Alexandra Burke: 'Now I can be free'

Alexandra Burke has said that she is free to express herself now she is no longer on The X Factor.

The winner of last year's show told the Daily Mail that she had held back while competing on the reality talent show.

Burke said: "When I was on the show I could only show my personality to a certain extent. I didn't want people to think I was weird! But now I'm letting rip.

"The fact is I'm a loud, bubbly person, and a bit of a party girl. But it was hard to portray being a party girl on the show. Now I can be free. When I perform I call myself 'The Beast' - I'm a monster! They're going to see me go wild on stage."

Regarding criticism of Simon Cowell's management by past winner Steve Brookstein, she added: "It's been the complete opposite for me. When they first asked me what I wanted to do with my career, musically, I said, 'Right, guys, I need a week to just live, eat, breathe, study music'.

"So they sent me away to Mauritius, and I listened to everything from AC/DC to Rod Stewart, thinking, where should I go? My voice will give it soul but the music is pop.

"If somebody tells me what to do and I don't believe in it, I'll do the opposite. Syco said, 'Can you not get another tattoo please?' and I went and got it. They've learnt that about me."