The fairy tale story of Susan Boyle, 49, continues. After being discovered last year by Simon Cowell and his fellow judges on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, the penniless singer has fame and riches. Flash forward just 18 months later, and the Scottish singing sensation has amassed nearly $15 million.
Seen by nearly 300 million people, her first YouTube appearance made her an early favourite to win the 2009 season of the show.
In addition to receiving a Grammy nomination last week, Susan Boyle has already sold 10 million copies of her first two albums, I Dreamed a Dream and The Gift, the latter having been released a month ago.
One of the reasons for Boyle’s unusually successful record sales is that the singer’s fan base is older and reluctant to illegally download material.
"Unlike a lot of artists who write songs and have heavy touring commitments, most of Susan’s income has come from old-fashioned record sales, mostly CDs as opposed to downloads due to the nature of her fanbase,” said Cliff Dane of the Sunday Times.