Of the many people who’ve appeared in talent shows worldwide, Susan Boyle has one of the most notable and emotional success stories ever seen. Her participation in “Britain’s Got Talent” left audiences and judges open-mouthed, turning her into an internet sensation long before reaching the season’s finale.
Despite not resulting in a “Britain’s Got Talent”, Susan hasn’t stopped collecting success after success with her music, releasing several number-one albums and sold-out tours. What’s more impressive about Susan is that despite her ever-growing fame and unstoppable talent, she remains humble and down to earth.
So all of this makes us wonder how rich Susan Boyle is, and how much her lifestyle has changed since rising to fame. Keep watching to find out!
How Rich Is Susan Boyle?
After rising to worldwide fame for her surprising but inspiring “Britain’s Got Talent” stint, Susan Boyle has seen her life change in ways she never imagined. Despite not winning the competition, her career accelerated after signing a million dollar contract, and nothing’s stopped her since then.
The fame brought success and money, so the beloved Su-Bo has earned millions from her concerts, public appearances, and music. According to some reputable online sources, Susan’s net worth is $40 million as of 2024, Susan’s success as a singer translating into steady financial gains.
Her Current Lifestyle
The stage of “Britain’s Got Talent” was the first step for Susan Boyle to flourish into an extraordinary star, but life hadn’t been too easy for her until then. Before her famous April 2009 audition, the then-47-year-old singer was unemployed and had recently lost her mother, of whom she had been a carer for years.
As Susan revealed in an interview with The Guardian, her life situation at the time wasn’t easy, as she had been at risk of losing her family’s house due to her low income. Like her mother, Susan’s father wasn’t around when she traveled from West Lothian, Scotland.
Susan had so much fun performing with @TheMarkVincent at the Titanic Slipways in Belfast for the BBC Proms. Catch up and see the whole performance on BBC iplayer now: https://t.co/uXgCPL6LFX pic.twitter.com/GvlKc5Tbg2
— Susan Boyle (@SusanBoyle) September 23, 2019
All these things made Susan feel that she was ‘lost’, as she told the news site, but she found the courage to pursue her dream anyway. When success knocked at her door, she chose not to sell her parents’ house, and continued to live in it, much to the surprise of those who assumed she would just expend her then-newly-acquired fortune.
While Susan eventually bought a bigger and more expensive house, she never lived in it and instead left it to her niece. As Susan revealed to The Guardian, the warm family memories and the fact that she felt that her mom ‘was still in the house’, were reasons strong enough to keep treasuring her family’s house.
Rise To Fame
One of the biggest reasons Susan Boyle conquered the hearts of millions was because of her down-to-earth attitude and backstory. When she set foot on the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage, she was underestimated by the judges and got disbelieved reactions from the audience, but she moved on with her performance anyway. It didn’t take too many seconds into her “I Dreamed A Dream” rendition before everyone was awed, famously turning her into one of the most iconic people to ever appear in the show.
Soon enough, Susan became an internet sensation, with her audition video attracting millions of views and causing an overwhelmingly positive reaction from everyone who stumbled upon it. In 2019, Metro UK uplifted her humble attitude and described her journey as ‘endearing’, given how she didn’t pursue luxuries or grandeur after becoming a star, instead keeping a sense of normality by not leaving her native town and family behind.
It’s not only Tte public who’ve noticed how unique Susan is compared to others who have the same level of success. The strict head judge Simon Cowell attested to this in a TV special, confessing that he didn’t have high expectations of her on the day of the audition, but Susan had ‘changed the rule book’ for the show that day, making it unnecessary to look or behave a certain way to go to the show.
Discography
Despite being placed second during the third season of “Britain’s Got Talent”, it didn’t take long for Susan Boyle to receive head-turning offers to start off her journey as a professional singer.
Susan was signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Music and Sony Music, releasing her debut album “I Dreamed a Dream” in November 2009. The album was incredibly successful, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, and achieving several platinum certifications.
A year later, Susan released “The Gift”, an 11-song album which also topped the charts, as had its predecessor. Her next albums were “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “Standing Ovation”, “Hope For Christmas”, “Hope” and “A Wonderful World”. In 2019, she released the compilation album “Ten”, in celebration of her career’s tenth anniversary.
Despite having quite an extensive music repertoire, Susan sings “I Dreamed A Dream” when the occasion calls it. She explained her decision to perform the song to People, affirming that she felt the song to be relatable because it described someone’s will to overcome life’s difficulties.
Everyone Loves Susan
Besides her unbelievable talent and ability to render people to tears with her voice, Susan Boyle is also known for her candid attitude and sincerity. That was a fact which “Britain’s Got Talent” viewers learned early in her audition, when she revealed that she lived with her cat Pebbles and had ‘never been married or kissed’ in her life. She also proudly declared wanting to achieve the levels of success of Elaine Paige.
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Susan is just as sincere even after rising to fame, though her anecdotes aren’t always as bright. As she revealed in one of her earliest interviews with The Guardian in 2009, her mother Bridget was ‘advised to abort’ Susan because the pregnancy was highly risky. Doctors also suspected that Susan had received brain damage at her birth. Susan also confessed to being bullied throughout her life, on top of feeling that ‘a part of her’ had died when her mother passed away in 2007.
In 2013, Susan revealed that she’d recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, now known as Autism Spectrum Disorder. She described the discovery as ‘relieving’ at the time, though some years later she also revealed she still felt ‘misunderstood and judged’ by people who didn’t understand her condition.
While it hasn’t been easy for Susan before and during her fame, there’s no denying that there are uncountable reasons to love her.
