London-born Alexandra Burke’s soulful voice and effervescent personality were a smash with pop enthusiasts, who voted her the winner of The X Factor in 2008. Her stirring version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on the show’s finale became a blockbuster single; on her debut album, her rich, resonant vocals gave an R&B edge to pop tracks like the uptempo “Bad Boys” and the determined “Broken Heels”. She’s since released a variety of singles that show off her range and starred in musicals like The Bodyguard, proving with every move that the public had the right idea when it selected her to be pop’s next big thing.