Fleur East loses X-Factor finals to Ben Haenow after bringing out her Ghanaian roots in semi-finals

It was a family affair for the UK X-Factor finalist,  Fleur East as her Ghanaian maternal grandfather banged some bongo drums to drum up support for her in the semi finals of the live TV show. 27 year old Fleur, who was favourite to win the contest claimed that her grandfather had travelled from Ghana to the UK only to boost her campaign. Fleur is born to Malcolm East of West of England, Wessex and a Ghanaian mother, Irene Frimpong-Manso. Irene is related to radio personality Adakabre Frimpong-Manso. She made X-Factor final alongside fellow Simon Cowell protegé Ben Haenow, beating Italian maestro Andrea Faustini.

During the semi-finals, Fleur performed Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us” and “Beneath Your Beautiful” alongside Labyrinth as part of the X-Factor semi final competition. She also showed off her rap skills by doing the rap part of “Can’t Hold Us”.

However, Fleur  lost the 2014 X-Factor finale to Ben Haenow at the Wembley Arena Saturday night.  After an energy-field performance by Fleur backed by an impressive stage craft and choreography, all four judges including Simon Cowell gave her a standing ovation. She received wild and loud cheers from the live audience and was tipped for a comfortable win.

Many believe that comments from her grandfather, R O Frimpong , who had travelled from Ghana to the UK for the finale may have damaged to Fleur’s chances. When asked about Fleur’s performance during the semi-finals, her grandfather, said, “I feel she is great, she’s persistently, constantly improved by day and if Fleur does not win the X-Factor 2014 there is something wrong with the whole panel.”. Sadly, she seems to have suffered the same fate suffered by others like her, including Zimbabwe-born Gamu Nhengu, who also suffered injustice on X Factor soon after she had stated that she had been born in Africa.

The future seems bright for the young star though. Fleur may not have won, but you can just tell that she is going to sell millions of records like former runners-up - One Direction, as many winners like Ben, will likely suffer the fate of Matt Cardle.