Susan Boyle

Amateur vocalist Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation after appearing on the first round of 2009's popular U.K. reality show "Britain's Got Talent". Boyle, who was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland in 1961, caught the judges (and the world) off guard with her masterful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Misérables", due in part to the unemployed and undeniably plain church volunteer's "salt of the earth" demeanour and country spinster back story. Within hours of her appearance on "Britain's Got Talent", Boyle was not only an Internet sensation, she was a worldwide phenomenon. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released in 2009 and reached number one on both the U.S. and U.K. charts, setting a record in her homeland for first week sales.