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Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream

You might remember it as Susan Boyle first audition, Britain's Got Talent Susan Boyle audition

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2009·Early YouTube

The talent-show audition that became the most-watched of its kind and made the format globally viral.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
Susan Boyle first audition
Spread in
2009
Format
Video
Era
Early YouTube
Performed by
Susan Boyle
The scene
Her audition for Britain’s Got Talent, at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow
The song
I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Misérables
Origin
Origin not yet established
Available
Playable from the source

Why it matteredWhat changed

A television audition was watched 103 million times online in nine days, across twenty websites.

TimelineIn order

  1. Record

    Within a week the audition has been viewed more than 66 million times online, a record. After nine days the figure across twenty websites is 103 million.1

  2. Made

    The audition is broadcast to more than ten million viewers in the United Kingdom.1

  3. Mainstream

    Her album I Dreamed a Dream is released and becomes the fastest-selling debut album in the United Kingdom.1

What people misrememberSet straight

Commonly remembered asShe won.

ActuallyShe was runner-up, to the dance troupe Diversity.1

Commonly remembered asShe had never sung in public.

ActuallyShe had performed at local venues and at the Edinburgh Fringe.1

LegacyWhat it left behind

More from hereIn this collection

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  3. Video2008Watch

    Christian the Lion

    1970s footage that became one of the most-shared videos of 2008, so the original long predates its virality.

  4. Video2009Watch

    JK Wedding Entrance Dance

    A home video that changed how weddings are filmed and became a rights-licensing case study.

  5. Video2008Watch

    Maru the cat

    The Japanese cat whose channel made cat video a sustained global genre rather than a one-off.

  6. Video2008Watch

    Simon's Cat

    Hand-drawn animation that became one of the longest-running success stories on the platform.

Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later

The version shown here is an official copy on YouTube, published by a rights holder.

Where it came fromWhat we know

Original source uncertain. This is the earliest copy currently known.

View the official copy on YouTube

No original upload has been established for this record. The index is showing the earliest copy it currently knows about, and says so rather than guessing.

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Susan Boyle
  2. CNN — Susan Boyle, “David After Dentist” top YouTube in 2009

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

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