Alexandra Burke has admitted that pop superstar Beyoncé Knowles has helped her to land a record deal in the States.

The X Factor winner has recently signed to Epic Records and has a five-album deal worth £3.5million.

‘It all happened because of Beyoncé,’ she said. ‘She rang up her people…and she was like, “You need to watch this girl”.

‘They then watched the show, flew over to see me on the last date of The X Factor tour at Wembley, and that was it. They signed me and I was in complete and utter shock.’

‘Every time I see Beyoncé I say thank you for changing my life completely,’ she told You magazine.

‘She kept in touch, she came to see me in New York, she invited me to her show when she was here. She’s just a real sweetheart.’