December 6th 2024.
Fleur East was given a short break, but she misinterpreted the instructions and heard something else entirely. It was a chilly December evening in 2014 when she caused quite a stir in the music industry. What could have possibly gone wrong? Well, she gave a jaw-dropping performance that nobody saw coming.
At the time, the popular talent show, X Factor, was not pulling in the same massive audience it once did in 2010, with a staggering 19.4 million viewers. In fact, it was losing viewers with each overdone power ballad. With a significant drop of ten million viewers, the chances of any aspiring stars making a splash were slim.
But Fleur East was not deterred. She confidently took to the stage, sporting a shiny gold jacket and micro shorts, ready to give it her all. As she strutted to the beat of her song, "Doh-doh-doh, doh-doh-doh, doh-doh," she radiated determination and energy, not just from her microphone, but from her entire being.
With the first few notes of "This hit, that ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold," Fleur had the audience in the palm of her hand. It was as if she was performing in a sold-out arena on her own world tour. Her rendition of the yet-to-be-released single, "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, was a breath of fresh air compared to the other contestants who were belting out the same tired covers year after year. Even judge Simon Cowell, who seemed bored with the same old format, was impressed.
For two minutes and 53 seconds, it felt like The X Factor was back on top. But just a day before her performance, Fleur had never even heard the song. To her, "Uptown Funk" could have been the name of a nightclub or a fun takeout spot, not the key to her future.
"I was practicing Nicki Minaj's 'Super Bass' all week, trying to nail the rap. I had a whole different routine planned with complex choreography. Then, the day before, they told me, 'We think you should try this song,'" Fleur, now 37, recalled in an interview with Metro. The decision came from none other than Simon himself, who, after hearing the song, decided that Fleur should do her own version. As the song was being released by Sony, and Simon's label Syco was under their umbrella, he had the power to make it happen.
"I just said, 'Okay.' I had no idea it was going to become..." Fleur said, her voice trailing off. The last-minute change definitely paid off, and she remembers the aftermath more vividly than her time on stage.
"It was surreal. Someone said to me, 'You don't know what you've just done there.' And I thought, 'What do you mean?' They just kept saying, 'You don't understand.' I was like, 'Oh my God, what? What is happening?'" Fleur recalled.
"That was a real turning point, not just for me on The X Factor, but also for my career. It was huge," she added.
The song quickly shot to number one on the iTunes singles chart, prompting Bruno and Mark to release their version five weeks earlier than planned to avoid being overshadowed by Fleur's success. Fleur publicly apologized for the situation, and even said sorry again when she met Mark at the Brit Awards.
"I said to him, 'I feel like maybe you're angry with me because I did your song before it was released.' He was like, 'No, no, no, I owe you a drink,'" Fleur shared with a smile.
In a recent interview with Bruno for Hits Radio, where she now works as a presenter, he joked, "Hey, you're Uptown Funk!" Clearly, there are no hard feelings between the two artists.
Although there was some initial tension, Mark admitted that everyone ended up getting what they wanted. He was able to release the record, and Fleur had her moment. The performance was even declared one of the top three X Factor moments of all time by Simon, and the two versions of the song have a combined 14 million views on YouTube.
Nowadays, Fleur mainly focuses on presenting, with gigs such as Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. However, there's no denying that her performance of "Uptown Funk" helped her stand out from the crowd on X Factor, even though she didn't win (that honor went to Ben Haenow).
Fans of the show often go back and watch old clips, reminiscing about the good old days when X Factor and Strictly were competing for their loyalty. And Fleur's performance is undeniably a significant part of that legacy. Don't believe me? Just watch.
Fleur is currently hosting The National Lottery's Big Bash alongside Vernon Kay, which will be available to watch on New Year's Eve on ITV. She is grateful for the opportunity that changed her life and helped her forge a lasting career in show business.
"Each Christmas, my family will be like, 'Let's watch it.' I do like to look back at it because that's where everything started. So for me, it's amazing," Fleur shared.
Although X Factor came to an end in 2018, with viewers losing interest in the repetitive format and mediocre talent, we'll always have that moment in 2014 when Fleur East stole the show. And she's not the only one who looks back on it fondly. Girl band 4th Power's audition currently has 194 million views, and Ablisa's infamous on-stage fight has 145 million views. The power of X Factor nostalgia is strong, with many millennials even attending after-parties that turn into X Factor clip marathons.
In the end, both Fleur and Mark were able to make peace with the situation and continue their successful careers. And as for the fans, they'll always have those memorable performances to look back on and cherish.
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