Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 as a contestant on the third series of the television talent competition Britain's Got Talent, where she finished as runner-up. Following the show, Boyle was signed to Syco Music in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States.
Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009), became the UK's best-selling debut album of all time and set a record for first-week sales by a debut album. In her first year of fame, Boyle made £5 million (£8 million today) with the release of I Dreamed a Dream and its lead-off singles, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Wild Horses". The success continued with her second album, The Gift (2010), where she became only the third act ever (and the first female artist) to top both the UK and US album charts with two different albums in the same year. In 2011, she released her third album, Someone to Watch Over Me (2011), and released a cover version of "I Know Him So Well" with Geraldine McQueen. The following year, Boyle released a version of "The Winner Takes It All" as the lead single from her fourth album, Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage (2012).
Boyle's life and success was the subject to the musical theatre production I Dreamed a Dream: The Musical (2012). She recorded a posthumous duet with Elvis Presley, "O Come, All Ye Faithful" for her Christmas themed album, Home for Christmas (2013). Following the release of her sixth album, Hope (2014), and her seventh album, A Wonderful World (2016), Boyle took a hiatus. In 2019, for her ten-year anniversary for her career, she launched a compilation album titled Ten together with a tour. During this period, Boyle continued to keep a low profile amongst health concerns and complications, including suffering a stroke in 2022. In 2025, Boyle returned to the recording studio and announced her comeback.
Considered a "significant figure in the music industry" and one of the most successful recording artists of the 21st century, Boyle's accolades include two Grammy Award and Billboard Music Award nominations, a World Music Award, a Japan Gold Disc Award, a Scottish Music Award and the recipient of three Guinness World Records. As of 2021, she had sold over 25 million records worldwide. As of May 2025, her estimated net worth was £22 million ($29.5 million).
Boyle grew up in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland. Her father, Patrick Boyle, was a miner and veteran of World War II and her mother Bridget was a shorthand typist. Both of her parents were born in Motherwell, Scotland, but also had family links to County Donegal in Ireland. Born when her mother was aged 45 years, she was the youngest of four brothers and five sisters. She grew up thinking that she had been briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability. However, she was told in 2012–13 that she had been misdiagnosed and is on the autism spectrum with an IQ "above average". She says she was bullied as a child. After leaving school with few qualifications, she took part in government training programmes, and performed at local venues.
Early training and career (1998–2008)
Boyle took singing lessons from vocal coach Fred O'Neil. She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe. She also long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and sang there at the Marian basilica. In 1995, she auditioned for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People.
In 1998, Boyle recorded three tracks—"Cry Me a River", "Killing Me Softly" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"—at Heartbeat Studio, Midlothian. She used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her BGT audition.
In 1999, Boyle submitted a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed. An early review by Amber McNaught in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..." The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance. Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.
After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent, believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless. Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother. Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since her mother died.
Britain's Got Talent (2008–2009)
In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige". Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009. Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.
Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of the reaction to her audition. Afterwards, Paige expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle, and called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream". Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" was credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the musical, also praised the performance, as "heart-touching, thrilling and uplifting".
Boyle was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals. She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats. In the public vote, she was the act to receive the highest number of votes to go through to the final. She was the clear favourite to win the final, but ended up in second place to dance troupe Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct. The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London. Talkback Thames explained, "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well. Simon Cowell offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive", as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.
Boyle left the clinic three days after her admission and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health concerns, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour, and was well received in cities including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dublin, Sheffield, Coventry, and Birmingham. The Belfast Telegraph stated that "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years".