Star Facts
- In only six weeks of sales, Susan’s debut album became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009
- She is the oldest person to reach number one with a debut album in the UK
- Despite her phenomenal success, Susan still lives at home in her council house
- Susan’s debut Britain’s Got Talent performance has been viewed on Youtube several hundred million times
Susan Magdalane Boyle Quotes
I was slightly brain damaged at birth, and I want people like me to see that they shouldn't let a disability get in the way. I want to raise awareness - I want to turn my disability into ability.
Biography:
Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation with her appearance on series three of Britain’s Got Talent. A plain looking 47 year old, she was not a typical talent show contestant and the audience were initially cynical, until she began to sing.
Performing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, the studio audience and 10 million viewers watching at home were gobsmacked. Susan received a standing ovation both during and after the performance.
Footage of her performance went viral on Youtube and has now been watched several hundred million times. Among her Youtube viewers were Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, with Susan’s performance famously reducing the actress to tears.
She became firm favourite to win the final, but came second. The following day she was admitted to The Priory, suffering from exhaustion. It emerged that Susan, who was born and raised in Blackburn Scotland, had been born with learning difficulties and found the experience too overwhelming.
She soon recovered and her debut album became the fastest selling UK debut album of all time. In the US it was best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade. With her second album, Susan became only one of three artists to ever top the UK and US album charts twice in the same year.
Susan has since performed for the Pope, at the White House, and has appeared on Oprah. Despite her phenomenal success, she still lives at home in her council house in Blackburn with her cat Pebbles.