Burke begged for haiti charity trip

Singer Alexandra Burke begged for two weeks to be sent to Haiti - because she felt she "wasn't doing enough" for earthquake survivors by singing on Simon Cowell's all-star charity single.

Cowell called on Burke, who won his The X Factor TV series in 2008, to contribute vocals for a new rendition of R.E.M.'s Everybody Hurts, which is being sold to raise money for Haiti after it was ravaged by a massive tremor last month (12Jan10).

But the 21 year old admits she wasn't satisfied with her contribution - so she pleaded with record label bosses to allow her to fly out to the Caribbean country to personally lend a helping hand.

Speaking on Britain's Live From Studio Five, she explained, "What was bothering me was at the end of the day when we see, as humans, these kind of things on TV, and the visions of it, I kind of went numb. I kind of tried to block it out because I felt like I was helpless in a way. Then the single came about and that was a great way to help give back, but I still felt like I wasn't doing enough.

"I begged the label for two weeks while I was on my European tour to go out to Haiti. Every day the answer was no, because they were worried. Then it came together and thank God now I can go."

Burke, who will give up her luxury life to sleep in a tent, admits she's terrified because she's never visited a disaster site: "I'm not going out there with any expectation, I'm going out there to purely help. I cannot sit in my living room any longer, watching TV channels and see this devastation happening while I sit there and enjoy my cup of tea. It doesn't work like that for me.

"I'm very nervous, and I'm not afraid to admit that. I feel very very blessed to be able to pick up the phone and say to my label, 'Send me out to Haiti now.' Simon's happy that I'm going out there and he's proud of it but I'm not looking for that, I'm not looking for any judgment at all. I just want to do it on my own accord."