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Susan Boyle: Simon Cowell-Endorsed YouTube Sensation Hits U.S.

Thu., Apr. 16, 2009 3:00 PM PDT by Marc Malkin

Another British invasion has begun. And her name is Susan Boyle!

Thanks to YouTube, Boyle has become a worldwide sensation after her jaw-dropping performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the Broadway musical Les Misérables on Britain's Got Talent. As of this afternoon, her seven-minute clip has received close to 12 million views.

As soon as the unemployed, Scottish cat owner opened her mouth, the audience broke into thunderous applause. Even crabby Simon Cowell was stunned by the 47-year-old, as were his fellow judges on the show...

"Without a doubt, that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years of the show," Piers Morgan said.

Amanda Holden echoed Piers' sentiments, telling Boyle, "I think that we were all being very cynical, and that was the biggest wake-up call, ever."

And just this morning, Boyle made her stateside debut—well, kinda. "It hasn't really sunk in yet," the insta-celeb told CBS' Early Show during a live satellite interview. "It's breathtaking, unbelievable, awesome."

Broadway diva Patti LuPone called into the morning show to praise Boyle's rendition of the song that she originally made famous in Les Mis back in 1985. "Susan...has so much courage, and such pluck, really," the Tony winner said, adding, "My husband and I watched [Boyle's performance], and I started to cry. It made me cry."

Boyle may have the stamp of singing approval from a sharp-tongued critic like Cowell, but she's really only doing this for one person. "I wanted to do this as a tribute to my mother," she said of her late mum.

Boyle follows in the footsteps of past winner Paul Potts, who judges initially also doubted because of his less-than-sophisticated appearance. Like Boyle, Potts won them over with his voice. Post-Talent, Potts' debut album One Chance went on to claim the No.1 spot on the U.K. Albums Chart less than a week after its release.

—Additional reporting by Dahvi Shira

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