clipped from www.accesshollywood.com BLACKBURN, Scotland -- In a week, Susan Boyle has gone from karaoke and her local church choir to global fame and an invitation to the Oprah Winfrey show. The frumpy 47-year-old, who says she’s never been kissed, has gained celebrity fans and millions of admirers — including a fair number of men — since she wowed judges on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Her fame has been fueled by new technology, with a clip of her performance viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube. “Susan can’t help herself, she just sings whenever she can sing,” said Jackie Russell, the manager of the Happy Valley Hotel in Blackburn, Scotland, where Boyle occasionally sings karaoke. “We weren’t surprised by her talent, but we were surprised by the reaction around the world.” Until recently, few outside the village of Blackburn had heard of Boyle, who lives in a modest row house that she shared for years with her widowed mother, who died two years ago. In the past few days, she has appeared on TV around the world. Demi Moore is an avowed fan. “It has been surreal for me,” Boyle told The Associated Press on Thursday in Blackburn, 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Edinburgh. “I’m going to be on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ CBS and other American networks. “I didn’t realize this would be the reaction, I just went on stage and got on with it. “I did this for my late mother,” Boyle said. “I wanted to show her I could do something with my life.” Boyle has won over millions of viewers — just as she melted the heart of television’s harshest judge, Simon Cowell — with her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on an episode of “Britain’s Got Talent” that aired Saturday. The skillfully packaged segment, which has taken the Internet by storm, is a mini-opera of underdog triumph. The studio audience laughed and guffawed as Boyle took the stage with frizzy hair and wearing a dowdy dress. She told viewers she had “never been kissed — shame, but it’s not an advert!” She drew skeptical looks when she said she wanted to be a professional singer like Broadway star Elaine Page. Then she launched into “I Dreamed a Dream,” from the musical “Les Miserables.” Her soaring voice drew startled looks and then delighted smiles from judges Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. The audience leapt to its feet to applaud. Cowell called her singing “extraordinary.” Morgan said her “stunning” performance was “the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show.” “I can hardly remember what happened on the night as I had my eyes closed most of the time,” Boyle said. “It really didn’t dawn on me what was happening.” Copyright 2009 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.

clipped from www.latimes.com An appearance on 'Britain's Got Talent' propels the 47-year-old singer onto the world stage - with nary a speck of glitz or glamour. By Scott Collins and Janet Stobart April 17, 2009 Less than a week ago, she was just another 47-year-old Scottish virgin. Now, more than 13 million YouTube views later, Hollywood agents and talk-show bookers are jostling for a few minutes with Susan Boyle, a stocky, beetle-browed woman who would not ordinarily rate a second glance on the street. "Do you understand what a big deal this is?" Harry Smith asked her Thursday morning on CBS' "The Early Show." continued...

clipped from buzz.yahoo.com April 13, 2009 12:53:39 PM "American Idol" isn't the only launching pad for aspiring singers. Across the pond, "Britain's Got Talent" scored a huge boost in the Buzz after an unassuming contestant gave an amazing performance. Susan Boyle (remember that name) became a Web phenomenon after singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. The performance brought the audience to its feet and left the judges (including Simon Cowell) either speechless or in tears. Before going on stage, Ms. Boyle admitted some self-deprecating facts about herself (she's never been kissed and lives alone with her cat, Pebbles). For those reasons and more, audiences were expecting the female William Hung. They were wrong.

There was a time when men were kind,
And their voices were soft,
And their words inviting.
There was a time when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time when it all went wrong...

I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine, untasted.

But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
And they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side,
He filled my days with endless wonder...
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came!

And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we will live the years together,
But there are dreams that cannot be,
And there are storms we cannot weather!

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...