Susan Boyle: A Success Story
Susan Magdalane Boyle, born in 1961, has taken the world by storm. Within a year she has become a renowned figure in homes around the world, taking second place in Britain’s Got Talent and releasing her first album, which has shot to the top of the charts. This is the story of an unlikely figure who, through pure talent, has made a name for herself.
Born in Blackburn, Scotland, Susan Boyle received singing lessons from Fred O’Neil. She mostly gained experience by singing karaoke and in church. Boyle contributed a track to a charity CD in 1999, entitled “Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian”. It was well received by the few who heard it. That same year she had a demo tape, containing “Cry Me a River” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, cut professionally so that she could send copies to talent competitions and record companies.
Susan Boyle went on to win a number of local singing competitions. She was encouraged by her mother to enter into the Britain’s Got Talent show and received further encouragement from her former voice coach when she felt that she was too old for the show and not good looking enough. She has stated that her mother’s death moved her to finally audition for the TV show.
Almost instantly Susan Boyle shot to fame singing “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent aired on 11 April 2009. Tens of millions of individuals reportedly watched the YouTube video of this amazing performance. Susan Boyle came in second place in this season of Britain’s Got Talent.
On 23 November 2009, Susan Boyle’s first album, entitled “I Dreamed a Dream”, was released. Album pre-sales were huge and it has been named the fastest ever selling UK album. There were even 701 000 albums sold in the United States in the first week of release. In fact, some 2 million copies were sold worldwide in just a week. In just four weeks Susan Boyle’s release has been named Number 1 Christmas Album of 2009. Susan Boyle is certainly an inspiration and her voice is simply incredible. If all goes well we may be hearing her performance of the upcoming James Bond theme song!
