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LONDON - Susan Boyle, the dowdy Scottish spinster whose mighty singing voice has catapulted her to global fame thanks to YouTube, won through to the next round of talent show "Britain's Got Talent" Saturday.
A clip of Boyle, 47, singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from musical Les Miserables in the show's auditions has been watched some 60 million times on the video sharing website since April and her fans include actress Demi Moore.
As the "Britain's Got Talent" auditions round ended Saturday, Boyle was named among 40 acts who will go through to the live semi-finals from Sunday, when she will make her eagerly-awaited second appearance on the show.
When asked how she felt after the judges made their decision, Boyle said: "On top of the world, it's fantastic", punched the air and did a dance.
The grand finale takes place on Saturday May 30 and Boyle -- nicknamed the "Hairy Angel" by the British press -- is the bookmakers' hot favourite to win.
Boyle's rivals in Sunday's show will include Darth Jackson -- a postal worker called Phil who dresses as "Star Wars" character Darth Vader and dances like Michael Jackson.
Also featuring alongside her is extreme street peformer Nick Hell, whose act includes attaching a dustbin to his ears with chains and swinging it around, and Latvian belly dancer Julia Naidenko.
Boyle is a charity volunteer who says she has never been kissed and lives alone in Blackburn, near Edinburgh, with a cat called Pebbles.
She told US chat show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview this month: "I am not lonely. Everyone has been so nice. I've got millions of new friends now."
"Britain's Got Talent" invites members of the public to show off their hidden entertaining skills in front of a panel of three judges -- impresario Simon Cowell, former newspaper editor Piers Morgan and actress Amanda Holden.
The winner of the show wins the right to perform at the Royal Variety Performance before Queen Elizabeth II later this year -- plus a 100,000 pound (115,000 euro, 160,000 dollar) cheque.
- AFP /ls
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