Fleur East has revealed what is holding her back from releasing more music (Picture: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock)
10 years ago, Fleur East changed lives (particularly her own) when she belted out Uptown Funk on The X Factor – a song that hadn’t yet been released by Mark Ronson.
Her rendition was so captivating that Mark felt forced to rush the release of said track with Bruno Mars’ vocals earlier than he planned.
After finishing runner-up to Ben Haenow in the ITV show, Fleur released Sax, which reached number three in the UK charts, and it seemed she was destined to be known first as a musician.
However, Fleur decided to pursue other avenues, letting the public get to know her on reality shows I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and Strictly Come Dancing. With many viewers loving her personality just as much as her vocal range, Fleur become a presenter. This has meant music has been given less attention – her last album, Fearless, came out nearly five years ago.
Although, Fleur, 37, describes music as her ‘first and number one love’ so naturally we wonder if she could one day return. We all know how much those first loves never leave us after all.
Asked what is stopping her from bringing out new music, her answer is simple – time. ‘I’m spinning so many plates, and to really dedicate myself to music, I would have to take some time out to get in the studio and focus on it.’ So for now, Fleur feels fulfilled occasionally performing gigs, which is all she has capacity for right now as her mornings are spent busying herself on Hits Radio UK, and during the evenings she’s presenting the sparkly Strictly spin-off It Takes Two.
Fleur and Janette Manrara present It Takes Two (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
The latter role she took on after Rylan, 36, decided to step away after four years. His absence left Fleur with some pretty big shoes to fill (literally and figuratively), and so she naturally felt the pressure.
Taking her under his wing, Rylan offered Fleur some sage advice which she’s been wholeheartedly following since joining in 2023, and we probably all should adopt* – be unashamedly herself.
*Don’t adopt it if yourself is super evil.
Fleur was given solid advice from Rylan (Picture: National Lottery)
‘Be yourself. Don’t try to be anything else. Just relax,’ he told Fleur. After shaking off the initial nerves, she is enjoying the process of being the provider of all the behind-the-scenes gossip from the BBC juggernaut.
Her experience of being on the dance floor with Vito Coppola, 32, has given her the added advantage of being able to relate with the celebrities who appear on her couch. In 2022, the pair made it all the way to the final, after surviving four dance-offs. Fleur’s standing was particularly shocking as she was usually near the top of the leaderboard, but the dance-off assasin is winning now.
Fleur understands what the contestants …read more
Source:: Metro