We caught up with Alexandra Burke ahead of Tickled Pink's 'Girls' Night Out' concert to talk style, collaborating with sexy men and X Factor!

Hi Alex! So, tell us all about the concert!

Basically, the concert is on Thursday to raise money for Breast Cancer care. I’m an ambassador for the charity and have wanted to do the show for a long time. It’s kind of Alex and friends – we’ve got Little Mix opening the show, The Saturdays and Chipmunk will all be performing and all for a great, great cause. Plus, there are still loads of tickets left for anyone that wants to go!

Why is the charity close to your heart?

Any charity work I do always has a meaning behind it, my auntie suffered from breast cancer and passed away sadly. It’s also close to my heart in the fact I have been through it with other people I know. I just want to give back and raise as much money as possible.

Why has your new single been delayed?

It’s been held back a couple of weeks, but is out on 11th March. We just needed more time, really, I wanted to get the remixes right first. You need to get it out there in the clubs before the radio!

Is there a new album in the pipeline?

There is no album date as of yet but I want a summer album, we are just finishing it off at the moment.

Do you have any collaborations lined up for the new album?

I have couple of collaborations and couple still to sort out. I can’t say who they are yet but no one from the show. I don’t want to ruin the surprise but I’ll give you a clue –he is one very sexy man!

And if you could collaborate with just about anyone, who would it be?

If it was a female I would say Rihanna but if it was a male I would say Usher – they are both just great.

You seem to have loads of fans, do you ever get sent weird presents?

No, I haven’t really – one time got fanmail at old home address which me freaked out a bit. Nothing scary though. I really love my fans, ultimately they are the reason why im here and I make sure I really appreciate them.

We have to talk about X Factor….when you appeared on the show, were you expecting reaction you got?

I wasn’t sure what to expect – I was only given a few hours. Saying that, I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure what would come out my mouth until the night. I just knew I wanted to be myself – I couldn’t plan it, I didn’t have time! I’ve been there so I knew it was important to give the contestants good advice and constructive criticism

But do you have any regrets?

Hell no – I’ve been saying OK.com for a very long time – it’s nothing new for me!

Would you go back?

If asked why not – I had a great experience. It was odd and surreal – reeal honour to come back – had to keep in mind I have been in the contestants shoes. But I just kept it real.

Do you think it is any coincidence Kelly’s girls were in bottom two week there mentor was away?

Absolutely not. It’s all to do with voting and that’s it really

Are you still in touch with Simon Cowell?

Yeah – all the judges. We speak when we have the time but you have to bear in mind just how busy we all are.

Who do you think is the best X Factor winner?

That’s a very hard question – I  really appreciate the show and all the contestants full stop. People don’t realise what hard work it is bring on the show and I really admire everyone who has.

Finally, being a pampered celeb do you think it’s realistic that an everyday girl can look like a celeb without all the perks – stylist – make up artist etc?

A lot of people think we have make-up artist as soon as we wake up but that is so not the case. Real beauty comes from the inside so I always dress how I feel at that time. I would say never follow trends, yeah you can learn from them, but never follow them – just do your own thing. I admire people like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell who have their own style.

To celebrate 15 years of Tickled Pink, Asda announces the exclusive ‘Girls’ Night Out’ concert on 12th January 2012 in London starring Alexandra Burke and friends, with performances from The Saturdays, Little Mix, Chipmunk and Dionne Bromfield all to raise money for two vital breast cancer charities. Tickets available now from Ticketmaster.co.uk