YouTube Sensation Susan Boyle Crosses the Pond, and the Media

Already a hit on YouTube, “Britain’s Got Talent” contestant Susan Boyle made her American television debut this morning on CBS’ The Early Show. She talked with anchors Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez and sang a bit of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables – a performance that instantly turned her from reality show laughing stock to singing sensation. That performance, first seen Saturday night on Britain’s ITV, was uploaded to YouTube almost immediately.

When the segment aired this morning, Rodriguez announced the original video had been viewed 11 million times on YouTube. By 3:30pmET, it was nearing 13 million. And no doubt, thousands more have seen other versions of Boyle’s performance.

Several versions of the clips on YouTube have been disabled at the request of producers of “Britain’s Got Talent,” but we found a version. It’s after the jump. First, the backstory on Boyle in the clip below from CBS News:

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Also, the WSJ blog Digits, found out, the phrase “Susan Boyle” has been a top trend all day on Twitter, while someone has already created a Susan Boyle account, replying “thankyou for your support!” and “please follow me!”

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