The 2008’s original The X Factor breakout diva Alexandra Burke has had an emotional social media session, where she revealed her own recollections of the retributions and regulations that she had to face as a black female performer.
The diva held her own Instagram video post in which she confessed she was told by a businessperson within showbiz that she would have to do her work ‘ten times harder than a white artist’. This being a given, she also said that she was faced with numerous micro-aggressions regarding racist undertone in her 10 years of post-debut act with her activities in the various music labels she had to go through. One time she said that an official from the industry would demand her to ‘smile more on Instagram because you come across as aggressive’ than a white artist would be.
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The soulful diva who made millions cry was ostensibly aggrieved in the video.point 177 | She also came with accounts such as these: ‘The music industry is such a funny little place.point 259 |
I love signing, I love what I do but if it wasn’t for the love that I have for music I definitely wouldn’t be in this industry.point 113 | A few reasons are, when I won the X Factor I was told, ”Right, because you are black, you are going to have to work ten times harder than a white artist, because of the colour of your skin… ‘You can’t have braids, you can’t have an afro, you can’t have anything that basically is my identity, you have to have hair, for example, that appeals to white people so they can understand you better.point 467 |
” That was so hard to digest.point 29 | I was told to bleach my skin and that was something I refused to do.point 83 | ’point 90 | 1
Alexandra Burke, however, hasn’t mentioned any specific names to blame for such racist contributions and comments accredited to her.
She said: ‘How I got through it, now I look back and I have no idea, no idea. I don’t even like thinking about that experience at all. But thankfully, my family and friends got me through it and the amazing fans that supported me. So anyone out there scared to speak your truth, speak your truth, that’s all we’ve got. We have one life.’
She later saved up the live video and posted it in her social media accounts, with the comments: ‘Speak Up – Speak Out. I felt it was time to speak up… This is a scary moment for me. I didn’t always want to speak up.. but it is the right thing to do.’
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