Susan Boyle attends the ‘America’s Got Talent: The Champions’ finale on October 17, 2018 in Pasadena, California.Photo:Tibrina Hobson/WireImage
Tibrina Hobson/WireImage
Susan Boylewon the hearts of viewers from the U.K. and beyond after herBritain’s Got Talentaudition in April 2009.
Well over a decade after Boyle’s audition, Cowell andAmerica’s Got TalenthostTerry Crewsreflected on the moment in a July 2023 video sharedon YouTube. Cowell noted that he would “never forget” the moment, telling Crews, “I was having a terrible, terrible day and I remember saying, ‘I really, really hope she’s not gonna sing,’ because there were so many bad singers that day and I thought, ‘I just can’t take another one.’ "
Looking back on her career at the decade mark in April 2019, Boyle told PEOPLE that the “biggest surprise” was that she was still going 10 years later. She explained, “Fame is such a bizarre concept and has never been my motivator.I just want to singfor people and give them joy, happiness, suspend reality for a brief time and entertain.”
“For the first few years that was a constant worry I had, that this dream, this amazing journey that I was on, and I worried it would disappear overnight,” Boyle said. “You hear the cliché ‘five minutes of fame’ and I kept thinking to myself, well my five minutes must surely be up, but 10 years on, and I’m still going, which is probably as much a shock to me as everyone else.”
Here’s everything to know about Susan Boyle and where she is now.
Who is Susan Boyle?
Boyle is a singer who hails from Blackburn, West Lothian in Scotland. Prior to auditioning forBGT, Boyle pursued music on her own, tellingThe Guardianin April 2009 that she comes “from a musical family” and has been singing since she was 12, including participating in productions at school.
After taking time away from singing to care for her late mother, who died in 2007, Boyle was inspired to audition forBGTafter watchingPaul Pottscompete and go on to stardom. First, she attended an audition in Glasgow before she was sent for her second audition in front of the cast of judges, Cowell, Morgan and Holden.
“I expected people to be a wee bit cynical,” Boyle toldThe Guardian. “But I decided to win them round. That is what you do. They didn’t know what to expect. BeforeBritain’s Got Talent,I had never had a proper chance. It’s as simple as that. You just have to keep going and take one step at a time and one day you will make it. You just don’t give up.”
Did Susan Boyle winBritain’s Got Talent?
Susan Boyle on ‘America’s Got Talent’.Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank
Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank
After Boyle’s famed audition, she was among the 40 performers who moved onto the semifinals of the show. However, her journey onBGTwas not without its difficult moments.
Due to unwavering attention from the press and paparazzi, Boyle went into hiding, but she pulled through so as to not “throw away my big chance now.”
In the first semifinal round of the show, she performed “Memory” fromCats.The Scottish singer would eventually make it to the finale, but came in second place after the dance group Diversity.
What happened to Susan Boyle’s career afterBritain’s Got Talent?
Susan Boyle performs at Segerstrom Center For The Arts on October 16, 2014.Doug Gifford/Getty
Doug Gifford/Getty
Boyle was a sensation across the globe the moment her audition video hit the internet. In April 2009, she had what was billed asher “first U.S. performance”onThe Early Showon CBS where she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” and received praise fromPatti LuPone.
By November 2009, she was back promoting her music in the United States, this time appearing on NBC’sTodayshowtopromote her debut studio album, named after the iconicLes Misérablestune.
Shereflected on the “instant fame”she experienced after the talent competition in a January 2019 interview with PEOPLE, explaining that she went “from being a wee unknown lady with a cat in Scotland to being recognized wherever I went.”
“I really didn’t comprehend just how far the audition clip had gone!” she added. “Back in 2009 I said all my life I had been an outsider looking in and now I get to be a part of it, and that stands true today.”
Boyle has gone on to release eight studio albums throughout the course of her career, including her debut,The Giftin 2010,Someone to Watch Over Mein 2011,Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stagein 2012,Home for Christmasin 2013,Hopein 2014,A Wonderful Worldin 2016 andTenin 2019.
She’s also toured on several occasions,including with fellow finalists ofBGTin 2009, as well as her 2013 to 2014 tour “Susan Boyle in Concert.”
Outside of music, Boyle released her autobiographyThe Woman I Was Born To Be: My Storyin 2010. She also has a few acting credits to her name, including 2013’sThe Christmas Candleand a cameoon BBC’sRiver Cityin 2021.
Did Susan Boyle winAmerica’s Got Talent: The Champions?
Since her first round on the show, Boyle has returned to theBGTstage and made appearances on its United States counterpart,America’s Got Talent,over the years.
Boyle went on to compete again on television in 2019’sAmerica’s Got Talent: The Champions.She said that coming second place in 2009 was an “unfulfilled promise” and she was looking forward to showing Cowell “how much I’ve grown since the last time he saw me.”
After singing “Wild Horses” for her audition song, which she previously sang onBGT,she received the Golden Buzzer fromMel B. Boyle’s finals performance includedanother throwback, with the singer performing “I Dreamed A Dream” once again.
Over the years, Boyle has sung the Broadway hit on several occasions. She shared her reasoning for reprising the song once again with PEOPLE in August 2019, explaining, “It’s something I can relate to. It’s about a lady who, more or less, was left on her own with nothing. Lots was taken away from her and she had to rebuild her life again.”
Despite making it as a finalist as a top 12 contestant onChampions,Boyle was not crowned the winner of the inaugural season. Though she didn’t win, Boyle had a positive outlook about the results, telling PEOPLE, “I’m so fortunatethat I have a great career to go back to.”
“Of course, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but also deep down I didn’t think I would win,” she added. “Secretly you hold out hope that you just might because that’s what drives you to do your best in a competition. I’ve never really considered myself a champion, I’m just me, Susan Boyle.”
Where is Susan Boyle now?
Susan Boyle attends the world premiere for ‘England is mine’ during the 71st Edinburgh International Film Festival on July 2, 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland.Roberto Ricciuti/Getty
Roberto Ricciuti/Getty
Outside of her music career, Boyle has opened up about her personal life since achieving worldwide fame.
In 2013, she revealed her diagnosis withautism spectrum disorder, previously called Asperger’s syndrome, and how it affected her life and career. The following year, Boyle opened up about her love life, sharing that she wasdating her first boyfriend, a doctor she met while on tour.
She’s also been candid about her love of kids.Ona podcastin June 2019, she spoke about her desire to start a family and her regrets about not having kids of her own. Boyle explained, “Well, when things quiet down a bit I would like to maybego at fostering.”
Boyle has faced other health struggles in recent years as well. In April 2022, she suffered a stroke, which she opened up about in June 2023 after appearing onBGT. At the time, Boyle said her performance felt “great,” adding, “It is extra special for me actually because last April thereI suffered a minor stroke.”
Onsocial media, she shared more details about her health scare the prior year and how she’s worked to recover in the year since. She wrote in part, “For the past year I have worked so hard to get my speech and singing back, with the sole aim of being able to sing on stage again.”
As for her career, Boyle is still drawn to the stage, which is what she refers to as her “happy place.” She told PEOPLE in January 2019, “I get great enjoyment making the audience happy. My career has never been about earning money or really even chart positions, I just love to be on stage and singing.”
In regards to how she has handled her fame, she said that she is “regular Susan Boyle” when she is home and doesn’t ever want to “become a diva.”
source: people.com
