Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation after her stunning cover of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent. Since then, she won two Grammy nominations, sold over 25 million music albums, garnered three Guinness World Records, and has performed all over the world. Despite her stardom, she prefers simple living over Beverly Hills mansions. So she moved back to her childhood home in Scotland where she had grown up with eight siblings and shared a bedroom with two sisters. “I’ve spent most of my life in this house and I won’t move now, because I feel it’s part of my history,” she said to the Sunday Post. [1]
Inside Susan Boyle’s Childhood Home
Boyle had always kept her eye on her previous home. In fact, she bought it back with the first payment she had received from her record label. [2] “Some people seem surprised that I choose to stay in my family home. Why shouldn’t I? I feel Mum is still here and there are so many good memories…” [3]
So, she began to renovate it according to her personal taste. Her old bedroom became her dressing room, and her kitchen was updated with new appliances and new pictures —- including one of Boyle and Pope Francis. She also added a piano room, where she is learning to play for the first time. “That’s a giggle for a start,” she said in her home tour video, “because I can’t even do scales.”
Her living room maintains the balance between her new life and her old one, featuring photos from her successful career as well as her beloved siblings. She seems to have a love for decorative nicknacks like figurines and carvings.
More About Susan Boyle
Boyle credits her success to her mother. When she passed away in 2007 at the age of 91, Boyle found herself at Glasgow’s Armadillo the day of the auditions for Britain’s Got Talent. “I had just lost my mum and I had nothing to look forward to, so I have no doubt it was a blessing,” Boyle said. “I think that was my mum’s way of telling me to keep going, that I had something to offer. I’m sure there was divine intervention involved. My mum’s still looking after me now, she’s still here and she has given me the confidence to do what I do.”
Boyle was launched into stardom in April 2009 when the YouTube video of her audition singing “I Dreamed a Dream” went viral. The sudden fame was a shock and it took some time to get used to. “Nothing can prepare anyone for that. One minute you’re sitting on your couch watching the show and wishing you could do it, and the next moment you’re on that stage. It felt like I was in the epicentre of a huge whirlpool at first, but you reach a stage where you can handle it. Everything is no longer so frightening.”
At the time, she was 47 years old, making her an anomaly among other young up-and-coming singers. However, Boyle does not regret the timing of her breakthrough. “I’ve always said it happened at the time it was meant to. I wouldn’t have been ready if I was younger.”
A Role Model and an Inspiration
Susan Boyle is also aware of how much she inspires her fans, especially those who feel as stuck as she did before her audition. “It’s a case of not judging a book by its cover,” she said about herself. “I’m not your typical glamorous person, but I get there. I like being a role model for those who don’t have a voice themselves, to give them a bit more confidence. They look at me and say, ‘Maybe I can do it as well, I’ll give it a go, too’. I’ve been an example. If you want something bad enough, you keep going. It doesn’t matter your age or anything else. If you still have that fire in your belly, you need to let it out somehow.”
Her career has come with many notable highlights. “Singing for the Pope in Bellahouston Park – that was a big one – as was my first time singing in America,” she said. “I sang Wild Horses and I was so nervous, but I got through it. When I look back, to do that on my first trip to America was just unbelievable. It’s all very surreal, but it’s been so much fun and the 10 years have flown by.”
What is her one regret over the course of her singing career? “I just wish my mum and dad had been here to see it all,” she said. “I think they would have been very proud and very happy. But no doubt they are looking down on me.”
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Sources
- “INTERVIEW: Susan Boyle – I want to be a positive role model for those who don’t have a voice.” Sunday Post. Murray Scougall. December 1, 2019
- “About.” Susan Boyle Music.
- “Susan Boyle still lives in her childhood home – now she gives us a peek inside after the renovations.” Newsner. February 18, 2022