Singing sensation Susan Boyle ends as runner-up in "Britain's Got Talent," Diversity walks away with top honors

Indeed, Boyle's dream run at the British talent show may have ended on a bitter note, but if Cowell, a household name in the United States as a judge on "American Idol," is to be believed, he has very big plans for her and her lifelong dream of singing in the Broadway might actually take off.

ABOUT SUSAN BOYLE

Susan Boyle, who hails from Blackburn where she is well known for singing karaoke in the local pub and works as a church volunteer, had posed singing with a hairbrush at her home in Blackburn, Scotland, on April 16, 2009 and a video clip of her performance, which was uploaded on YouTube, were viewed over 12 million times, and soon, the 47-year-old, who says she has never been kissed, became an overnight sensation, gaining a phenomenal fan base from India to China to the United States.

In the first audition of "Britain's Got Talent," UK's version of "American Idol," when Boyle walked onstage, her frumpy appearance and quirky manner had initially drawn snickers from the judges and members of the audience. However, when she began singing, everyone was left awestruck her her angelic voice and some even believed she would be the runaway winner in the show.

Meanwhile, Boyle, who had rarely left her home town and never gotten a driver's license, was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Larry King in the United States but her instant stardom appeared to make her wilt under pressure and there were instances, where she did not perform well in the competition and occasionally snapped at others. Not surprisingly, some people had written her off and the famously harsh London tabloids turned against her and even urged people not to vote for the singer they had dubbed the "Hairy Angel."

However, as the weeks wore on, the Scottish spinster not only recovered her composure but also proved her critics wrong by appearing at the final round more polished - and animated - than in previous appearances and went on to wow the judges with a powerful performance.