SIMON COWELL - BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT HOPEFUL BECOMES YOUTUBE SENSATION

BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT HOPEFUL BECOMES YOUTUBE SENSATION

A church volunteer from West Lothian is the favourite to win Britain's Got Talent after her audition became a YouTube phenomenon.

Susan Boyle, 47, wowed Simon Cowell and the judging panel on the ITV1 show with a sensational rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.

And now the church volunteer, who has dreamed of being a professional singer since her teens, has been seen performing by more than five million people on the video sharing website.

Actress Demi Moore was one of the millions who viewed a video of Susan's audition, with the Ghost star admitted on microblogging site Twitter that she was moved to tears by Ms Boyle's performance.

The unmarried singing hopeful, who told viewers she had "never been kissed", told the BBC that a career in singing was a longstanding ambition.

"I entered the competition because I wanted to have a chance at my singing," she explained.

"I found it very nerve-wracking to begin with but once I settled down and began to sing, I thought that the audience accepted me a bit more. Then I sort of relaxed and began to enjoy it."

She is now the bookies' favourite to follow in the footsteps of Britain's Got Talent winners Paul Potts and George Sampson, after earning a standing ovation from the judges.

Piers Morgan said her performance was the "biggest surprise" he had experienced on the talent show and Amanda Holden described listening to Ms Boyle as a "complete privilege".