Bookies Back Fleur East to Win The X Factor UK 2014

In a development some might call surprising, yet wouldn't be all that surprising if you watched Saturday night's show, UK bookies and oddsmakers are switching their predictions for this weekend's finale for The X Factor UK finale.

Fleur East is now the odds-on-favorite to win, overtaking former frontrunners Ben Haenow and Andrea Faustini. This comes hot on the heels of Fleur's show-stopping, game-changing performance of Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's hit, "Uptown Funk", which has become the first and only performance from The X Factor UK this season to hit #1 on iTunes.

Fleur has odds of 4-6, which puts her ahead of Ben Haenow (7-4 odds) and predicted third-place finisher Andrea Faustini (6-1 odds).

Simon Cowell, who has two acts in next week's final (Fleur and Ben), is already crowing about Fleur's odds of making it big in America.

"That performance by Fleur was world class," Cowell said. "If she carries on like that she could break America."

And he might not be wrong. On iTunes, Fleur is outselling One Direction, Calvin Harris, and the Band Aid 30 charity single. Granted, oddsmakers don't always have the best track record on this show. Rhydian Roberts was predicted to win Series 4, while both Aiden Grimshaw and Gamu Nhengu were top predictions for Series 7, despite one getting eliminated halfway through, and the other failing to even make live shows. Still, it at least seems likely that it will all come down to Fleur and Ben, which I'm sure makes Simon a happy camper, even if this is going to balloon his ego to planetary proportions.

Via: Mirror

Credit: ITV