Fleur East

Fleur East first drew widespread attention in Britain after finishing runner-up on the eleventh season of The X Factor, where her commanding take on Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ 2015 chart-topper “Uptown Funk” stood out. The Walthamstow native had already tried the competition a decade earlier as part of the short-lived girl group Addictiv Ladies, which exited early in 2005. Between those appearances she earned a degree in journalism and contemporary history at Queen Mary University of London, then signed with Strictly Rhythm in 2012 and issued the She EP, which contained covers of Frank Ocean and Lorde.

Following the later X Factor run, East joined Simon Cowell’s Syco Music roster and prepared her first studio album. That project, the December 2015 release Love, Sax & Flashbacks, entered the U.K. Top 20 and delivered a soul-rooted fusion of R&B and dance-pop recalling Rita Ora and Fifth Harmony while nodding to Michael Jackson and Rihanna. Its lead single, the horn-driven “Sax,” reached the U.K. Top Three and evoked peak-era Jackson alongside the funk of “Uptown Funk.” Shortly afterward she moved to Columbia Records.

She appeared on another reality series just before unveiling the opening track from her second album, “Favourite Thing.”