X Factor finalist Fleur East has been signed to Simon Cowell's record label, it has been confirmed. The singer, who finished second to Ben Haenow in the singing competition, has been called a "star" by Simon following the news she had signed a deal with his label Syco. The record label confirmed the news on their Twitter account on Tuesday, along with a statement from Simon praising his latest signing. "Fleur proved what a star she was on the show last year and we now look forward to starting work on her record," he said.
Fleur was understandably excited about the news as she shared a picture of the announcement on Twitter with the message: "It's official!!! The hard work starts now!!!"
The 27-year-old also retweeted messages of support from fans and friends including Sinitta, Tinchy Stryder and The Only Way is Essex star Lauren Pope. Fleur made headlines with her performance of the unreleased Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' song Uptown Funk in December, which Simon called one of the top three X Factor performances of all time.
Fleur East has signed to Simon Cowell's record label
She reached number one on the iTunes chart with her performance of the track, before being knocked off the top spot by the original version. Mark Ronson brought the song's release date forward by five weeks following the performance and admitted to the Evening Standard that he had no idea she was going to perform the track. Fleur will start work in the studio after the X Factor live tour, which ends in March. Her debut single and album are expected later this year.