[11][12] She subsequently released the studio albums Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage (2012),[13] Home for Christmas (2013),[14] Hope (2014), and A Wonderful World (2016).

[18] Her father, Patrick Boyle, was a miner and veteran of the Second World War who also worked as a singer at the Bishop's Blaize;[citation needed] her mother Bridget was a shorthand typist.

[25] She used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV.

When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige".

[36] Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.

[44] She was the clear favourite to win the final,[45] but ended up in second place to dance troupe Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.

Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive", as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.

Despite health concerns, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour,[49] and was well received in cities including Aberdeen,[50] Edinburgh,[51] Dublin,[52] Sheffield,[53] Coventry,[54] and Birmingham.

"[78] In October 2012 renowned opera star Placido Domingo released his album Songs which included a duet with Boyle of Shania Twain's "From This Moment On".

The film is based on a book written by Max Lucado about a 19th-century village of simple people in the English Cotswolds in need of a miracle.

The album, whose theme is hope and inspiration, includes a recorded live performance by Boyle of "You Raise Me Up" with the Lakewood Church choir.

[99] Boyle's English-language cover of the Japanese folk song "Wings To Fly" was played during the release of the doves at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2021.

The tour commenced in Boyle's native Scotland in the city of Dundee, and featured shows within various concert halls and theatres across the United Kingdom.

[110] The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet".

[112] Additionally, Boyle's first on-camera interview with Scots journalist Richard Mooney for her local newspaper the West Lothian Courier was named as YouTube's Most Memorable Video of 2009.

[123] ABC News hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".

[128] At the invitation of NHK, a major Japanese broadcaster, Boyle appeared as a guest singer for the 2009 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, an annual songfest on New Year's Eve in Tokyo, Japan.

[141] The Huffington Post noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction.

[143] Similarly, Entertainment Weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation.

[145]The Washington Post believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck".

[146] New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.

[150] Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated, "She's an Everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her.

[34] Similarly, The Independent's New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that the United States will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady".

[162] On 30 January 2010, Boyle performed at the Indsamling Charity Gala, a telethon for Haiti and Africa held at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark.

[172] On 19 March 2011 in Glasgow at the Scottish Variety Awards Boyle performed; the money raised was donated to Cash for Kids Charity.

[174] In the evening she performed at the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics GB at the Royal Crescent in Bath, England and also stayed to watch the events and hand out medals to the first day's winners.

[175] On 14 August 2013 it was announced that Boyle would sing at the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice 30th Anniversary Variety Performance at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on 27 October 2013.

[176][177] On 16 September 2010 Boyle sang at the Papal Mass performed for Pope Benedict XVI in Glasgow at Bellahouston Park in front of a crowd of 65,000.

[183][184] In January 2012, Boyle donated a performance dress, which she had worn on America's Got Talent on 31 August 2011, to The Laura McPhee Memorial Fund (Asthma) UK Charity.

Boyle released a music video 8 December 2013 featuring children from the FAST program singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" with Elvis Presley.