Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle became an instant TV and Internet sensation in April of 2009, when she wowed viewers of the TV show Britain's Got Talent by singing the tune "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Miserables. Boyle is a plump and ordinary-looking woman from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, and the show's judges (including the ascerbic Simon Cowell) seemed ready to hoot her off the stage during a brief interview before her performance. But then she staggered both judges and audience with her polished and emotional performance of "I Dreamed a Dream." A week later a clip of her song had been viewed 25 million times on YouTube, and Boyle was a sudden star in both the UK and the US. Boyle eventually placed second overall in the competition, losing out to a dance troupe called Diversity.

Extra credit: Boyle's audition was actually taped in January of 2009, but didn't air until three months later... She told the judges she was unmarried and unemployed and had "never been kissed" (though she later told the Associated Press that last comment was a joke)... The Daily Mirror reported that Boyle "has never had a boyfriend and was bullied because of her appearance while growing up."