Susan Boyle Is Better Than Elaine Paige

This is precisely why this talent show is a lot more watchable than American Idol. To be in AI, you have to be in a certain package and a certain age. Great talents like Paul Potts and Connie Talbot last year left audiences gasping. This year in Britain's Got Talent, we have Susan Boyle. To me, she already sings better than Elaine Paige and many other Broadway singers. How a voice can suddenly touch and move us is still a mystery.

You look at Susan and you know she probably never was given much of a chance in life. Her song choice was spot on. Its from my favourite musical over the past 20 years, Les Miserables. The song, minus the fatalistic part, could have very well been her theme song - I Dreamed A Dream.

Miss Boyle, who admits she has never been kissed, looks likely to be even bigger than her idol Elaine Paige. The 48 year old charity worker from West Lothian, announced from the stage that her dream was to emulate West End star Elaine Paige. Her eccentric ways and less than polished appearance drew sniggers from the audience when she initially appeared but they were mesmerised from the moment she broke into song and gave her a standing ovation.

Simon Cowell pronounced her voice "extraordinary" and Amanda Holden was reduced to tears by hearing her sing. Piers Morgan, their fellow judge, said the performance was "without a doubt the biggest surprise I have had in three years of this show". Miss Boyle, who says she has never been on a date or even been kissed, is now the favourite to win the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent. Her story invites comparisons with Paul Potts, the unassuming mobile phone salesman who won the first series of Britain's Got Talent in 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

p/s photo: Yuki Asada