Susan Boyle
It is eleven years since Susan Boyle applied to go on Britain’s Got Talent, and defied the odds by bringing the house down in a way that no other reality show contestant has done since.
A woman from a small scottish council house, in a small scottish village, who fought back to take on the world with the power of her voice, defying preconceptions and reminding us all to never judge a book by its cover.
The iconic figure of Got Talent, Simon Cowell’s juggernaut brand, Susan Boyle broke every rule of the reality rulebook and smashed the record books on both sides of the Atlantic, winning fans in all corners of the world.
The YouTube video (that catapulted her from unknown to global phenomenon overnight) in her gold dress and wild hair, executing a flawless rendition of I Dreamed A Dream is still spine-tingling. So too is the story that followed. The self- styled ‘wee wifey’ from Blackburn, West Lothian became one of the biggest recording stars and still an astonishing ten years on continues to defy critics and expectations. To date, her list of successes are mesmerising. Over 25 million albums sold, 250 million audio streams and over 650 million YouTube hits and counting.
In 2009 Susan’s audition video was the most watched Youtube video ever, beating President Obama’s inauguration five times over. Eight studio albums; two Grammy nominations; three Guinness World Records; #1 albums in 40 plus countries; 128 platinum and gold album certifications and ranking amongst the likes of Beyonce, Adele and Taylor Swift, having three or more number one albums in the UK - one of only 17 female artists in the history of the UK charts to do so. She has sung for the Pope; the Queen; ticked off her wish list of meeting musical and screen idols and smashed music records held by the Beatles that had remained unchanged since the 1960’s.
Susan's bestselling autobiography, The Woman I Was Born to Be tells the story of her life and the challenges she has struggled to overcome with faith, fortitude, and an unfailing sense of humour.
Once known as the painfully shy, broke and under-confident woman who dreamed the dream. That is no longer Susan Boyle. “I don’t dream the dream any more,” she says, “because I am living it."
