Singer gets eastern applause (5)
I believe the answer is:
cheer
'applause' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'singer gets eastern' is the wordplay.
'singer' becomes 'cher' (American singer).
'gets' is an insertion indicator (gets can mean captures or absorbs).
'eastern' becomes 'e'.
'cher' placed around 'e' is 'CHEER'.
(Other definitions for cheer that I've seen before include "Applaud and acclaim" , "Encourage - applaud" , "Shout of approval" , "sound of appreciative audience" , "Urge on" .)