It’s impossible to talk about “Britain’s Got Talent” without mentioning Susan Boyle. Though over 15 years since her debut on the show’s stage, many still warmly remember the woman who captivated audiences around the world, particularly with her emotional rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream”.
Despite not winning the competition’s final prize, Susan Boyle has since gone on to have a successful music career. She’s released several albums, set foot on incredible stages around the world, and eventually gained a fortune massive enough to say goodbye forever to her financial problems.
Despite her success and recognition, Susan’s life has taken some sad and dark turns which have pushed her to take an extended hiatus from public life on a couple of occasions. So how bad were these events, and what consequences did they have on her career, health, and family? Keep watching to find out more!
What Happened To Susan Boyle?
After coming second in the third season of “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009, Susan Boyle built a successful singing career which has kept her active for well over a decade. However, she has also experienced several periods away from the spotlight, with the most recent being in late 2021 to 2023.
The reason Susan suddenly stopped performing shows and appearing on TV is because she sadly suffered a minor stroke in April 2022. Given that Susan isn’t very active on social media, and has never been too interested in taking everyone’s attention unnecessarily, no one ever imagined that she’d experienced such serious health issues until she re-appeared in “Britiain’s Got Talent” as a guest in June 2023.
Susan’s comeback to the show that established her fame back in 2009 also included the shocking news of her stroke, which according to her, left her unable to speak and sing properly. Susan spent around a year of ‘hard work’ and ‘perseverance’ to return to perform as in the old times, as she affirmed in an Instagram post. All of this made Susan’s comeback to the “Briti’s Got Talent” stage one of the most emotional and proudest moments in her career.
Health Update
Following the news about her condition, Susan received many strong messages of support from fans and people fin the entertainment industry. The famous “Got Talent”’ judge and producer Simon Cowell was one of the most prominent figures who congratulated Susan for the hard work she put into singing again, assuring that he knew she was ‘going to come back’ and that ‘it wouldn’t be the same’ without her.
Despite the warm welcome Susan received during her return to “Britain’s Got Talent”, she has kept a toned-down public life ever since. Very few details about her post-stroke health situation are known, except for a Daily Mail report from September 2024 in which Susan affirmed that she was still on her path to recovery, and had recently sought help from an Australian natural remedy expert, Barbara O’Neill.
Susan’s admiration for O’Neill’s work resulted in with mixed opinions due to the wellness teacher’s past of alleged unrecommended practices, with the Australian health authorities barring her from providing health advice. However, despite knowing about O’Neill’s troubled reputation, Susan affirmed that she still found her advice worth trying. The singer also affirmed she wasn’t relying on natural medicine alone, but was using it to complement her traditional medicine treatment.
Regardless of the methods Susan is using to recover from the aftermath of her stroke, the most note-worthy aspect about this is how hard she’s working to get healthy again.
First Hiatus
While Susan’s stroke-induced situation in 2022 has been the longest period she’s been away from public life, it wasn’t the first time that she decided to stay away from the spotlight to focus on herself.
Back in 2015, Susan went through a tough moment in her life when she lost her older sister Bridie. In a statement released in 2016, Susan described Bridie as an ‘amazing’ and ‘honest’ sister, and ‘a rock’ who helped her in many moments in her life. The loss was a strong hit for Susan and her family, and especially for her niece Joanne, thus taking some time away from the spotlight to support her family.
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Though it’s unclear when exactly Bridie passed, the sad event prompted Susan to suspend her professional activities throughout 2015, including the recording of her seventh album “A Wonderful World”. She also stepped away from any public activities, and didn’t make any blog updates from May 2015 to February 2016. The album was ultimately released in November of that year.
Another time Susan slowed down her public life was in 2009, to take care of her mental health, when some reports about her ‘erratic behavior’ came to light. Susan was admitted into a psychiatric clinic following the “Britain’s Got Talent” finale, fortunately recovering well after a couple of days of rest.
Life After BGT
Regardless of the enduring moments that Susan Boyle has been through in past years, she’s also experienced many extraordinary events after her rise to stardom. Right after the finale of “Britain’s Got Talent” in mid-2009, she took part in the show’s live tour, which had her performing around the UK alongside the season’s winners – dance group Diversity – and other prominent contestants.
In November of that year, Susan’s debut album “I Dreamed A Dream” saw the light of day. The release was warmly welcomed in the UK and USA, selling over 700,000 copies during its first week alone in the latter country, becoming the best-selling debut album in over a decade, according to The New York Times.
Susan achieved similar success back home, where “I Dreamed A Dream” became the fastest-selling debuting album in history. The success of her following albums such as “The Gift” and “Someone To Watch Over Me” was smaller in comparison to her debut. but still made it to the charts with great numbers.
Susan has also been nominated for and won several music and entertainment international awards throughout the years, including a Best New Artist International recognition at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, and several Billboard Music Awards nominations.
What’s In The Future For Susan?
While it isn’t usual for modern artists to stay away from the spotlight for extended periods, it’s a different case for Susan Boyle. As she revealed in an interview with People in 2019, she found fame a ‘bizarre concept’ and didn’t consider it one of her motivators. Furthermore, Susan revealed that her earliest years in the spotlight were full of anxiety, as she lived in constant fear that her dream would fade away and her fame disappear.
Susan’s fears haven’t materialised, though it’s been a while since her latest album “A Wonderful World” was released in 2016. She’s still making headlines and getting recognized for her music and personality. More important than that, her fans and followers still warmly remember her for her hard work, and gaining the hearts of everyone she comes across.
