QUIRKY SINGER Katie Waissel may be disqualified from The X Factor after it emerged that she already has a record deal in the US, and has recorded a massive back catalogue for a popular YouTube series.

Madonna lookalike Vaissel – who sang Etta James’s ‘At Last’ to make her way through to the Boot Camp stage – has recorded a jazz album under the name Lola Fontaine.

Her manager, Jason Silverman, told the News of the World that Waissel was on his books and that she was “just about to release a record – it’s brand new.

“She came to LA and we signed her to a two-record deal. We just finished one and then she went back home to work over there while we get ready to release the record in the fall.”

Producers may now have to dump her from the show, with the competition’s rules explicitly stating that contestants cannot already have a music management contract.

A producer admitted: “We are looking to the whole thing to see if a contract does exist and if there is found to be one, what the wording is. An existing record or management contract could result in Katie not being able to continue, but she is a fantastic contestant, and it demonstrates her determination to succeed in the business.”

She had already recorded a series of songs for use in the Green Eyed World YouTube series, sponsored by Sprite, in which she – under the name ‘Katie Vogel’ – travelled to New York to pursue a music career.

It is not thought that the YouTube series poses a threat to her participation in the show, however, as she could argue she was working as an actress in the series (having adopted a fake name).