Susan Boyle
Gossip

On Tuesday night, Susan Boyle returned from recording a single that would benefit Haiti to find an intruder in her home.

As a result of this incident, and a similar occurrence on Christmas that posited two strangers outside the singer's back window, Susan's brother is concerned. Very, very concerned.

"I am very upset about the lack of security," John Boyle told The Sun. "Her management company are too busy counting the money Susan has made them to consider her safety. The family have told them several times that vast improvements need to be made to avoid something like this happening."

So far, though, the lack of a response has troubled John.

He even compared the possible scenarios to the most violent event in music history: the assassination of John Lennon.

"Susan is a massive world star and needs better protection," he said. "You look at what happened to John Lennon in New York - it's really worrying."

The singing sensation, meanwhile, is standing strong. She said: "I'm not going anywhere - nobody's pushing me out of my house."

They are pushing her off the charts, however: Ke$ha finally took over the top spot from Boyle on the album sales chart this month. It was quite a run for the Scottish artist.

As the world gets ready to turn the page on 2009, one woman is likely hesitant to welcome in a new year: Susan Boyle.

The Scottish singer burst onto the celebrity map like no one in recent memory over the last few months, finishing second on Britain's Got Talent and then incredibly becoming the highest-selling artist of the year.

In a new interview, Boyle takes a look back, as well a look forward. Might the latter include a boyfriend? She seems to hope so...

On the world's fascination with her: A woman who went on Britain’s Got Talent with mad hair, bushy eyebrows and the frock I was wearing had to be noticed. Come on! I know it’s a cliché, but it’s a bit of a Cinderella story.

On her stay in a mental health facility: After the finale, I went there with extreme exhaustion. I’ve never felt so tired, but I look back on it now and it was a necessity. I wanted to get a break, without all the cameras.

On her dreams: I dream about security, about one day finding the right person and continuing to make people happy with my music. My advice to those who dare to dream is don’t give up. If I can do it, anyone else can.

If Susan Boyle threw one snowball for every album she sold in 2009, she'd likely freeze to death.

The past calendar year might be best remembered for the nation's first black President, as well as the worst example of parenting in our nation's history, but Susan Boyle must also be included on any list of memorable 2009 celebrities.

The Scottish singer rose from obscurity to break sales records around the globe for her debut CD, "I Dreamed a Dream."

What has the past few months been like for Boyle? TV Guide spoke to her in-depth this week, touching on topics that ranged from reality TV to her mother's passing...

On applying for Britain's Got Talent: I had promised my mum that I would do something with my life just before she died. So I applied for it, filled out the application form, went through the preliminaries, went before the panel and then was lucky enough to be picked by them.

On auditioning with I Dreamed A Dream: It was just a song I loved from a musical I loved. I'd seen a production of Les Miserables in Edinburgh, and I liked the mother figure. It was after my mother died that I'd seen the show, and I loved the song and what it meant.

On her late mother: It was life-changing not having her to depend on so much. I had to learn to do things for myself...  This was a promise that I'd made to my mum - that I'd do something with my singing. She was the reason I pursued my singing... I couldn't straight away because the bereavement hit me hard. But I'm getting over that slowly and putting my promise into practice.

On musical background: I've sung since I was about 9. I'd do theatrical stuff and join choirs. I was picked for a solo once, but choirs for me were about hiding behind other people. They were about taking comfort in letting other people take the lead. I was quite shy back then. Hard to believe after everything that's happened this year, I know! But I was. By the time you get to my age, you lose that shyness.

Susan Boyle broke sales records in England with her debut CD; but critics wondered if the Scottish singer would have the same appeal in America.

Those questions have now been answered. Emphatically!

Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream" sold 701,000 copies during its first week in stores. That's the highest debut of 2009; and the strongest opening ever for a female solo artist since SoundScan began keeping track of such records.

WOW!

Aside from Great Britain and the United States, Boyles' album sits atop the charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.

Rounding out the top five albums sold in the U.S. last week, according to Billboard, are:

2. My Christmas, Andrea Bocelli
3. For Your Entertainment, Adam Lambert
4. Rated R, Rihanna
5. The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga

Can you believe Boyle is number-one? Can you believe Andrea Bocelli topped Lambert and Rihanna? In related news: who the heck is Andrea Bocelli?!?

Near the end of her run on Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle lost it. She flipped out at people on the street and ended up in a hospital.

Now, as her debut CD breaks records and the singer is on the verge of global success, sources fear another breakdown for a woman that's never been anywhere near the spotlight before.

