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of Americans, and Susan. Muir intoned, ‘Her name is Susan Boyle. A middle-aged church volunteer from a Scottish village.’Footage of her being interviewed featured some of her now famous remarks.
    ‘At the moment I live alone with my cat called Pebbles. I’ve never been married. Never been kissed. Shame.’ This was followed by some clips of the audition overlaid with Muir’s comments. ‘The crowd, the judges, 11 million viewers, stunned.’
    Muir finished, in that senatorial voice so essential to a newscaster in America: ‘Susan Boyle, the church worker, with one God-given voice. David Muir, ABC News, New York.’
    Gibson ended the report by saying, ‘Her performance has been a hit online. Last time we checked the video had been watched more than 3.5 million times. More than a million just today, and she is now the overwhelming favourite to win the British talent competition.’
    Ah yes, the internet, that worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that serves a global audience of billions. It has changed the world we live in and it was to change Susan Boyle’s life, too.
    If she had been born a generation earlier then perhaps she would not have achieved that level of fame that was to be hers. The internet, and especially the YouTube showing of her BGT audition, are an integral part of her story and one that we will deal with in detail later on.
    That figure of 3.5 million hits on YouTube mentioned in the American newscast, phenomenal as it was in sucha short space of time, would soon be dwarfed as the world logged on to Susan Boyle.
    But what was it about her that generated the interest? True, her voice was wonderful, but would it have given rise to such praise if it had been coming from a singer who fitted the physical ‘identikit’ until then deemed necessary for stardom? Youth, glamour, a ‘showbiz’ personality and the flowing locks of a goddess. And sex appeal too.
    None of these could be attributed to Susan. And yet, there she was, climbing to unknown heights.
    But why was everyone, from the judges to that Glasgow audience, from the millions watching on television to the soon-to-be hundreds of millions on the internet, so taken aback? Why was the astonishment she generated of such proportions? Never mind what it said about Susan Boyle, what did it say about the watching world?
    The Times noted: ‘Susan Boyle, the dowdy Scottish spinster who dumbfounded the judges and won-over the audience of Britain’s Got Talent with her extraordinary singing voice despite, as she put it, “looking like a garage”, says she hopes her arresting debut on the TV talent show will remind people not to judge by appearances.
    ‘Ms Boyle, 48, from Blackburn, West Lothian, who is now tipped to win the contest, said that she hopes her story will set an example to the nation. “Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances,” shesaid. “There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.”
    ‘At the pre-recorded audition, broadcast four days ago, audience members laughed at the frizzy-haired, churchgoing Catholic who lives alone with her cat in a rundown council estate, when she said she wanted to follow in the footsteps of the West End star Elaine Paige. Nevertheless, she said, she was determined to show them she has what it takes. “What you do is ignore that and get on with your act. You have to,” Ms Boyle said.
    ‘Minutes later the audience were on their feet, applauding wildly after her soaring rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, from Les Misérables .
    ‘Born with a learning disability, Ms Boyle dreamed of becoming a professional singer but in order to care for her elderly mother, Bridget, limited her efforts to the church choir and karaoke.’
    The article described the incredible change in her circumstances. ‘Today, she is a worldwide sensation, a clip of her performance from the