[5] On 22 August 2013, Ferguson formally announced via Twitter that the new record was to be titled Freedom, and would be released on 2 December 2013 in the United Kingdom.

The same day, Ferguson played an intimate show at the Under the Bridge venue, in London, performing 6 songs from Freedom, 6 others from Heaven and a cover of Katy Perry's "Roar".

[12] On 23 September 2013, Ferguson debuted four tracks from the album for music critics—"I Hope", "Fake Smile", "Freedom" and "All That I Got".

They were all met with acclaim; Digital Spy's Robert Copsey called "Fake Smile" smooth and soulful, whilst praising Ferguson's vocals on the track.

"[13] Entertainment Focus was very positive while discussing the album and said that "Freedom is a bold statement from an artist that is going nowhere for the foreseeable future and emphasises quality.

[18] Laurence Green of musicOMH gave a rating of four stars out of five, saying "with Freedom, Ferguson evidences a marked maturity as an artist – one that sees this record playing to her strengths on one hand, whilst showcasing a deeper, richer swathe of emotional depth with the other.

Amongst a legion of former reality show contestants so often lambasted for being plastic, cookie-cutter clones, Ferguson’s music remains thrillingly suffused with life, personality and warmth".

[19] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave a positive review with four stars, saying, "Ferguson’s attempts to dance away the heartache turn into a kind of therapy disco session, while too many songs rely on her voice to overcome pop-psychology messages.