Background and career
Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 as a contestant on the third series of the television talent competition Britain's Got Talent, where she finished as runner-up. Following the show, Boyle was signed to Syco Music in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States.
Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009), became the UK's best-selling debut album of all time and set a record for first-week sales by a debut album. In her first year of fame, Boyle made £5 million (£8.0 million today) with the release of I Dreamed a Dream and its lead-off singles, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Wild Horses". The success continued with her second album, The Gift (2010), where she became only the third act ever (and the first female artist) to top both the UK and US album charts with two different albums in the same year. In 2011, she released her third album, Someone to Watch Over Me (2011), and released a cover version of "I Know Him So Well" with Geraldine McQueen. The following year, Boyle released a version of "The Winner Takes It All" as the lead single from her fourth album, Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage (2012).
Boyle's life and success was the subject to the musical theatre production I Dreamed a Dream: The Musical (2012). She recorded a posthumous duet with Elvis Presley, "O Come, All Ye Faithful" for her Christmas themed album, Home for Christmas (2013). Following the release of her sixth album, Hope (2014), and her seventh album, A Wonderful World (2016), Boyle took a hiatus. In 2019, for her ten-year anniversary for her career, she launched a compilation album titled Ten together with a tour. During this period, Boyle continued to keep a low profile amongst health concerns and complications, including suffering a stroke in 2022. In 2025, Boyle returned to the recording studio and announced her comeback.
Considered a "significant figure in the music industry" and one of the most successful recording artists of the 21st century, Boyle's accolades include two Grammy Award and Billboard Music Award nominations, a World Music Award, a Japan Gold Disc Award, a Scottish Music Award and the recipient of three Guinness World Records. As of 2021, she had sold over 25 million records worldwide. As of May 2025, her estimated net worth was £22 million ($29.5 million).
How Susan Boyle makes money
Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009), became the UK's best-selling debut album of all time and set a record for first-week sales by a debut album. In 2019, for her ten-year anniversary for her career, she launched a compilation album titled Ten together with a tour.
