Fleur East has spoken out about despair over X Factor loss

Fleur East has spoken out about her fears after finishing in second place on The X Factor.

East lost out to Ben Haenow in last year’s series of the TV talent show contest.

Thinking back on missing out on winning the competition, Fleur told the BBC there was “a moment of despair” when she began thinking about if her career was already over.

The ‘Sax’ star recalled: “It was a scary time because the [recording] contract's only guaranteed for the winner. So I was thinking 'oh gosh, what's going to happen now? Am I just going to go back into the state I was before I auditioned?'”

However, a few weeks after the series came to an end, Simon Cowell decided to sign her to his Syco record label anyway.

Although Fleur first auditioned for The X Factor as part of a girl band called Addictiv Ladies back in 2005, she says she was not fazed by the group being eliminated within the first week of the show:

“I wasn't tarnished by that brush, because I'd left so early in the competition. People didn't even realise it was me, to be honest.”

Despite losing out to Ben Haenow, Fleur felt that her performances during the live shows gave her the confidence boost she needed to progress as an artist:

“The X Factor was the final push I needed to have the presence and confidence on stage, which I didn't have before. It's a crash course in the music industry. If you can survive the show, you're ready for the industry.”

Fleur East will release her debut album, ‘Love, Sax and Flashbacks’ later this week on December 4.

Watch Fleur East in action below: