by Rachel Ogbu//

British-Ghanaian ‘Sax’ hit-maker, Fleur East has kept the tempo up gig after gig as she continues to perform at various festivals between UK and the US.

The 29-years-old X Factor runner-up born to a Ghanaian mother is a singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and fitness model who will also be performing at the Newark Festival 2017 on June 17. “Fleur East is a wonderful talent with an impressive stage presence who drives passion and energy into her performances – she’s fantastic! We jumped at the chance to include her on the Saturday line-up and it will be great to see the gates opening much earlier in the day to allow for Fleur to entertain the crowd,” said Liz Doogan-Hobbs MBE, CEO of LHG Live, organisers of the event.

Signed to Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Music Fleur East’s debut album, Love, Sax and Flashbacks was released in December and the hit single from that album, ‘Sax’ reached number three in the UK. “I think I’ve learned to be more spontaneous,’ she has explained in an interview. “I found it hard in the beginning to get used to the new, crazy schedule but now I just know that whenever I have a moment I’ll just fit everybody in; so everybody’s used to it now. Fleur East has also promoted the fitness and fashion angle of her career even with a degree in journalism and history. From a campaign with Puma called #CrossTheLine, aimed to help people explore their inner athlete to launching her own clothing line with women’s fashion brand Lipsy London. “Fitness has been an important part of my life from a young age,’ she said. My dad instilled in my sister [Keshia] and I the importance of healthy eating and healthy living. We used to wake up in the morning and do some sit-ups before we’d even brushed our teeth!”

Speaking on what we can expect next, she tells Huffington Post: “I think the last album was a lot more throwback, and now I’ve naturally moved into a more modern sound, but I’m experimenting with a lot of different sounds, sounds from back home where my mum’s from in Ghana, but it’s going to be high-energy, keeping the energy up. I was in the studio with Nana Rogues last week actually, who’s produced a lot of stuff on Drake’s album, which is amazing. He’s also from Ghana, where my mum’s from. And I had a little writing camp, and worked with a lot of exciting people, so yeah, there’s a lot in the pipeline.”