Fleur
Fleur East was a favourite to win the latest series of The X Factor Syco

She may have missed out on the X Factor crown but Fleur East now has a bigger reason to celebrate.

The singer has been signed by Simon Cowell's record label Syco after impressing the music mogul with her powerful vocals.

"BREAKING NEWS: @FleurEast signs to Syco. @thexfactor finalist will release her debut album later this year," the label confirmed in a message on Twitter account.

Although the 27-year-old songstress dotted the I's and crossed the T's days after X Factor winner Ben Haenow signed to the same label, she has already tasted iTunes chart success with her performance of Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk. The producer was forced to bring the release of the original forward as a result.

Somebody that knows second place can have its perks is former JLS star JB Gill. The singer shot to superstardom alongside his former bandmates Marvin Humes, Oritse Williams and Aston Merrygold after finishing second to Alexandra Burke on The X Factor in 2008.

The quartet scored five number one singles, won two Brit awards and sold more than 10 million records before splitting in 2013.

"Ben's great but Fleur's a really old friend. She was brilliant," he told the Sun.

"She'll have a career. We came second and we did all right. Next year will be exciting for her."

East is expecting to start work on her debut album after the X Factor live tour, which wraps up later this year.

Sony