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Yesterday I watched the video of Susan Boyle singing on 'Britain's got Talent' and the performance moved me to tears. Millions across the globe have watched the video on YouTube and have responded in an overwhelmingly positive way. It seems that her singing also brought Demi Moore to tears as was reported on the news. Apparently this was gleaned from Twitter messages sent to her husband Ashton Kuchner. This is no surprise to me although I fail to understand why Demi's reaction garnered such media interest. What she has done at least is generate even more interest in the world's most unlikely singing sensation.

My own impressions:

When I watched the initial interview with Susan Boyle, just before she walked on stage, I literally cringed inside, thinking, 'She is going to be utterly humiliated'. She looked so plain (to put it mildly), her dress was frumpy and she was clearly not what anyone would imagine 'Star material' to be. I was clearly not alone in my thinking. The reaction from the audience when she walked out on stage was palpable with many sniggers and even looks of downright disbelief. Simon Cowell rolled his eyes and you could see he was thinking something along the lines of,  'Oh Lord what do we have here?' She faced cynicism and downright rejection from both the judges and the crowd but she smiled bravely, answered a few questions in her humble, earthy way and then, after giving the signal for the music to start playing, picked up that mike and blew everyone away with her rendition of 'I dreamed a dream' from 'Les Miserables'. I was so choked up I had to keep swallowing and tears rolled freely down my face. It's hard to describe what an impact this woman made in this her moment of glory on stage but the audience went from one extreme to the other and ended up on their feet giving her a standing ovation. The applause and cheers were deafening. One of the judges, Piers Morgan, said, "Without a doubt, that is the biggest surprise I've had in three years of the show," Simon Cowell claimed that when he first saw her he knew that he'd hear something 'extraordinary'. I'm not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not.

Everybody loves a real-life Cinderella story and this one has touched the hearts of all types of people around the world who have taken her into their hearts. A simple woman from West Lothian in Scotland, an unemployed volunteer charity worker and church goer, got up on a stage and was laughed at when she said she'd like to sing like Elaine Page. In my opinion (and it seems I'm not alone in this) she sang better than Elaine Page. She is the new singing sensation and her story has impacted upon people in a meaningful way and given so many ordinary folks hope.

In this modern day and age, our singing stars are so often larger than life, models of physical perfection and, in my opinion, also so often unrealistic role-models for fans. So many of them have had extensive plastic surgery are attended to by a veritable troupe of make-up artists, wardrobe people etc. so that they look the iconic part. I am sure that Susan Boyle, a spinster who candidly confessed that she's never been kissed, will be transformed over the coming months. She will no doubt be groomed to look like the star that she is but i hope she never changes the intrinsic quality that makes her the person that reached into the hearts of millions across the world and made all of them (and me) love her.  May she retain that down-to-earth, natural quality that makes her stand out. I also pray that she never turns into a prima donna and remains a positive role model to the world. Somehow, I think that she will and this gives me incredible hope. The world needs Susan Boyle and the message she puts out.

I don't know if she will win 'Britain's got Talent' although I'm rooting for her but she's definitely up there and in the running and whatever the outcome, she is now a star in the true sense of that word. There is already a fan site up and YouTube keeps racking up hits (well over 5 million in just 3 days).