Overnight star says she's handling attention

The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Singing sensation Susan Boyle said Friday that she's untroubled by people drawing contrasts between her angelic voice and dowdy image after she was thrust into the international spotlight.

The unlikely star, who sprung to fame after her appearance on a British televised talent competition became an online hit, said she loves the attention and isn't bothered by those who poke fun at her unpolished appearance.

"It goes with the territory," Boyle told the Associated Press on Friday. "It doesn't bother me."

In a telephone interview from her home in the Scottish town of Blackburn, Boyle did express some impatience with questions over her love life: The 47-year-old Scot raised eyebrows when she told a British television audience on Saturday that she'd "never been kissed."

"It was said as a joke, not an advert. Can we move on?" Boyle said, laughing. And as for the flood of attention — with fans and even competition judge Piers Morgan offering to give her a peck — Boyle said she's flattered, but isn't letting herself be carried away.

"If people want to kiss me, it has to be controlled," she said, still chuckling.

The massive media attention being lavished on Boyle — U.S. morning shows interviewed her by satellite, even her town's local government has offered its best wishes — virtually guarantees her a spot in the final rounds of "Britain's Got Talent," the U.K. version of "America's Got Talent."

Bookmakers are betting on it: Ladbrokes slashed their odds from 11/10 to 1/2 that the Scottish chanteuse would make it out as the eventual winner. Paddy Power cut their odds on a Boyle victory to 5/6.

Simon Cowell, who judges the show alongside Morgan and actress Amanda Holden, had to go on British morning television to remind viewers that the competition wasn't a "one horse race."

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On the Net:

Boyle's local council, West Lothian: www.westlothian.gov.uk/sitecontent/news/latest/susan

Published 4/17/09 by


AP Recording News

Comments (5)

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  • WHO CARES IF IT,S WHOSE OR WHO,S DID YOU FIGGER OUT WHAT WAS MENT??? WELL THEN SHUT UP AND BE HAPPY ,,,HOW OTHER PEPOLE WRITE,,, DOES NOT NEED CHECKING BY YOU ,,, YOU MUST BE DARKIE AND DON,T EVEN REPLY I DON,T WONT TO HEAR FROM YOU
    Anonymous 5/26/09 Reply
  • i have never replied on line before but it made me so happy to see a normal sweet person like susan got her chance and was soooo loved...God surely heard her voice and wanted to share it with the world....congratulations susan
    Anonymous 4/18/09 Reply
  • BUTT UGLY WITH WARTS ON TOP
    Anonymous 4/17/09 Reply
  • It is just typical of the superficial world we live in nowadays. The judges took one look at her and quickly inserted tongues in cheeks, then she opened her mouth and they melted like butter. Never assume...it makes an ASS out of U and ME lol.
    argo123 4/17/09 Reply
  • This woman is amazing, awesome......she brought me to tears.
    Grams 4/17/09 Reply