From The "You Never Know" Department

As Gomer Pyle might say, "Surprise, Surprise!"

No doubt, if you caught only a few minutes of television yesterday, no matter the channel you were tuned into, you may have seen this story.

Susan Boyle: Unemployed 47-year-old virgin becomes overnight music superstar

When 47-year-old small town spinster Susan Boyle stepped on to the stage of Britain's Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and "never been kissed, actually," few in the audience would have wondered why. With unkempt hair and Leonid Breshnev eyebrows, and mention of her ten-year-old cat "Pebbles," the Blackburn, Scotland lass resembled basically every other reality TV talent show timewaster who talks big and delivers nothing but personal humiliation on a national stage.

But then Susan Boyle opened her mouth and sang I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, and her world changed forever.

The audience rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end, delivering a standing ovation that had even the most hardened reality TV snob tearing up.

Journalist and TV host Piers Morgan said, "Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years on the show. When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said, 'I wanna be like Elaine Paige', everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was stunning, an incredible performance. Amazing. I'm reeling from shock."

[Snip]

The internet duly exploded with Susan Boyle-mania, with her YouTube video bringing 5.6 million viewings in just three days. Her performance has been seen on CNN and been plastered on newspaper pages from Australia to New York.

[Snip]

All of this fuss must be difficult to comprehend for the youngest of nine children who had given up a potential singing career to look after her sick mother, but it's just beginning. Boyle will be back for the second round of the series, which she's currently rated at odds of 5/2 of winning by UK bookmakers.

Yeah, she came out, dowdy-looking, pretty much the quintessential "before" picture, and you could see, everyone in the hall, the audience, the judges, just rolled their eyes, with little balloons popping over their heads, saying "What the hell is she doing here".

One commenter, over on Open Salon offered "She looks like the lady who fed the birds in Mary Poppins".

But boy, she can sing!

Chalk one up in the Plus Column, with a big, ole' check mark, for the dreamers.

Here's the video.

Check it out ... It's the "Feel Good" story of the week

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

Susan Boyle - 47-letnia śpiewaczka z brytyjskiej wersji "Mam
by luloczek