Susan Boyle has told Britain's Got Talent bosses she IS ready for the show's live tour.

After recovering from exhaustion she talked to show bosses and told them: "Get me on the stage."

The Scottish virgin, 48, is resting at home in Scotland after spending nearly a week in The Priory clinic following the show's grand final, where she was runner-up.

She is now desperate to be on the tour, which starts in Birmingham on Friday.

Boss Simon Cowell has secured her a slot and tour insiders say she is "highly likely" to perform. But he has insisted she can pull out at any time if she feels under too much pressure.

A show source said: "Susan has recovered and is feeling on top of the world.

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"She's staying with a friend back home, surrounded by loved ones and her beloved cat Pebbles.

"As the first date is just days away, everyone wants to be sure that she is 100 per cent mentally fit for it."

Susan is set to return to London this week to work on her music.

She is pushing ahead with her first album, which BGT judge Piers Morgan has predicted will sell ten million copies.

Susan has got U2's financial wizard Ossie Kilkenny, 62, to mastermind her career. She is set to make a staggering £8million here and in the US.

Susan Boyle was whisked away from the final of 'Britain's Got Talent' afetr finishing a surprise second.

The singing sensation reportedly cried for 24 hours after losing out to dance group Diversity.

Now doctors at the Priory clinic have diagnosed her with emotional exhaustion and friends, family and fans are deeply worried.

According to the ‘Daily Mail’, they want to keep her in hospital for a period of weeks.

Professor Chris Thompson, the clinic's chief doctor, said: “I cannot talk specifically about Susan Boyle but any admission to a psychiatric hospital for a matter of days is, in my opinion, a failed admission, because either it was unnecessary in the first place or the job hasn't been done fully.”

The doctor said that it is “not a rest home and it's not a spa. It is a psychiatric hospital."

Pete Doherty - who needed help with his drug addiction - is among the stars who have been treated at the famous clinic.

Susan Boyle did not want to be admitted - but did demand to call her cat Pebbles. Medics arranged a phone call for the Scottish
talent show star, so that she could hear her beloved pet purr.

“Susan could not stop crying,” one eyewitness said.

Even now that the final is over, there is still work to be done - the 'Britain's Got Talent' tour involving many of the show's performers starts in Birmingham on June 12.

Boyle is also planning to release an album and do a promotional tour. Will she be able to manage it all?

Life for the housewife from Blackburn, Scotland has changed dramatically in the past few weeks.
She went from being an ageing nobody to a superstar in hours, and her voice struck a cord with viewers across the world.

Before the show Susan Boyle was unemployed and lived a mundane life, looking after her sick mother. Now her brother Gerry told the ‘Mirror’ that she now longs to have her old life back.

"All she has ever wanted to do is sing. That’s her dream and I think she felt coming second meant her dream was slipping away."
More top news, sport and celebrity gossip from BILD.com

BRITAIN'S Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle was in the Priory clinic last night suffering from exhaustion.

Boyle-mania has swept the country since the Scot stunned the judges with her performance of I Dream A Dream seven weeks ago.

The singer,  had an "emotional breakdown" following Saturday's final in which she was runner-up.

The 48-year-old virgin, tipped to earn £8MILLION, survived tears and a tantrum to finish second in Saturday's gripping final of telly's Britain's Got Talent.

But the pressure finally told late yesterday as the Scots singer  was rushed to the private clinic suffering from exhaustion.

Show aides had contacted police to say she was acting strangely at her London hotel.

Boyle-mania has swept the country since the Scot stunned the judges with her performance of I Dream A Dream seven weeks ago.

And Prime Minister Gordon Brown has now lent the drained star his support, revealing to GMTV this morning that he phoned Simon Cowell last night to check on her condition.

He said: "I hope Susan Boyle is OK because she is a really, really nice person and I think she will do well.

"I spoke to Simon Cowell last night and to Piers Morgan and wanted to be sure that she was OK."

The 48-year-old virgin, tipped to earn £8MILLION, survived tears and a tantrum to finish second in Saturday's gripping final of telly's Britain's Got Talent.

But the pressure finally told late yesterday as the Scots singer - dubbed SuBo by fans - was rushed to the private clinic suffering from exhaustion.

