Whatever happened to Alexis Jordan? (2024)

At theage of15, Alexis Jordan took to the America's Got Talent stage in front of Piers Morgan, Brandy and David Hasselhoff for a soaring rendition of Whitney Houston's 'I Have Nothing'. She received a standing ovationand was immediately put through to the next round, but was ultimately eliminated in the semifinal round of the competition. If Twitter had beenas big in2006 as it is now, #JusticeForAlexis would have been trending in minutes.

As it was, the age of the YouTube star was in its infancy, and Alexis took full advantage by uploading covers and racking up millions of views. It wasn't long before super producers Stargate caught on and asked her to come and record a few songs with them in New York. Considering they'd just laid down some big tracks with Rihanna at the time, it was a massive deal for the teen.

But then Alexis's luck really took a turn for the better. As she was in the studio working on the tracks, Jay Z walked in and instantly wanted to sign her. Mere months later she had a deal with his Sony imprint StarRoc/Roc Nation and got to work on her full-length debut. It took some time, but by 2010 Alexis Jordan was about to become the next big popstar.

Her debut single remains an underrated pop gem. 'Happiness' went Top 3 in both the UK and Australia, while topping charts across Europe. Digital Spy gave the track a full five stars, describing it as "a club pop throbber that's classier than Joan Collins's best crockery". Someone at the BBC also said this is "officially better than Madonna," but as much as we still love this absolute bop, we're not willing to go that far.

So Alexis was off to a fantastic start, and was starting to nip at Rihanna's coattails as Jay Z's golden pop girl. Then 'Good Girl' came out and saved her from becoming a One-Hit Wonder. Digital Spy loved that one too, asking: "Call us naive, but with beats this struttable, verses so irresistibly bop-friendly and that, ahem, killer chorus, who wouldn't want to take a chance on her?"

It seemed like Alexis had made the successful transition from talent-show reject to shining pop vixen ready to take on the charts for years to come.

But then it all went south.

The self-titled album peaked at No.9 in the UK, which wasn't too bad, butthe third singlestalled her career completely. Despite 'Hush Hush' being a fun and camp floor filler, it limped into the chart at No.66.

Alexis had anotherhit,featuring on Sean Paul's 'Got 2 Luv U' in 2011, but what came next was frankly, a bungle. At the end of 2013, her new song 'Acid Rain' leaked online. Written by Sia and produced by Stargate, it was thumping dance-pop anthem that sampled Bingo Players' 'Get Up (Rattle)'. (Yep, the one with the evil ducks in the music video that went to No.1 in the UK.) But because 'Acid Rain' leaked, it was relegated to "promotional single" status.

Instead she gave us'Gone' in 2014,a departure from her signature pop style. It was grittier and leant on hip-hop influences for a mature sound. It didn't connect with the public at alland failed to chart anywhere. Naturally, that long-awaited second album didn't follow, and fans are still holding out hope for it to this very day.

So what is Alexis Jordan up to now?

In 2014 shemarried actor Luke Broadlick, but shortly after she was dropped by Jay Z and his Roc Nation label. Alexis and Lukereleased a book documenting their first year of marriagetitled A Year You Never Knew About ('tilnow, presumably). Then in 2015, Alexis fell pregnant with her first child.

Earlier this year, Alexis and Luke welcomed their baby daughter Anora into the world. The star has also been busy blogging about her newfound motherhood, including the joys and woes of breastfeeding. But don't worry: Alexis hasn't forgotten about the music.

While she has understandably been busy adjusting to family life, the singer has also continued to work away on that anticipated second studio album. In fact, Lex teased that she has some new music ready to go. "I've got a song for you but don't know when to release it," she tweeted back in May. Nope, it hasn't been released yet, but at least we know something is coming, right? It's now not a question of if, but when. Over to you Alexis...