Simon Cowell: 'Burke can match Leona'

Simon Cowell has predicted that Alexandra Burke can be as successful as her fellow X Factor winner Leona Lewis.

The music mogul has been working closely with Burke since she won a £1 million recording contract on the ITV1 talent show in December.

Cowell has now claimed that the singer's long-term future is finally secure following her past struggles to find a place in the industry.

"When you have someone with a life story like that and you get to know them and they're talented, you hope they do well - no one else was giving her a chance," he told The Sun.

"She can be as big as Leona Lewis. We've already selected three or four songs for her and I'm happy with what we've done so far."

Cowell recently dropped 2007's X Factor winner Leon Jackson following disappointing sales of his debut album Right Now.