One Direction and Jennifer Hudson prove that you don't need to win first place to come out on top, and Fleur East wants to prove that she can do the same. As the runner-up in The X Factor UK's 11th season, the songstress is grabbing attention with her flirtatious bouncy track, "Sax." Her debut album, Love, Sax & Flashbacks, has already dropped in the UK and will release in the US later this year. As we wait for the new record and a chance to see her live, here are 10 things you should know about Fleur East.

She Didn't Come From a Musical Family But Was Introduced to Tunes Early On 

Unlike other singers who grew up in a music-playing family, East's parents were more of lovers than performers. And they wanted to make sure their daughter was born loving the same tunes her mom and dad listened to. "They don’t play instruments," she says. "[But] they were just big lovers of music. When my mother was pregnant, they used to put headphones on her stomach."

She Started Composing Songs as a Toddler

While her parents didn't play music, they wanted Fleur to get an early start. "From the age of three, my parents gave me a keyboard," she explains, "and I started singing and making up songs. That’s probably my first memory doing anything with music.”

Simon Cowell Was a Great Influence on Her

With Simon as a mentor, Fleur really took what he said to heart. And apparently, the X Factor mastermind instilled her with some sage advice. “One of the best pieces of advice was from Simon Cowell," she says, "and he was mentoring throughout the whole show, from the beginning. He said to me quite early on, ‘Make sure your voice is heard, and make sure you don’t become a puppet. If you have an opinion or there’s something you don’t like, you need to make your voice heard. Let it be known.’ And that was amazing.”

At The Beginning of 'The X Factor UK,' Fleur Was an Underdog

"I wasn’t on anyone’s radar until the judges’ houses," she reveals. "So I went into the competition and the live shows with people who were more famous than me, I think. I was kind of the underdog."

Her Rendition of "Uptown Funk" Topped the UK iTunes Charts

People really started to take notice as she dominated the stage each week. However, it was her performance of "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars that turned heads. The cover was so popular that it topped the UK charts. "Everything was kind of slow until that moment," East says. "I was coming offstage, and everyone’s reaction was ‘Oh my god. That was wonderful.’ I started seeing stuff online. It was just blowing up. And when I woke up the next day, my friend called me and was like, ‘Oh my god! Your version is in the top 20 [on iTunes].’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And she was like, ‘Trust me, it’s going to be number one by the end of the day.” I didn’t think it was going to happen. Then through the day,  people were just screaming number eight then someone else will go number five! Then literally it was number one. It was insane. Incredible.”

After 'The X Factor UK,' She Thought She Could Go Back to Her Normal Life—She Was Wrong

"Immediately after the show," Fleur admits, "I thought I could got to the shopping mall and do my shopping, no big deal. I was wrong obviously because a lot of people recognized me from the show. I started thinking of various disguises like putting a cap on or a hood on and things. But as soon, “Sax” came out, and I got a little more popular in the music industry. Now that doesn’t work now. I’m basically lost. I don’t let it bother me too much. People are really nice when I meet them. They say very supportive and encouraging things. I like meeting people, but I know now that when I go out the door, I need to be prepared that people are going to recognize me through the day.”

Some Can Sing While Others Can Just Dance—Fleur Does Both!

While singing and dancing simultaneously is hard, she loves doing it! "I think they’re equally as difficult on their own," she says, "but putting them together makes it 10 times more difficult. It’s like trying to keep the energy of the performance but, at the same time, trying to hold down the vocal and keep it steady, and it’s very challenging. But I love it. I love throwing myself into it. I feel like I have so much energy, and I come alive when I’m on stage."

"Sax" is For All the Singles Out There

It looks like Beyonce's "Single Ladies" needs to move over because Fleur's "Sax" brings even more fun back into flying solo. "'Sax’ is a really fun song," she begins. "It’s really cheeky and talking about when you’re single and you’re trying to find Mr. Right, and you’re talking about all the angles while you get there. And it’s quite a funny song, but I love it because it’s so uplifting. It just puts you in such a positive space when you hear it.”

Even After Lots of Late Night Wining and Dining, She Can Still Churn Out a Song

During the recording of "Paris," Fleur expresses how she was able to record a song during the wee hours of the morning after noshing on a feast. And she still manages to turn it out. She says, “‘Paris’ was done after a long day at the studio, and we went for a three-course meal with the producer and the writer I was working with. We went for a three-course meal with wine then went into the studio. It was really late in the morning and said, ‘Let’s just fool around and see what we can come up with.’ But we were done, spent, no creative juices left in us. And then we just started doing ‘Paris’ and wrote it in 40 minutes and recorded it that night. The vocal on the album is the same one I laid down at two in the morning. So that’s very memorable for me.”

Fleur Wants Her Music to Fill a Void That's Been Missing in Today's Music

"For me, I’m just so excited for people to hear my music," she explains. " I’ve got a strong identity. I really know who I am as an artist, and I think I’m trying to bring something fresh to the game, you know the singing and the dancing. The style of music is really old school but with a modern twist. I feel like that’s something I miss from the industry [right now]. I listen to people from all over, from the States and from the UK, and I feel like for me as a music lover, it’s something I was missing from the scene. But I feel like I’ve found my lane, and I’m just excited to run with it and let people hear what I have.”