Fans rallying behind Britain’s Got Talent singer Alice Fredenham after she was unceremoniously dumped by Sony have united to pledge tens of thousands of pounds to financially back her first album.

Alice, who lives in Harpenden, told the Herts Advertiser of her astonishment at the success of a fundraising campaign she launched so she could professionally record music in a studio.

Not only did she reach her target of securing £27,000 in pledges through the crowdfunding campaign, she utterly blitzed that total - securing a whopping £40,075 to achieve her dream.

Alice started the venture through online platform kickstarter.com, seeking pledges to enable her to record an album after entertainment giant Sony turned its back on the songstress, despite her popularity both here and in the United States.

Sony had snapped her up for a demo contract after the former beauty therapist reached the semi-finals in ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, where Alice won praise from judges including Simon Cowell.

She said: “I thought that asking for £27,000 was a long shot, so to exceed that is amazing, especially as so many people are supporting me in both the United States and in the UK.

“It was nerve-wracking getting closer to the deadline, when the campaign could not receive any more pledges because I was worried that people might pull out.

“But I have got more money than I ever expected, which will help cover my recording expenses.”

She has thanked her legions of backers, and the Herts Advertiser for publicising her bid.

Alice has already booked a photo shoot to accompany publicity for the album, and is currently sifting through “thousands of songs” before finalising what to sing for it.

She has received hundreds of comments on her kickstarter.com page, with one saying pledging support was a “no-brainer”.

An Australian fan, Mike Farrell, said: “Fabulous result. I’ve never done anything like this before and it feels fantastic to have helped along the career of an amazing artist. Looking forward to your future.”