Alexandra Burke - The Truth Is

A decade has passed since Alexandra Burke overcame prior rejections and romped to victory on the X Factor after a very emotional duet with her icon Beyonce. While the performance may be one of the most memorable final duets in X Factor history, although not necessarily for all the right reasons, Alexandra's recording career didn't manage to live up to it's early promise. With her debut album, 2009's Overcome, debuting at #1, many felt she would be a break-out success.

However, just three years later Heartbreak On Hold stalled at #18. While this is better than many other winners, the lack of commercial success lead to her parting ways with her record label. A couple of independent EP releases pleased her most loyal fans, but the five year wait for a new album is finally over. Can her success on last year's Strictly Come Dancing see her waltz her way back into music listener's hearts?

The jump in sound between her debut pop release and more dance orientated sophomore album has often been blamed for the loss of interest from her target audience, so the selection of songs for her ballad heavy third studio album may once again play away from those who voted her to victory. But a long time has passed, and Burke's success on Strictly alongside her critically acclaimed West End and Musical Theatre tours have brought her to the attention of a very different demographic, for which this record will hold huge appeal.

While the majority plays almost directly into the hands of her West End audience, there are interesting moments of minimal pop that actually showcase the credible artistic leaning that Alexandra has always expressed an interest in recording. However, what needs to be asked, is whether this record would therefore have been best divided into two releases - targeting the tracks to their true audiences rather than bundling everything together into a rather sonically confused collection.

That being said Alexandra's vocal is flawless and, on the whole, the production is striking enough to ensure this is an album that warrants attention.