Fleur East Biography

Fleur East, also known mononymously as Fleur, is a British recording artist. She competed on the second series of televised singing competition The X Factor in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addictiv Ladies. In 2012, she launched a solo career with the record label Strictly Rhythm and released songs with dance musicians including DJ Fresh and Drumsound & Bassline Smith.

East returned to The X Factor as a solo artist in 2014 for its eleventh series, where she placed runner-up. She became the show's first contestant to reach number one on the UK iTunes Store chart during the competition with her performance of "Uptown Funk" (originally by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars). In 2015, she signed to Syco Music and began work on a full-length album.

East was born to a Ghanaian mother and an English father and raised in Walthamstow. She has a younger sister named Keshia. She attended Holy Family Technology College in Walthamstow and Queen Mary University of London, where she studied journalism and contemporary history. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, East said she was the victim of racism in childhood, with one child asking her "Are you black or white?".