A 47-year-old Scottish charity volunteer who claims never to have been kissed has become an international media sensation amid reports she is set to cash in with a quick record deal.
By yesterday, a video clip of Susan Boyle's stunning singing debut on the Britain's "Got Talent" television show last weekend had been viewed by over 12 million people on YouTube, with the numbers rising fast.
US actress Demi Moore was apparently moved to tears by the clip, while the story has been picked up around the world, with US, Australian and other broadcasters reportedly queuing up for interviews.
"Susan has clearly wowed the audience, the judges and the world with a truly fantastic performance," said Tom Kerr, leader of West Lothian council in Scotland where Boyle lives alone with a cat called Pebbles.
The West Lothian Courier, her local paper, added that she was "doing what the Beatles did in the 60s" - that is, taking the United States by storm, as the Fab Four did four decades ago.
And, while press coverage in Britain was relatively muted, media in the United States are lapping up the story.
Global news channel CNN said it had been flooded with messages about the spinster, who was filmed tucking into a sandwich shortly before taking to the stage.
The San Francisco Chronicle, under the headline "Just Who Is The Singer Susan Boyle?" noted that "Unless you live under a rock, you know about the Scottish woman who has taken the industrialized world by storm."
"UK talent show stunned by Scottish virgin Susan Boyle," ran Australia's Herald Sun newspaper.
In Britain coverage has been relatively muted - perhaps due to the fact that Britain's "Got Talent" is shown on private broadcaster ITV and the story is therefore not highlighted by rival news channels.
The frumpy-looking Boyle drew sniggers when she walked on stage on the weekend show, saying she dreamed of emulating West End star Elaine Page.
Shortly before the performance she told the show's hosts backstage: "I live on my own with my cat called Pebbles, but I've never been married, I've never been kissed."
Boyle has been singing since 12, she said. "I've always wanted to perform in front of a large audience. I'm going to make that audience rock," she added.
When she began to sing, the panel of three judges led by music guru Simon Cowell was visibly shocked, and the audience in Glasgow rose to its feet, as her voiced soared through "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. "Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years of this show," said judge Piers Morgan, admitting that before her performance "everyone was laughing at you."
(China Daily/Agencies, April 17, 2009)