Show aides had contacted police to say she was acting strangely at her London hotel.

Paramedics helped the "spaced-out" star through the lobby and into an ambulance just after 6pm.

A Met Police Inspector and a police doctor were called to assist. The ambulance, tailed by a police car, then took her to the Priory in Southgate, North London.

A source at the hotel said last night: "She'd been at the hotel for a few days, but since Saturday's final had been acting strangely, causing a bit of a stir.

Stress

"The staff were concerned - something wasn't right.

"When the paramedics and police arrived she agreed to go voluntarily. She didn't make a fuss. The paramedics calmly took her out through the main lobby and into the waiting ambulance.

"It was all done very calmly. They didn't want to stress or upset her. She didn't look well - she looked lost, not all there."

A source at the clinic said last night: "I was having a cigarette break when a whole load of ambulances arrived.

"Everyone was saying, 'Who's that'? Then I saw her and it was Susan Boyle. "

The singer, from Blackburn in West Lothian, has learning difficulties. The specialist clinic has 52 bedrooms and specialises in the treatment of mental health.

"She's physically, mentally and emotionally drained. She'd been getting pressure from all over the world.

"I'm not sure what happened after the result was announced on Saturday. She was getting agitated about the amount of attention she was getting.

"No one forced her to take part but we've never ever had this reaction about a contestant before.

"When she gets better we'll see her as she is again - a very feisty, funny lady."

Asked about a "Boyle backlash" that started last week when some viewers thought she didn't do as well in the semi final as she had in her audition, Piers admitted: "She did let herself down in the semi final but when she came back in the final she was absolutely stunning.

"American has gone crazy for her in the last two months. She will have a fantastic career there."

A Britain's Got Talent spokeswoman said: "Following Saturday's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained.

"She has been seen by her private GP, who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery. We offer her our ongoing support and wish her a speedy recovery."

A show source said: "It's very tough, Susan is emotionally drained - she gave it her all and is absolutely shattered.

"Simon Cowell spoke to her backstage on Saturday night and told her she had everything going for her - a record deal, an American tour. But it's up to her, she has to see what she wants.

"We do realise that we have a care of duty to look after her."

The brave singer fled the final stage in tears after belting out I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables, the song that made her famous.

She had been booed by sections of the audience after show judge Piers Morgan made her his tip to win.

After leaving the spotlight, Susan sank into the arms of producers and buried her head in her hands before starting to cry.

Earlier, she had launched into a furious four-letter outburst when told her glittering stage costume had failed to arrive just 15 minutes before she was due to appear on stage.

The singer was made a floor-length silver gown for the event, but a source said: "I was in the dressing room when she came in with some production staff. She looked like she was about to explode and was swearing.

"Susan was wearing a red robe, and a girl from production was trying to calm her down by saying, 'Your dress will be here any moment'.

"That was what set her off. It was 15 minutes before the show, and she didn't have her dress. I guess that could push anyone over the edge.

Yet Chiefs at SyCo - Cowell's division of Sony BMG - have big plans for Susan.

Offers have been coming in thick and fast for the BGT phenomenon.

A string of US shows have been trying to lure SuBo as a guest and to get her to sing.

Experts reckon she could make up to £8million after selling the rights to her fairytale life story, as well as a book deal, record cash and further millions from image rights, product endorsements and TV appearances.

A Sony source said: "Susan is going to be huge - it doesn't matter in the slightest that she didn't win.

"We're going to look after her. Never mind the States, she's had offers from round the world." TV Simon said: "We've never had a runner-up like Susan before. She won over a lot of fans - not just with her voice, but with her graciousness. She's got a massive future."

Proud neighbours in Susan's Scottish home town were last night preparing to give her a hero's welcome - unaware of her admission to the Priory.

Brian Smith, 51, said: "I thought she was a certainty to win.

"She has put Blackburn on the map and is a winner to us.

"We are keeping up all the bunting and banners up until she gets back.

"I think we will throw her a massive party - she deserves it."

Michelle McCabe, 34, said: "I thought she would win hands down. She can come back with her head held high."

