Susan Boyle

Taylor Swift is reportedly holding on to a handsome man these days. And it's a good thing, too, because she's lost her grip on the top Billboard 200 ranking.

After spending two weeks at number-one with "Speak Now," Swift finds herself in second place today, due to the release of "The Gift," a holiday album from Susan Boyle. There really is no stopping this Scottish sensation.

"Singing is the best job in the world, it really is fantastic. I'm just an ordinary woman who showed a bit of determination and this is what has happened. To have a second No.1 album is wonderful and something I never expected," the crooner said upon hearing the news.

Continue Reading...

Susan Boyle has not lived a perfect life.

She recently opened up to Oprah about the bullying she faced as a child, and we all know how she suffered a couple breakdowns during her run to the finals on Britain's Got Talent.

But the Scottish singer has bounced back rather nicely, having released a record-breaking album and earning acclaim from critics and fans around the globe. Below, we've posted Susan's latest music video, for the single "Perfect Day." Watch now and react: What do you think of it?

Continue Reading...

In a recent PSA, Khloe Kardashian said was bullied because people compared her to Kim and Kourtney and because Perez Hilton wrote some mean things about her on his website.

That's unfortunate, but it's nothing compared to what Susan Boyle went through growing up.

The singer, who shocked the world with her performance on Britain's Got Talent last year, talked to Oprah about these experiences yesterday, and said bullies burned "my clothes with a cigarette" and "hit [me] on the head" during her teenage years in Scotland.

"That is the physical, but the more hurtful is the psychological," Boyle said. "Name-calling. Really repeating name-calling. It made me feel as if nobody loved me. I didn't really matter. I was just a target. Once you give bullies that power, they've really got a hold on you."

Continue Reading...

Susan Boyle did not have a perfect day when she was scheduled to perform on America's Got Talent a couple weeks ago.

The Scottish singer reportedly suffered a meltdown upon learning she did not have permission to sing Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" on that NBC competition.

But all licensing glitches have been worked out and Boyle will actually include this ballad on her upcoming album, "The Gift." Listen to her version of it now and then cast a vote:

Perfect Day

What do you think of the single?

Just how much has the life of Susan Boyle changed over the last year? Consider this rumor:

There's a good chance the Britain's Got Talent runner-up will perform for Pope Benedict XVI when he visits England in September, TV Guide reports.

Negotiations are underway, though some believe this might not take place simply because the Pope could get arrested once he touches down in another country, due to his alleged child molestation cover-up. But that seems unlikely to take place.

Assuming he's a free man, Benedict XVI will hold Mass at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park on September 16. If all goes according to plan, Boyle will take the stage then, in front of her most important audience member to date.

No offense, Simon Cowell. But come on.

At some point this year, Ryan Murphy is hoping to combine two of pop culture's most buzzed-about recent phenomenons.

The Glee creator is on record as saying he hopes Susan Boyle would consider a guest-starring role on his hit Fox show. In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, Murphy says Boyle wold make an ideal lunch lady in a December episode:

“I think Kurt would just die to give her a Christmas makeover. I don’t even know if she’s interested, but it’s been pitched."

In real life, of course, the Britain's Got Talent finalist has already undergone a makeover.

Less than a full season into its run, Glee has already welcomed such guest stars as Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris and Molly Shannon.

Would Boyle be a good fit on the show? Should she be next?

Books are all the rage in Hollywood; some dumb, some REALLY dumb, and at least one hopefully inspiring.

Earlier today, we announced that the Kardashian sisters are planning a relationship-themed tome. Insert your own joke now.

Kelly LeBrock, the ex-wife of shady actor Steven Seagal, also plans to exploit her husband's alleged seedy side by penning a biography about the father of her three kids. How charming.

But Susan Boyle is here to rescue us from all this inappropriate madness. She'll tell her own story in The Woman I was Born to Be, a true autobiography due this fall.

”I think I’ve grown up a lot in the last year, become more of a lady, and I’m not so frightened anymore," she said, adding:

“I’m writing this book to try to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and I hope it will benefit other people. My story demonstrates that you shouldn’t just look at the label, you should look at the whole person, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually, and I hope that telling it will show that dreams are not impossible, if you’ve got courage and a willingness to go on no matter what the circumstances.”

Amen, SuBo! Will you purchase her self-written tale?

Almost exactly a year ago, Susan Magdalane Boyle garnered widespread, international attention when she appeared as a contestant on Britain's Got Talent.

Ever since she sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables that night, she became a sensation, and after nearly winning the competition, her first album was released in November of last year and debuted at #1 on charts around the globe.

Adam Lambert may not be one, but the surprise star has attracted legions of fans worldwide. The Scottish singer turns 49 today. What a happy occasion!

Singing sensation Susan Boyle. [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

We hope that Susan isn't really in serious trouble, as people close to her have indicated, and that the songbird enjoys a happy 49th day of birth on this first day of April.

Click to enlarge some of the Susan Boyle pictures we pulled together in a tribute to her on her special day, then feel free to leave a comment with birthday greetings.

Happy birthday, Susan, from all of us at THG!

Susan Boyle might be enjoying professional success - her debut album broke chart records around the globe and she performed this month at the Sanremo music festival in Italy - but the singer's siblings are worried about the toll this is taking on her personally.

"The traveling and the whole [fame] thing is exhausting. She still has her anxieties and her loneliness," brother Gerry tells People in its latest issue.

Susan's brother John is even more blunt in the assessment of his sister:

"She needs 24-hour care. She needs to be looked after."

Someone broke into Boyle's home last month and the singer reportedly hasn't been the same since. She often makes late-night calls to family and friends, pal Lorraine Campbell says.

"She knows she can come up to me anytime," said Campbell. "If she's upset, she'll stay the night. Security would bring her up to my house. I take her home in the morning. Susan stayed with me a week ago. Nighttime is a lonely time for her."

Hang in there, SuBo. We wish you the best.

They were linked throughout 2009 as artists that burst onto the scene and captured the heart of music fans in wholly contrasting ways:

Adam Lambert was loud, in your face, sexy, gay, proud and confident.

Susan Boyle was quiet, timid, reliant on an opera-like voice that's been hidden inside a (let's face it) ugly body.

Both released debut albums in November, with Boyle's breaking records and dominating the charts for months. Lambert's fared well, but it didn't stand out in nearly the same way.

Now, Adam has ripped into the Scottish singer, saying in a recent interview:

If only it weren't for Susan Boyle! I'm happy for her success, but that album is terrible. "Wild Horses" is the one that made me laugh the hardest. I just died when I heard it, I was crying with laughter. It was the most horrendous, sacrilegious treatment of that song!

In his defense, Adam says he's been misquoted. He and Susan appeared on Oprah together last month and certainly seemed to get along well. He was also clearly laughing when he said the words above, but it's not hard to see why they've created such a stir.

We're enormous fans of Lambert and have defended him against critics since his run on American Idol. But it's hard to have any reaction to these comments, IF he said them, aside from: Bitter much?!?

Lambert's honest and open attitude is a major appeal, but anyone can go too far. When the target is a singer who has outsold him by millions, the attack just seems fueled by jealousy and pettiness.

Was Lambert joking around when he critiqued Boyle? Probably. But he should have known better than to go on record with such pointed words. If he referred to to the album as "terrible," then he's entitled to his opinion - but so are others that believe he should have thought more about these comments.

** UPDATE: Through discussion with fans of Lambert, we have modified this article's headline. They are correct that the initial version - "Adam Lambert Rips Into Susan Boyle" - was unnecessarily harsh and did not paint an accurate picture of Adam's comment.