Meet Fleur East: Strictly Come Dancing 2022 contestant
The Sax singer has made it to the final.
After 12 weeks of performances, the Strictly Come Dancing final is finally here and taking to the stage this weekend is Fleur East.
The final Strictly Come Dancing 2022 songs and dances have been revealed and as it's the final, the contestants in the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 line-up have to perform not one, but three dances.
So, what has Fleur got planned for the night?
The musician and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola will kick off the night with Samba to Hot Hot Hot by Arrow, as selected by the judges.
For her favourite dance from season 20, Fleur has opted for Couple's Choice to Destiny’s Child Megamix by Destiny’s Child. Back in Week 9, the dance saw Fleur top the leaderboard with a perfect score of 40 - the first of the 2022 season. So, Fleur will be hoping to maintain her top score this weekend.
Her final performance will be a Showdance to Find Me by Sigma featuring Birdy.
As we wait for the 2o22 winner to be revealed, here's everything you need to know about Fleur East and her stint on the show over the past 12 weeks.
Who is Fleur East?
Age: 34
Job: Singer and presenter
Instagram: @fleureast
Twitter: @fleureast
Fleur East rose to fame after competing in The X Factor, auditioning solo in 2014 and making it through to the live-shows, coming in second place.
She has since found success with singles like Sax and More and More, before taking part in the 2018 season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, finishing in fourth place.
In recent years she has moved into presenting, hosting the Hits Radio breakfast show and appearing on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
Fleur's Strictly journey
Scoreboard
Week 1: Cha Cha Cha (7+7+7+8) = 29
Week 2: Viennese Waltz (7+8+6+7) = 28
Week 3: American Smooth (6+8+7+8) = 29
Week 4: Argentine Tango (9+10+9+10) = 38
Week 5: Jive (7+8+9+8) = 32
Week 6: Salsa (8+8+8+8) = 32
Week 7: Waltz (9+9+8+9) = 35
Week 8: Samba (9+10+10+10) = 39
Week 9: Couple's Choice (10+10+10+10) = 40
Week 10: Rumba (8+9+9+9) = 35
Week 11: Quickstep (9+10+9+10) = 38
Week 12: Paso Doble (8+9+8+10) + Charleston (9+10+10+10) = 35+39 = 74
Fleur East had a strong start, performing the Cha Cha Cha to Let's Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez and then changing tone with a Viennese Waltz to Glimpse of Us by Joji. The latter was an emotional performance for the star, who burst into tears after the routine.
She then returned to the Strictly stage for Week 3 with her professional partner Vito Coppola to perform the American Smooth to Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid – and while she received a decent score of 29, she found herself in the bottom two with Richie Anderson.
The judges agreed to save her, and Fleur was back with a bang in Week 4 with a brilliantly atmospheric Argentine Tango to Paint It Black, receiving her highest scores to date and her first 10s of the series.
Her score dipped slightly in Week 5 when she earned 32 points for a Eurovision-themed Jive to Waterloo (which saw Vito don an ABBA-esque wig), but it was still enough to land the couple towards the top of the leaderboard.
While they received the exact same strong score in Halloween Week, Fleur and Vito's Salsa to Beyonce's Break My Soul sadly landed them in the dreaded dance off against EastEnders actor James Bye.
The judges chose to save Fleur for a second time in the competition and in Week 7 she came back fighting.
Fleur and Vito took to the floor to perform a beautiful Waltz, which left them in joint third place on the score board, alongside Molly Rainford.
Week 8 then saw her go from strength to strength as Fleur landed her highest score to date – a huge 39 out of 40 for her Samba to Hot Hot Hot by Arrow.
While Week 9's Blackpool edition marked the first 40 of the 2022 season, as Fleur and Vito's Couple's Choice routine to a Destiny's Child megamix blew the judges away and bagged them the top spot.
However, fans were shocked in Week 10, as despite not being at the bottom of the leaderboard, the singer found herself in the dance off against comedian Ellie Taylor after performing a Rumba to Too Lost in You by Sugababes.
The judges went on to save Fleur, and in Week 11 her and Vito were awarded 38 points for their Quickstep to I Got Rhythm from An American In Paris.
In Week 12, they then earned a combined score of 74.
What has Fleur East said about joining Strictly 2022?
Speaking about joining Strictly Come Dancing, Fleur East said she was "equally nervous and thrilled".
"I’m excited to learn new skills and I want to soak up every moment of this magical experience. It’s such an honour to be on the show after years of watching it with my father who loved it so much."
She added: "Unfortunately my dad is no longer with us but I know he will be watching over the ballroom in spirit. I’m doing this to make him and my family proud and can’t wait to get my dancing shoes on!”
The final of Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday 17th December at 7:05pm on BBC One.
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