Susan Boyle: Wee wifey from West Lothian takes over world

SCOTS singing sensation Susan Boyle is bracing herself for global domination after the release of her debut album today.

Some bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the West Lothian star selling more than one million copies of the album before Christmas.

William Hill is offering odds of just 1/1 that the spinster from Blackburn will go platinum in less than four weeks, making the album one of the biggest-selling CDs of the decade.

Boyle, 48, will be in New York today as I Dreamed a Dream is released in shops around the world, turning her into a millionaire.

It is expected she will go straight to No1 in the United States, Canada and the UK – where it is thought she will remain until the new year.

On Friday, it emerged that the churchgoer's CD had become the most pre-ordered album of all time on the shopping website Amazon.

Last night, Boyle appeared on The X-Factor having pre-recorded her performance on Saturday night because she had to fly to New York yesterday morning to start her whirlwind publicity tour.

On the programme, she described her meteoritic rise to fame as "bloody fantastic".

Also on the show last night, twins John and Edward Grimes, dubbed Jedward, were voted off after losing in a sing-off against Olly Murs.

William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said experts believe I Dreamed a Dream will likely hold the top-selling album spot over Christmas.

He added: "Susan Boyle is on the way to making history and making Simon Cowell another bucket-load of cash."

Last week, in an emotional interview, Boyle told how she was "frightened" at the journey facing her in the next few weeks. And speaking on her official website yesterday, the singer said she had yet to fulfil her dream.

Boyle said: "No-one ever completely fulfils their dream. My dream is to make people happy and to go on making people happy for as long as it lasts. So, it's not really complete yet."

She added: "Who would have thought the wee wifey from Blackburn would have achieved so much in just 11 months?

"It's taught me not to give up and to keep going, no matter what your difficulties are."

Boyle was catapulted to stardom after an appearance on Britain's Got Talent, and her audition in Glasgow is still the single most-watched video clip on YouTube, with more than 300 million hits.

• Album review: Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream