Susan Boyle has always had a knack of bowling over audiences with her powerful singing voice. A 25-year-old video of one of the Britain's Got Talent sensation's first ever public performances has surfaced in which the West Lothian singer, then a fresh-faced 22-year-old, works her magic at a local club's singing competition.
As the room buzzes with chatter, she walks shyly up to the stage and - clearly nervous – begins to sing Barbra Streisand hit The Way We Were, before the noise in the establishment has died down. But once her voice sounds out over the PA system, the audience is stunned into silence.
With every minute Susan - now 47 - grows in confidence on the stage and ends up with huge cheers and claps from the crowd after delivering a masterful performance of the song.
"Even back then, I don't think anyone expected too much from her because she was so shy, but when she began singing people took notice," a local man tells Scottish paper the Daily Record of her appearance. "I can remember that she was a shy young girl, but also very attractive back then – she turned a few heads when she came into the club."
In four weeks Susan will sing in the next round of the TV talent search. She faces competition from Welsh pizza delivery man Jamie Pugh, who was put through by the judges after a rousing rendition of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables.
On Saturday night viewers saw the nervous 38-year-old reduced to tears after receiving a standing ovation from the audience and being told by Simon Cowell: "You have to start believing in yourself." And hits of the video on YouTube began to soar into the thousands after actress Demi Moore posted a link on her with the message: "So moving, teary again, wow!"
