Susan Boyle Entered the Stage With a Dominating Yet Modest Demeanor as the Theater’s Lights Went Down and the Opening Notes of I Dreamed a Dream Began To Play. As Her Voice Soared, Full of Emotion and the Same Indisputable Enchantment That First Captivated the World, the Audience, Breathless With Anticipation, Watched. Standing Alongside the West End Cast of Les Misérables, She Transformed the Moment Into Something Timeless—a Triumphant Homecoming, a Full-Circle Dream Realized. And as the Final Note Hung in the Air, the Crowd Erupted, a Standing Ovation Echoing the Journey of a Woman Who Never Stopped Believing.
At Sunday night’s season 16 finale, Susan Boyle returned to the stage to perform the song that catapulted her into unlikely international fame, more than 14 years after her historic victory on Britain’s Got Talent. This time, though, she performed the song that made her a famous, “I Dreamed a Dream,” with the West End cast of Les Misérables. At the end, she revealed that she had overcome a significant health issue
“It feels great,” Boyle said after the rousing song when asked what it felt like to be back on the BGT stage for a reprise of her 2009 crowning achievement during the show’s third season. “It’s extra special for me actually because last April there, I suffered a minor stroke. And I fought like crazy to be back on stage and I have done it.”
The shy Scottish singer who blew minds during her initial BGT run expounded on her recovery in an Instagram post celebrating Sunday’s performance, writing, “Tonight I had the privilege of returning to @bgt and performing with the wonderful cast of @lesmizofficial,” she wrote. “This evening was even more special for me as in April of 2022 I had a stroke. For the past year I have worked so hard to get my speech and singing back, with the sole aim of being able to sing on stage again & tonight my hard work & perseverance paid off, singing the song that started it all, ‘I Dreamed A Dream’.”
After her BGT triumph back in the day, Boyle released her smash debut album, I Dreamed a Dream — which at the time became the best-selling debut album in U.K. chart history — spawning the title track hit as well as a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses.” She followed up with 2010’s The Gift album, which topped both U.S. and U.K. charts, then 2011’s Someone to Watch Over me, Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs From the Stage (2012), Home For Christmas (2013), Hope (2014), A Wonderful World (2016) and Ten (2019)
