X Factor finalists 5 After Midnight have thanked their fans after signing a record deal with Simon Cowell’s label, Syco.

The three singers said they were disappointed to have come third behind Matt Terry and Saara Aalto last month, but had “got what they wanted.”

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, they said: “Everyone enters the show with the ambition to win, but we are super happy with where we came and we are thankful for the support from the fans.

“To go into a competition and not win you feel disappointed, but to still get what the winner normally gets (the record deal) is what we always wanted.

“We did what we wanted to do and people bought into it.”

But while they have promised to kick off their professional careers with some fresh music in the year, the singers – Kieran Alleyne, 21, Jordan Lee, 21, and Nathan Lewis, 24 – are gearing up to join their fellow former contestants for next month’s X Factor tour.

Their success follows in the footsteps of bands such as One Direction, who were also signed despite failing to win first prize in the ITV competition.

They said the deal was a “dream come true” but, when it comes to releasing their own music, added: “We’re are not going to rush, because it has got to be perfect.”