McKenna then launched her music career, releasing her debut studio album, Story of Me (2018), and she later went on to win The X Factor: Celebrity (2019).

[7] In September 2023, McKenna suffered facial burns after "a freak accident" involving a jug of gravy.

[8] In 2009, McKenna reached the semi-finals of third series of Britain's Got Talent as part of the music duo Harmony.

[16] She was the fourth housemate to be evicted having received the fewest votes to save, spending a total of 18 days in the house.

[19] McKenna made her final appearance on The Only Way Is Essex on 25 October 2017, expressing an interest in focusing on her music career.

[12] After the series finale, McKenna launched her music career, releasing her debut extended play, featuring "High Heeled Shoes" and "Far Cry from Love".

[22][23] In December 2017, McKenna embarked on her first headlining tour to promote the release of "High Heeled Shoes", which consisted of four dates, visiting The Sugarmill, The Venue, Palace Theatre and Scala.

[25][26] On 26 July 2018, McKenna released her debut autobiographical book, Mouthy, published by John Blake.

[36] From October to November 2019, McKenna competed in the ITV series The X Factor: Celebrity and was mentored by Louis Walsh.

[38] On 30 November, she was crowned the winner of the competition with 46.3% of the final vote, which not only gave Walsh his third overall victory of the show but also won her a record deal with Syco.

[39][40] In February 2020, McKenna began recording her second studio album,[41] and later that month, it was announced that she is set to support Lionel Richie on the British leg of his 2021 tour.

[50] Following the departure, she announced that she would be independently releasing a song a week, beginning with the single "Baby Talk" on 24 June 2022.