Fleur East was warned by Alexandra Burke after she signed to Simon Cowell’s record label Syco, following her time on The X Factor.
Simon, who is returning to Britain’s Got Talent tonight (February 21), signed Fleur after she finished in second place on the ITV talent show in 2014.
However, after working hard for her dreams, Fleur realised there were issues with the label early on..
Fleur East on Simon Cowell’s label Syco
During an appearance on the What If People Find Out? podcast earlier this week, Fleur opened up about the huge success of her single Sax, which was a global hit.
Around the time of launching her first album, however, there had been a huge shift in the industry. Prior to, songs had been promoted on radio and television before they went on sale.
However, with streaming starting to take off, things had changed. Music was being promoted and marketed differently, and Fleur admitted she felt like the label’s “guinea pig”.
Fleur recalled having a meeting with her label, who were unsure how to release her album, Love, Sax & Flashbacks. Instead of releasing multiple singles beforehand, they put the whole record out after its first single Sax.
‘Everyone had all the songs, so how do you release singles that are already released? And how do you promo them all, when they’ve streamed them all?” she said.
Alexandra Burke’s warning
Fleur felt the pressure, admitting that every year, the label would eye up more talent to prioritise when a new series would air.
She recalled the time former winner Alexandra Burke, who used to be signed to the label, gave her a warning.
“I remember her saying to me, ‘Don’t let them forget about you, babe. Don’t let them forget about you,'” Fleur said.
Alexandra told Fleur to make sure she is “priority” and that she wasn’t “put on the shelf”“”
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