Entertainment
Strictly Come Dancing’s Fleur East is no stranger to reality TV, but how well did she do on The X Factor?-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro
The singer and radio presenter appeared on the series twice.
Fleur East and Vito Coppola are currently competing on Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)
From that first step onto the dancefloor, Strictly Come Dancing’s Fleur East has been a frontrunner to take out the competition.
There still might be seven couples competing to take out the glitter ball trophy, but it’s clear the singer and radio presenter is in with a good chance of making it all the way after impressing the judges and those watching along at home.
She’s already graced our screens on two reality TV series before though, first appearing on The X Factor all the way back in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addictiv Ladies, before returning in 2014 as a solo artist.
Then in 2018 she was announced as a campmate for season 18 of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, where she finished in fourth place.
As she said when announced as part of the Strictly line up for this season, Fleur was ‘excited to learn new skills and soak up every moment of this magical experience’.
A huge fan of the show, she used to watch the dancing competition with her late father, but said he would be ‘watching over the ballroom in spirit’.
‘I’m doing this to make him and my family proud and can’t wait to get my dancing shoes on,’ she said.
But as she prepares to take on the rumba with her Vito Coppola on this week’s show, do you remember how she got on during her run on The X Factor?
Fleur was part of Addictiv Ladies with Nicola Owusu-Akontoh, Stephanie Yamson and Vivienne Umeh (Picture: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
When was Fleur East on The X Factor?
As part of the four-piece girl group Addictiv Ladies, Fleur made it through the audition round of the 2005 season of the reality singing competition, where they came to be mentored by Simon Cowell.
Making it past the bootcamp stages, singing Holler by The Spice Girls and Never Ever by All Saints, they went on to perform Wishing on a Star during the judge’s house round.
But in the first week of the shows, and after singing Christine Milton Superstar, they were sent home.
In 2012, Fleur was signed as a solo artist and started releasing her own music, but was struggling to hit the big time.
Fleur was on The X Factor twice (Picture: Jenkins / Syco / Thames / Corbis)
She has said that by early 2014, she was ‘definitely depressed’ and was close to calling time on her music career until she was convinced by friends and relatives to re-audition for The X Factor.
Fleur did so later that year, singing John Legend’s Ordinary People where she received three yes votes from the judges, and was also mentored by Simon again.
She eventually made it all the way to the final.
Fleur and Ben were in the final together (Picture: Syco / Thames / Corbis)
Did Fleur East win X Factor?
Although Fleur managed to impress with her powerhouse vocals and performances, in the end it came down to her and Ben Haenow.
Throughout the series, neither one of them had been in the bottom two, so the competition was tight.
In the end, Ben was announced as the winner after he picked up just over 57% of the public vote.
Fleur was on I’m A Celebrity in 2018 (Picture: ITV)
What has she done since?
While she was runner-up, Fleur was signed by Syco Music, Simon’s record label in 2015.
Her debut album Love, Sax and Flashbacks was released the same year, while in 2016 she signed with Columbia Records to launch her international career.
In 2018 she entered the I’m A Celebrity jungle and after she came home from Australia, she announced that she would be releasing her first single in four years, which came out in 2019.
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Soon after she joined the Hits Radio breakfast show, co-hosting with James Barr and Greg Burns, before going on to host the Saturday Morning show, which she still fronts today.
Her second solo album Fearless was released in 2020.
Strictly Come Dancing tonight airs tonight 7.15pm on BBC One.
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