NEW YORK – The final act of the year's biggest pop culture sensation will not be seen on TVs, beamed out to multiplexes or heard much on the airwaves. Well, at least not in America.

The phenomenon of Susan Boyle, seen by millions of Britons on ITV's "Britain's Got Talent," has been a worldwide digital storm played out in sporadic installments on the Internet. Videos of her first performance in April — "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables" — have been watched more than 220 million times, according toInternet video research firm Visible Measures.

Boyle's semifinals performance over the weekend showed the craze is far from over. Her version of "Memory" from "Cats" has been the most popular YouTube video of the week in the U.S., the U.K., and just about everywhere else. Visible Measures counts its total views at 16.8 million — a pace nearly as rapid as that for "I Dreamed a Dream."

Though millions will tune in to the show in Britain, the much larger Boyle audience around the globe will witness the last act on YouTube or other video sharing platforms. The 48-year-old church volunteer from Blackburn, Scotland, will sing again in the Saturday finale (ready your mouse for clicking around 5:00 p.m. EDT).

But depending on your perspective, Susan Boyle has been either a runaway hit or a boat missed: While Boyle mania has been a reflection of both the incredible growth of online video as a center of global culture, it's also endemic of media companies' struggle to fully leverage viral popularity.

The production company FremantleMedia Enterprises holds the international digital rights to "Britain's Got Talent" — and one would think they'd be doing cartwheels. Instead, some have suggested they've left millions on the table.

The majority of the hits received by videos of Boyle were unofficial uploads by fans. None of the videos carried advertising.

FremantleMedia , which is owned by RTL Group, produces the show along with SyCo Tv and Simco Ltd. Before the Boyle bonanza struck, the companies reportedly tried — and failed — to come to an agreement with YouTube. FremantleMedia said to be interested in having ads roll before a video, while YouTube has favored banner ads and ads that appear at the bottom of a video.

A spokesman for FremantleMedia declined an interview request for this story.

Hunter Walk, a product manager for YouTube, credited "Britain's Got Talent" and its producers for thinking "very new media" about their content and moving quickly to distribute it.

"To the show's credit, they immediately got the sense that their audience is worldwide and that's why they chose to quickly partner with YouTube to get this content out there," said Walk. "They worked with us to get this content up immediately after broadcast."

Added Walk: "They should be not only complimented for doing a great job on this, but are probably well-positioned to succeed at this scale in the future."

The suggestion is that "Britain's Got Talent" and its producers opted to utilize YouTube primarily as a promotional tool.

That decision has surely benefited the ratings for ITV (the program has been drawing about half of all Britons watching TV during its time slot) and elevated the show's brand — a brand that includes its American counterpart: "America's Got Talent," which premieres its fourth season in June on NBC .

But that decision also may have minimized the revenue generated from a gigantic international audience. According to rough estimates by the Times of London based on online ad rates, the first Boyle video could have earned close to $2 million with minimal advertising on YouTube.

That may be a relatively small sacrifice in building "Britain's Got Talent" — and "America's Got Talent," producers hope — into long-lasting juggernauts.

Eliot Van Buskirk, a writer for Wired.com who has covered this territory, thinks a unique opportunity was missed.

"This video of Susan Boyle is quickly becoming the most viewed video of all-time — and nobody's making money," said Van Buskirk. "It's been sort of a growing pains stage of ad-supported media."

Van Buskirk said the situation showed the need for content creators and distributors to have agreements in place for when a sensation strikes.

"We're still in the early stages — somehow — of media on the Internet," he said.

A percentage of the would-be ad revenue also would have gone to YouTube. Instead, the Google Inc.-owned company has earned little directly from what might become its biggest hit since launching four years ago. Accounting for bandwidth, Van Buskirk believes YouTube may have lost money.

Like "Britain's Got Talent," though, YouTube surely benefited tangentially from Boyle. It was clearly the place to go to see videos of her.

At a time in online video where some content providers are trying to carve out their own boutique niche (such as Hulu.com), Susan Boyle was a reminder of YouTube's particular blockbuster power.

"The scale at which Susan Boyle succeeded," said Walk, "could only have happened on YouTube."

Stop the presses! Susan Boyle has feelings

May 29, 2009 3:03

If I read one more time that Susan Boyle has never been kissed, I just might scream. I read it again in an Agence France-Presse story on Thursday; that was the penultimate time. Once more and it will push me over the edge. "Frumpy-looking Boyle, who has never been kissed," ran the story, and it went on to describe how"the 48-year-old spinster" threw a fit, started cursing and made an obscene gesture after talent show judge Piers Morgan gave some praise to one of Boyle's competitors. You'd go berserk too if every time you turned around, the media were reminding everyone how homely you are and how you'd never been kissed.

Anybody remember the last time a man who made the news was described as having never been kissed? I can't remember, and I am sure that middle age memory lapse is not the reason why. It's because men are never written or talked about like that. Never. You just don't read things like: "The frumpy, frizzy-haired monk who's never been kissed, but knows how to make great Oka cheese..."

An Associated Press story about Boyle, posted on CTV's website, was even more brutal: "It's always a bad hair day for Susan Boyle--until she starts to sing. The Scottish song-bird with the frizzed-out hair doesn't look like a star --she's chubby, with plain features and no 1,000-watt showbiz smile."Of course, the insinuation is that since Boyle has never been kissed, she's never done "it."Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. OMG, she's 48 and she doesn't even know what "it" is like! Let's all revert to our junior high selves which, sadly, appear to be forever lurking just beneath the surface of an apparently thin and tenuous layer of adult skin. Indeed, the day after Boyle wowed the world with her amazing voice, a headline in Melbourne, Australia's Herald-Sun ran: "U. K. talent show stunned by Scottish virgin Susan Boyle." I doubt that any newspaper has ever headlined a man by describing him in terms of his nonexistent sex life.

So Boyle never dated, is unmarried, sings in her church choir, and lives alone with her cat after caring for her elderly mother all these years. Good for her. She's not some airbrushed plastic Hollywood entity with a checkered history of addictions and other excesses, who's made the circuit of all the posh rehab clinics and had three marriages by the time she's 25.

Boyle sounds like a lovely, salt-of-the-earth, decent soul, and heaven knows the world could use quite a few more of those.

In 2007, tenor and telephone salesman Paul Potts hit the big time, like Boyle, on Britain's Got Talent. He is probably just as un-Hollywoodish in appearance as she is. He favours baggy suits, has a weight problem and could use some orthodontic work. Media reports about him focus on his formidable singing talent, the tone is distinctly respectful, and his sex life is never alluded to. That is the way Boyle should be treated. Unfortunately, she isn't. Journalists at these

same media outlets are the first to write about the importance of women's issues and the fight for gender equality. They're also the first to proclaim themselves aghast at stories of eight-year-old girls who suffer from anorexia because they're obsessed with dieting and looking sexy--and then they go back to slamming Boyle for her looks, her weight and her virginity. Well, duh--where do they think those eight-year-olds get their distorted ideas about how being thin and sexy is literally to die for?

It's a good thing that Jeannine Deckers, the Singing Nun, hit the charts with Dominique back in 1963, because there's no telling how she'd be steamrollered today for her own plain looks, her severe hairstyle, her chastity and her glasses. It was a kinder era 40-plus years ago.

Tanya Gold, writing in the Guardian, wondered: "Is Susan Boyle ugly? Or are we?" She described Boyle as "rather chubby... with a squashed face, unruly teeth and unkempt hair." Musing on the differences in the way the media portray men and women, Gold wrote that chef "Gordon Ramsay has a dried-up riverbed for a face." Gold misses the point. It's not about getting in a few digs at men for revenge. It's about treating everyone with dignity. Do those who savage Boyle so mercilessly never stop to think that this woman has feelings and that they are hurting her? Do they ever imagine how it must feel to be trashed constantly for your looks and, to put it crudely, your supposedly abysmal failure to have gotten laid?

Janis Ian covered this painful territory in her song, At Seventeen, when she sang that "Dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duck-ling girls like me."The song title says it all--this cruel and shallow stuff should have been left behind at 17. If women still have a long way to go, so too do the journalists who write about them.

nlakritz@theherald.canwest.com