Fans can’t believe what Susan Boyle has been doing years after she captivated the world with her incredible Britain’s Got Talent audition.
Susan is a Scottish singer who rose to fame after appearing as a contestant on the hit ITV show in 2009 when she sang ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Misérables. Britain’s Got Talent’s YouTube post of her audition has garnered 29 million views and the video description hails it as “one of the most unforgettable auditions in BGT history.”
As today (April 1) is Susan Boyle’s 64th birthday, we’re breaking down what the operatic pop star has been up to since she first graced our screens in 2009. A TikTok account @celebrity.memorial has also given fans an insight into her life since Britain’s Got Talent (BGT)
It posted a video on TikTok with a voiceover that says: “What really happened to Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent? Susan Boyle captured the world’s attention with her remarkable audition on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, soaring to international stardom almost overnight.
“Since then she has amassed a staggering fortune exceeding $45 million (£34 million), yet details about her current endeavours have been conspicuously scarce leaving fans wondering what happened to Susan Boyle?”
Susan’s outstanding BGT audition carved the pathway for international fame. The Scottish singer has had a number of successes since then. According to her official website, she has sold more than 250 million albums, has had 250 million audio streams and more than 650 million YouTube hits.
The site adds: “In 2009 Susan’s audition 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, no.1 albums in 40 plus countries, 128 platinum and gold album certifications and ranking among 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.”
Susan went on to dazzle global audiences as she performed to half a billion people on the final of China’s Got Talent and has sung for the Pope and the late Queen Elizabeth II, as per her website. She has further had a successful autobiography, a musical about her life story, sell out live tours in the UK and USA and a debut acting role in ‘The Christmas Candle.’
The website continues: “Susan is an unstoppable force and shows no signs of slowing down, with her sell out UK tour in March 2020 and international performances.”
The TikTok video reveals that Susan’s journey to stardom was not without its challenges as she “spent the first 51 years of her life believing she had brain damage only to later discover she had Asperger’s syndrome”. The National Autistic Society confirms that ‘Asperger syndrome’ is no longer used as a diagnostic term for autism and is “now agreed that what was referred to as Asperger syndrome is part of the autism spectrum.”
The TikTok clip claims that Susan Boyle had a difficult childhood “marked by bullying, epilepsy and familial strife” as she suffered the loss of her mother in 2007. In 2010 she encountered an intruder in her home in Blackburn, a town in West Lothian, Scotland and this was followed by “another incident involving an obsessive fan at a hotel.”
In 2013, Susan was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and the Covid-19 lockdown in 2019 saw the singer admit she was trying to stay inside as much as possible, apart from the occasional walk for fresh air, to manage her health, the Daily Express previously reported.
Despite these challenges, Susan continued to pursue music and went on to release several albums, including her debut studio album I Dreamed a Dream in 2009, The Gift in 2010, A Wonderful World in 2016 and Ten in 2019.
The video has garnered plenty of comments from fans. One said: “That poor woman has had such a tough life but she is defying all odds and living her best life.” Another added: “Wow! That’s remarkable how resilient she is.”