Mum will be in the audience for Alex
12 Dec 08
"I don't want people to feel sorry; I want my voice to speak for itself..."
Alexandra Burke's mum Melissa Bell, who has kidney failure and is on the kidney transplant list, will be in the audience for Saturday's final, proud to cheer her daughter on.
Alex told us, "I am hopeful my mum can be there. We'll have to wait and see, of course - but she has moved her dialysis to the Friday so she can be strong enough to make it to the studio on the day".
Alexandra hasn't spoken much about her mum's illness, saying, "I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I don't want to have a sob story. I want my voice to speak for me".
"It is hard for me - of course it is. But I am well aware other people have troubles - families are not always well".
Nevertheless the singer has juggled the pressures of a high-pressured competition with her mum's illness, always just a phone call away.
Alex told us, "I visited my mum in week one, but I haven't been to the hospital since. She was too weak to come to Koko".
And Alex admitted, "I would give up my work for my mum if I had to".
"But it's better to try to do well. I can do well for myself, yes, and I can get her better treatment too".
"That why I've got to focus and not let it get to me".
And having her mum watching will make Saturday's final even more special.
Says Alexandra, "It means so much to know my mum is watching me - whether she's watching on TV or there on the night".
"She is my inspiration. She was a single mum who brought up four kids. She does her best.
"Like any mother and daughter we've had our ups and downs while I was growing up. But we're past all that.
"Nowadays we're more like best friends."