Despite Simon Cowell praising her voice for being like “liquid platinum” entertainment giant Sony has decided to turn its back on Alice Fredenham, leaving her thousands of fans disappointed.

Scores of the former beauty therapist’s fans in the UK and the United States had been eagerly anticipating an album release after she was snapped up by Sony following appearances on The Voice and Britain’s Got Talent.

Just a year ago the Herts Advertiser broke the news about the then-thrilled singer signing her first major recording with the firm.

In June she told fans on Facebook: “I have now reached the end of my demo period with Sony and am awaiting news as to whether they will be signing me for the full album deal. Keep everything crossed!”

But Alice’s hopes were recently dashed when Sony decided to release her from her demo contract “and sadly decided against a full album deal”.

However her dreams of hitting the big time have not faded as Alice told fans that “after a lot of soul searching” she had decided to go it alone with the help of online global crowdfunding site ‘indiegogo’.

She said: “I really feel this is the best route for me given the current state of the music industry and in particular the major labels.

“I will be seeking to try to raise money simply because I will need to record from scratch in a decent studio and use session musicians. This will enable me to create a high quality release.

“My dream has never been to be a major star; it is to have some success.”

Alice thanked her fans for their support and “staying with me for the ride”.

Meanwhile it has been a busy - and successful - year for other locals in the music industry including popular drum and base duo Sigma, one half of whom, Joe Lenzie, lives in Harpenden and is a former Sir John Lawes School pupil.

Sigma has continued to hit the airwaves with the likes of hit singles including Nobody to Love.

St Albans band Enter Shikari are launching their fourth album The Mindsweep on January 19. Just one month after putting new single Never Let Go of The Microscope on YouTube, it had been listened to over 150,000 times.

And days after St Albans urban duo LS One put new music video Ride Out, filmed at club Batchwood, on YouTube it had been seen over 7,500 times.