Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle faces her biggest challenge yet in Saturday's "Britain's Got Talent" final but, win or lose, she has already lived her dream, becoming a global star along the way.
Boyle, a frumpy, 48-year-old spinster who has never been kissed, went from obscurity to international stardom with a soaring version of "I Dreamed A Dream" from musical Les Miserables in the show's auditions.
That clip has attracted some 100 million hits on YouTube, brought her celebrity fans including actress Demi Moore and rock star Jon Bon Jovi, and seen her feted in the media from the US to China, Japan and Australia.
"I think the sky's the limit for Susan," Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan told top US chat show host Larry King last month.
"She wants to be a professional singer. The whole world is going crazy for her. I think at the very least she will achieve that aim."
After a shaky performance of "Memory" in the show's semi-finals, when she was occasionally out of tune and out of time, some fans on YouTube have questioned whether she can handle the weight of expectation.
And if newspaper reports Thursday are correct, the pre-final pressure is getting to her off-stage.
She launched a foul-mouthed tirade and made an obscene gesture at the television after Morgan, with whom she has flirted on screen, praised a rival during another "Britain's Got Talent" semi-final Tuesday, media said.
Police were called to her London hotel the next day after she repeatedly swore at two strangers who taunted her, the Sun said.
Boyle, whose world has turned upside down in just over a month, insists she can keep her feet on the ground.
Asked by King if fame would alter her, she demanded: "Why should I change?" adding her celebrity meant "I certainly won't be lonely any more."
Despite her newfound fame, unemployed Boyle still lives in social housing outside Edinburgh with only her cat, Pebbles, for company.
She had auditioned for television talent shows and sung karaoke before "Britain's Got Talent" but never got a break and all but gave up on singing after the death of her mother, who she nursed to the end, two years ago.
Boyle was reportedly starved of oxygen at birth and bullied at school. When she first stepped up to the microphone on ITV's "Britain's Got Talent", it looked like the jibes would continue as audience and judges laughed at her frizzy, greying hair and thick eyebrows.
But the woman dubbed the "Hairy Angel" by Britain's press silenced them all when she opened her mouth to sing -- and has not looked back since.
As well as an endless round of talk show appearances -- particularly in the US, where Oprah Winfrey was among those jostling to speak to her -- Boyle has been namechecked by TV shows like "The Simpsons" and "South Park".
Her humble home in Blackburn, central Scotland, has been besieged by journalists and photographers recording her every move -- including a makeover when she had her hair dyed and eyebrows plucked last month.
Part of the reason for her success is the Internet. Her army of international fans would have struggled to hear of her without YouTube, where her "I Dreamed A Dream" clip is reportedly poised to become the most popular of all time, while Moore and others have praised her on Twitter.
Boyle is bookmakers' favourite to come out top in the "Britain's Got Talent" final. The winner gets to perform for Queen Elizabeth II, plus a cheque for 100,000 pounds (115,000 euros, 160,000 dollars).
Whether or not she triumphs, her future looks bright. She is reportedly set to sign a record deal, cut an album of show tunes and could even land a role in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in London's West End.
Source: AFP Global Edition
