And soaking up some winter sunshine with a celebrity friend appears to be a good place for Alexandra Burke to start.
The 20-year-old X Factor winner was seen sipping drinks and relaxing on the beach in Mauritius, with her friend and former opponent, Ruth Lorenzo.
Drinking it in: Alexandra Burke and Ruth Lorenzo sip cocktails in the beach in Mauritius
With their skimpy bikinis and oversized sunglasses, the women look every inch celebrities. And indeed, the two are well on their way.
After winning the ITV talent show and a £1million recording deal, Miss Burke's cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, became the Christmas No 1 - making her the first British female solo artist to sell a million copies of a single.
Meanwhile, Miss Lorenzo, 25, who came fifth in the reality show, is almost as well known to fans.
Although they make it look as if they were born for a life of privilege by the Indian Ocean, the singers would be well advised to savour every moment.
Here come the girls: The new best friends jetted off for a sun holiday after growing close during X Factor
Soon they will have to face up to the reality of daily performances as they begin their X Factor Live tour.
If it all gets too much, at least they will both have someone who understands the pressures of the job to come home to, as the women are now sharing a riverside penthouse flat in London.
There, the floor-to-ceiling windows, and their giant plasma-screen TV are sure to remind the pair that there is the odd perk to being famous.
During their holiday, the pair haven't just been lying around and drinking cocktails - they also were spotted enjoying some beach exercise as they took a pedalo out into the Indian Ocean.
Down time: The girls shows off their bikini bodies as they lie in the surf
Cheers to us! The pair enjoy a cool drink and some male attention
The girls, who formed a close friendship during the show, have been relaxing after a whirlwind promotional schedule for her hit single Hallelujah saw Alexandra work throughout Christmas.
The 20-year-old, whose cover of the Leonard Cohen single was the Christmas No.1, becoming the fastest-selling single of 2008, looked relaxed as they enjoyed their pedalo ride with a male friend.
The break will also provide some stress-relief for Alexandra following health problems that plagued her mother, Melissa Bell, during the filming of X Factor.
Lean on me: Alex gives her pal a piggyback ride
Ms Bell, who suffers from diabetes, was undergoing gruelling kidney dialysis during the final shows, leaving the Hallelujah singer torn between her professional and personal commitments.
Despite only being famosu for a matter of months, Alexandra has come under criticism from American singer Lady GaGa, who knocked the X Factor winner off the No.1 spot in the singles chart on Sunday.
Lady GaGa said: 'If you win a TV show and you have a hit record, you sort of have a false understanding of what it means to earn success.
'The shows are set up for a winner, for someone to win. Whereas with someone like me, who writes my own songs, you have to set yourself up to win.'
Getting a spot of exercise: Alexandra and Ruth take the pedalo out in Mauritius
