Susan Boyle's American dream becomes reality

Published Date: 14 September 2009
By MARTYN McLAUGHLIN
SUSAN Boyle, the Scot who became an unlikely international celebrity after her appearance on a reality television show, has arrived in the US to build on her new-found fame.
Five months after her appearance on ITV's Britain's Got Talent, the singer from West Lothian has finally ventured across the Atlantic to meet some of her most devoted fans.

With her debut album due out in two months, the 48-year-old is embarking on the first stages of a promotional tour. If the reception she received at Los Angeles over the weekend is any indication, she looks set for success.

Hundreds of well-wishers and members of media crowded around the singer, nicknamed SuBo, as she arrived at LAX Airport late on Saturday evening.

A pair of bodyguards helped her through the crowd as she blew kisses to her fans, who chanted 'Susan! Susan!'. One young woman managed to break through the security cordon to hug her idol.

Later this week, Boyle, from Blackburn, will perform before a live television audience of millions on the final of America's Got Talent.

Although the church volunteer has given an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show from her home in Scotland, the America's Got Talent date will mark the first time she has performed live in the US.

The programme regularly attracts about 12 million viewers, and is seen as a crucial way of maintaining Boyle's profile.

Although it is not due to be released until 23 November on Simon Cowell's SyCo label, her album, I Dreamed A Dream, is expected to sell millions of copies. Already, it is the fourth best selling album on Amazon's US website. In the UK, it is 46th.

It is believed that on America's Got Talent, Boyle will sing a cover of Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones. Along with the title track from Les Miserables, and other showtunes, it will be one of the songs on her album.

Boyle shot to fame almost immediately after her first appearance on Britain's Got Talent in April. Her performance became a viral sensation, and has been viewed more than 100 million times on the video sharing website, YouTube.