Great Britain's The Daily Mirror quotes neighbors of Boyle that say that she's been speaking in a strange American accent; complaining that her cat doesn't love her anymore; and blasting single from her CD around the clock.

"We’ve seen two ambulances and a doctor come to her house. Susan had told me she had been feeling pains in her stomach," neighbor Teresa Miller told the newspaper.

Over the weekend, Boyle said she was doing "very well;" but witnesses claim she burst into tears in New York - after performing on The Today Show, seen below - as the pressures of celebrity grew more intense.

Try to take it easy, SuBo. Your career is just taking off and we'd hate to see you become an older version of Britney Spears.

Click on the photos below for closer looks at Boyle on stage:

Forget 15 minutes of fame.

Susan Boyle is well on her way to 15 years and counting!

With final numbers still being tallied in the States, the Britain's Got Talent sensation broke the record for best-selling debut album by a singer in England last week.

Across the Atlantic, Boyle's album, "I Dreamed a Dream," moved 410,000 copies. It outsold new CDs from established artists such as Rihanna and Lady GaGa.

Said Simon Cowell, who produced the album and helped discover Boyle:

“I’m incredibly proud of Susan, as well as being delighted for her. The success could not not have happened to a lovelier person. She did it her way and made a dream come true... She’s amazing.”

She's also primed to conquer the music world in America. Final sales figures should be released shortly, but preliminary reports indicate "I Dreamed a Dream" will compete with Eminem's "Relapse" as the 2009 CD that sells the most copies in its first week of release.

That's incredible for a 48-year old woman no one had heard of when the year began.

One is making headlines for simulating oral sex on stage.

Another is aiming for a comeback after a public, ugly break-up.

A third is really, really weird.

And the fourth major artist releasing a new album this week has actually broken pre-sale records, despite having been utterly unheard of just a few months ago.

Indeed, with numerous singers and record labels hoping to take advantage of the holiday season, this is shaping up to be the most competition week in CD sales history.

Adam Lambert ("For Your Entertainment"), Rihanna ("Rated R"), Lady GaGa ("The Fame Monster") and Susan Boyle ("I Dreamed A Dream") will all compete for the top spot on the charts.

And we're not even counting Britney Spears, who is releasing a collection of her number-one hits (K-Fed is definitely not inclued on that list. Zing!).

Whose new album will you purchase first?

She's 48, she was discovered on a reality show and, having overcome insults about her appearance, she's on the verge of releasing her debut CD.

But the story of Susan Boyle goes beyond what viewers saw on Britain's Got Talent.

The singer, who was born with a learning disability after being starved of oxygen as a baby, opened up to Great Britain's The Daily Mirror about her abusive past this week.

“You’re looking at someone who would get the belt every day," she said. “There was discipline for the sake of discipline back then. But it’s all very different now. I think teachers are taught to understand children with learning disabilities a lot better.”

Boyle added that students "used to knock me about a bit and try to make me cry."

Susan's father died in the 90s. Her mom passed away in 2007. How has she thrived in the face of all these obstacles? Through a powerful belief in herself and her talent.

“I have my faith, which is the backbone of who I am... I had a slight disability, but rather than let that rule my life I had to find my abilities and make the most of them instead.”

She's certainly done so. Boyle's album will be released on Monday. It faces stiff competition from albums from Adam Lambert, Rihanna and John Mayer. But Susan has dealt with more pressing problems in the past.

“This feels like a good way of making up for that – a very, very enjoyable way of making up for it," she said of the CD, which she describes as "a reflection of my whole life.”

Will you buy Boyle's album?

Sharon Osbourne may think Susan Boyle is ugly, but we're excited to hear more from this talented Scottish singer.

The Britain's Got Talent finalist will perform next week on Dancing with the Stars, likely singing material from her upcoming CD, I Dreamed A Dream, which hits stores on November 24.

"She's excited and happy," said her brother, John Boyle. "She loves America and loves the people. She appreciates their honesty."

Boyle previously sung for U.S. audiences on America's Got Talent in September. Her presence on Dancing with the Stars should liven up an incredibly boring season.

Someone needs to hand Sharon Osbourne a mirror.

The talentless America's Got Talent judge appeared on Sirius XM's The Opie & Anthony Show today and blasted Susan Boyle. Said Sharon:

"[God] gave her the talent. But he hit her with a f*cking ugly stick.... I like everybody to do well. Even somebody that looks like a slapped arse... God bless her. It's like, 'You go girl'. She does look like a hairy a**hole."

Note to Osbourne: you're not exactly Megan Fox! Watch the video below:

Based on these taunts, we've gotta ask: Who would you rather... you know?