Susan Boyle and Eminem: Birds of a feather
Credit: AP Photo
It’s one of those feel-good stories that comes along every few years that the media grabs hold of and squeezes out every last drop. Susan Boyle’s rags-to-riches tale started on “Britain’s Got Talent” when she astonished the judges with her made-for-Broadway pipes, despite her “Calling all K-Mart shoppers” looks. Her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” became a worldwide YouTube sensation.
The tale could have ended there, but it’s gone on: Boyle with an refreshing, yet awkward, confidence, submitted to a few cursory makeovers, but resolutely resisted losing weight or altering her appearance to suit the good fortune that supposedly only young, photogenic people deserve.
Now Boyle is prepped to enter the record books. Her debut CD, “I Dreamed a Dream,” will come at No. 1 on Tuesday, logging the highest first-week sales week of 2009, according to Hits Daily Double. Boyle is on target to sell up to 675,000 copies of the CD, handily topping Eminem’s “Relapse,” which sold around 605,000 units its opening frame.
As we noted earlier, she is accomplishing this feat with virtually no radio play. Instead this is solely a TV and internet phenomenom.
Furthermore, according to Britain’s The Daily Mail, “I Dreamed a Dream,” which came out last week in the U.K., is the quickest-selling debut album ever in England. The title sold more than 411,000 copies in the U.K., besting previous record-holder, Leona Lewis’s “Spirit.” It is also poised to debut at No. 1 on Canada and New Zealand.
Back to U.S., Boyle’s stunning feat robs another reality TV star, Adam Lambert, of debuting at No. 1. “For Your Entertainment” will sell around 230,000 copies, which would normally handily land him at the top.
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