Daily News

LONDON (AFP) — Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle belted out the song that brought her worldwide fame when she appeared in the final of Britains got talent Saturday, and anxiously awaited the public verdict.

The 48-year-old spinster repeated her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream", the song from musical "Les Miserables" which catapulted her into the spotlight when a video of her singing it was posted on YouTube.

It notched up 100 million hits on the video-sharing website, brought her celebrity fans including actress Demi Moore and rock star Jon Bon Jovi, and saw her feted in the media from the US to China, Japan and Australia.

Despite suggestions that she was beginning to crack under the pressure, Boyle appeared calm when she sang live on television show "Britain's Got Talent" on Saturday night and her performance prompted a standing ovation.


One of the judges, former newspaper editor Piers Morgan, said it was the "greatest performance I've seen on the history of Britain's Got Talent -- you should win the competition, I loved it."

Boyle is up against nine other acts to win, including Stavros Flatley, a father-son Greek Cypriot duo with a comedy dance act inspired by Michael Flatley of "Riverdance" fame, but is the runaway favourite.

The results of the public vote will be announced from 9:30pm (2030 GMT).

After singing, Boyle, wearing a grey-blue, long sequinned dress, thanked all her fans.

"I want to thank people for all the support they've given me," she said. Asked if it was worth all the media pressure, she replied emphatically: "Well worth it!... I really feel at home on stage, I'm among friends."


Boyle put in a shaky performance of "Memory" in the show's semi-finals last weekend, singing occasionally out of tune and out of time, and some fans on YouTube have questioned whether she can handle the weight of expectation.

The British media have reported some erratic behaviour in the past week from the church volunteer.

At one point, she lost her temper in the foyer of the London hotel where she is staying and police stationed there intervened.

Morgan said that she even considered quitting at one point, describing her in his blog as a "frightened rabbit in headlights."

But his fellow judge Amanda Holden said after Saturday's performance: "I have never heard such powerful confident vocals..."

In a Daily Mail interview Saturday, Boyle said she had used singing as a way of "boosting my confidence" and insisted she was still enjoying the experience.

"I've found the whole thing quite amazing and overwhelming. The attention's odd and it takes some getting used to, but it's nice," she said.

Despite her newfound fame, she still lives in social housing outside Edinburgh with only her cat, Pebbles, for company.

In a television interview before her performance Saturday, Boyle said it was "the most important night of my life tonight."

But psychologists have raised concerns. Susie Orbach, therapist to the late princess Diana, wrote in the Guardian newspaper that Boyle's reaction to the pressure she was under was "understandable."

"Being adored and projected on to by millions of people is never an easy thing to digest. That kind of exposure is always double-edged," Orbach wrote. "This is still a culture in which we build people up and then we attack them."

Bookmakers William Hill have made Boyle 10/11 favourite to win the competition, which brings with it a cheque for 100,000 pounds (115,000 euros, 160,000 dollars) and the chance to perform for Queen Elizabeth II.