand-picked by Chaka Khan for the part, describes it as 'the most intense role I've ever done in my life.' She is less nervous about the singing than about the show's deep dive into Chaka's life, including civil rights activism, a toxic music industry, and years of addiction. 'We have to go there [emotionally] as actors,' Burke says. 'People are going to be really shocked and surprised at what she went through, and the fact that she's still standing.'
During brief runs earlier this year in Hackney, Coventry, and Eastbourne, Burke admits she was 'sadly taking the role home.' Her fiancé intervened, telling her, 'Alex, you need to leave Chaka Khan at the door when you leave that theatre.'
Separating Work and Home
Burke, who is not a trained actress, says she carries the character through the entire day. To separate work from home life, she has devised a plan: 'I'm going to have a specific perfume for when I play Chaka. Directly after the show, I'll shower that off and put my own one on, so I smell of me walking out the theatre door.' She plans to ask Chaka herself what perfume she wears to keep it authentic.
One scent she won't use for the role is a bottle of her late mother's Chanel No.5, which goes everywhere with her. 'I'll let my mum's perfume go for this,' she says. 'I need something that doesn't connect with the role or me.' Her mother, soul singer Melissa Bell, died aged 53 nine years ago this summer.
Family Life and Work Ethic
Burke's children are her biggest fans. 'My kids think I'm Chaka Khan,' she laughs. 'They walk around every day, going, 'Mummy, are you gonna go and be Chaka Khan?' They know the lyrics to Ain't Nobody and I Feel For You, and now Michael Jackson's Thriller.'
Switching off from mum-mode while at work is a struggle. 'I'm not good at that. My kids are my life,' Burke says. She is up at five or six most mornings, trains hard, and won't socialise after a show—it's straight into the car and home. The children sometimes go to work with her; during the tour, they sat in on rehearsals, minded by the production company's manager.
Burke's strong work ethic is inherited from her mother. 'My mum was always away and I have memories of seeing her on TV working hard, providing for us, putting food on the table, clothes on our backs,' she adds. 'I want my kids to understand hard work. They're always going to see Mama work for as long as I can.'
Wedding and Baby Plans
Burke and Randolph got engaged in 2024 but have yet to set a wedding date. 'I'm too busy to plan a wedding at the moment, but we're getting there,' she says. She wanted to feel fully herself again after her second pregnancy. 'It's taken me nearly three years to feel great after giving birth to my second baby. I didn't want to rush that process, simply because I wanted to enjoy breastfeeding, I wanted to enjoy my babies, I wanted to enjoy Darren—us as a little family.'
A third child is on the cards, but she knows her mum would have insisted she tie the knot first. 'I can hear in my ear, 'Make sure you're married before that third baby!''
Burke spoke to the Mirror at the Fragrance Foundation UK Awards at Grosvenor House in London's Mayfair, where she performed. The Foundation partners with charities including The Alzheimer's Society, which struck a chord with Burke. 'I have a family member who has a condition that will sadly lead to that illness,' she says. 'So it means so much to me to know how much this Foundation supports others.'
