Love, Sax and Flashbacks

Love, Sax and Flashbacks is the debut studio album by English singer, songwriter and rapper Fleur East. It was released on 4 December 2015, through Syco.

It was preceded by the lead single "Sax" which reached number 3 in the UK and received a platinum certification. "More and More" was released as the second single respectively.

The album received mainly positive reviews upon its release. It peaked at number 14 on the UK albums chart with 26,691 first week copies sold. Elsewhere it peaked at number 12 in the Scottish albums chart and number 16 in the Irish albums chart. Since its release Love, Sax and Flashbacks has sold 92,000 copies and has been certified silver.

Background
In 2005, East was in the girl group Addictiv Ladies, who were on the second series of The X Factor, mentored by judge and head of Syco Music, Simon Cowell, but were eliminated in the first week after ending up in the bottom two with Chico Slimani. East worked as a waitress at the London nightclub Aura Mayfair to help support her music career, and was a fitness model with the agency W Athletic, but struggled with her finances.

East later said that by early 2014, she was "definitely depressed" and considering ending her music career, until her friends and relatives encouraged her to audition for The X Factor. In June 2014, East auditioned for the eleventh series of The X Factor. She progressed to the live shows in the Over 25 category, mentored by Cowell. In the ninth week of the live shows, East performed "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. East's version went to number one on the UK iTunes Store, which led the original song to be released five weeks earlier than planned; it subsequently reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. The following week, during the show's final, East was announced as the runner-up in the competition, losing to Ben Haenow.

In January 2015, East announced that she had signed to Cowell's Syco Music record label. She recorded her debut album with musicians such as Wayne Hector, The Invisible Men, Jack Splash and TMS.

Singles
"Sax" was released as the album's lead single on 6 November 2015. Following a critically acclaimed performance of the single on The X Factor, it debuted and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. This was notably higher than the debut single of contemporary, Ben Haenow, which peaked at number 21 in October. "Sax" spent 4 weeks in the chart's top 5. A music video for the single was released on 26 November.

"More and More" was released as the album's second single on 22 January 2016. East performed the track for the first time at the 2016 National Television Awards.

"Breakfast" was made available to download on 20 November 2015, and charted at number 167 in the UK. It was released as a single in the US on 19 May 2016.

Development
After being announced as the runner-up on The X Factor, East signed a recording contract with Syco in January 2015. She began working on her debut studio album shortly following The X Factor tour. East split her time between London and Los Angeles to record it. During recording, she was inspired by "Uptown Funk", and described the songs on the album as "very uptempo and very energetic with lots of attitude. [The album has] got loads of influences from the old school. Lots of funk, hip-hop, soul; loads of different sounds fused together. Everything about that song – the uptempo vibe, the high energy, the brass, the old school funk sound – was just right up my street. I've definitely taken a few influences from that." East revisited her cover of "Uptown Funk", which she had recorded as a studio track prior to her performance on The X Factor, and subsequently re-recorded it for the album.

The lead single "Sax", according to East, was one of the first tracks recorded for the album. East stated that she became fond of the track following its recording, and that she worked hard to make many of the remaining tracks have the same feel and energy to match its quality.

In July 2015, Cowell told The Sun, regarding East's album: "I've heard it and it's world class. She has discovered who she wanted to be. Sometimes you just spot someone who's not obvious and Fleur's a good example of that". By August, work on the album was almost done. East worked with producers Darkchild, Babyface, TMS, Fraser T Smith and Wayne Hector.

Usage in media
East's cover of Alicia Keys' song "Girl on Fire" was used in Virgin Media's television advertisement for broadband.

"Like That" was featured in the movie A Bad Moms Christmas.

Sax was featured in Just Dance Unlimited.

Critical reception
Love, Sax and Flashbacks has received generally favourable reviews from music critics following its release. While many praised the album's production and upbeat tone, some criticized it for lacking substance. Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, arguing that despite the "strong '80s throwback vibe" its production was "by no means derivative and lazy", and considered that "for a runner-up and her first outing, this is top-spot quality pop". Digital Spy awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "more than just funky brass" and identifying the "refreshing" lack of balladry present. Particular praise was aimed at the album's lead single "Sax" and the track "Gold Watch". The Irish Times were positive in their review of the album, awarding it 4 out of 5 stars. They described the album as "a sassy, funky, brass-infused collection that is equal parts nostalgia trip and sugar rush." They particularly praised the track, "Like That", calling it "a song that would give Beyoncé a run for her money." Pop Crush also gave the album a positive review, commenting "Love, Sax and Flashbacks is not a game-changing pop masterpiece, and at times, the constant throwbacks start to border on pastiche. What it does have is a breezy, likable charm, and enough interesting twists to feel like a promising start for Fleur East on her quest to become an all-singing, all-dancing pop sensation" and calling it a "true standout". They awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars. The Arts Desk gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, commenting the record "does everything that good pop should, and it does it surprisingly well."

The Guardian were less positive, awarding the album only 2 out of 5 stars. While they commended East's "enormous energy", they criticised the record for lacking substance, suggesting that it fails in its "assumption that if the songs dazzle with bright lights and fanfare the public might not notice its vacancy". Evening Standard also gave the album 2 out 5 stars, saying the "signature note of Syco cheapness clings to the whole production and ultimately lets her down."

Chart performance
The album debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart selling 26,691 copies. In Scotland the album debuted at number 12 in its first week of release. The album debuted at number 16 in Ireland. To date the album has sold over 92,000 copies and received a silver certification.

Track listing

 * Notes
 * undefined signifies a co-producer
 * undefined signifies an additional producer
 * "Paris" contains elements from "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie
 * "Kitchen" contains a sample of the recording and elements from "Dancing Machine" by The Jackson 5
 * "Baby Don't Dance" contains elements from "Unwind Yourself" by Marva Whitney
 * Credits adapted from album liner notes