Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV program "Britain's Got Talent" in April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Misérables." Her first album was released in November of that same year and debuted as the #1 best-selling album on charts around the globe.

Boyle's initial appearance on the talent show fired public imagination when her modest stage introduction, homely appearance, and thick speaking accent left the audience, viewers and judges alike unprepared for the power and expression of her mezzo-soprano voice. Before she had finished the song's opening phrase a standing ovation for Boyle had erupted. An international media and Internet response coincided. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle -- from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River" -- had been watched over 100 million times. Despite becoming an international sensation, she eventually finished in second place on the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009) instantly became the UK's best-selling debut album of all time, beating the previous record held by Leona Lewis' Spirit album. The success was continued with her second album, 2010's The Gift.

In May 2012, Susan returned to "Britain's Got Talent" to perform as a guest in the final, in which she sang "You'll See." The following day, she performed at Windsor Castle for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant singing "Mull of Kintyre." In November 2012, Boyle performed with her idol Donny Osmond in Las Vegas, singing "This is the Moment," a duet from her album Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs From the Stage.

Boyle continues to perform and release music today. In May 2019, she released her eighth studio album, Ten.

Boyle is an advocate for Asperger's and epilepsy. She has Asperger syndrome, which she was diagnosed in 2012, relatively late in life. She was raised thinking that she had been briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability. As a child, Boyle was diagnosed with epilepsy and had many fainting spells at school. However, autism and epilepsy are closely linked, and it has been reported that up to 40 percent of children diagnosed with epilepsy in the UK actually have an Autism Spectrum Disorder instead.