Susan Boyle returned to the stage for the first time in four years this weekend, and also for the first time since suffering a stroke.
The singer, 62, appeared on "Britain's Got Talent" on Sunday, June 4, to sing Les Misérables' "I Dreamed A Dream," which was her audition song back in 2009. The fact that she was able to sing at all was rather impressive, as her speech was left "almost unintelligible" following a stroke last year, a source tells DailyMail.com.
After performing, the reality TV legend said it was "great" to be back on the show that launched her career.
"It's extra special for me actually because last April there I suffered a minor stroke and I thought it would be crazy to be back on stage and I have done it," she said.
The Mail claimed that Susan, who was found by her personal assistant after suffering the stroke, has had intensive vocal coaching over the past year while learning to speak clearly again.
"The PA came over to see her that morning, they often go out for breakfast together but as soon as she saw Susan she realized that they needed to go straight to hospital. She was able to walk but had a dropped face and was slurring her words. She was capable of speech but it was hard to work out what she was saying," the source said.
An inconsolable Susan quickly felt that her singing career was finished due to her health. Over the past 14 years, Susan has sold 25 million records, and her "BGT" audition has been viewed on YouTube more than 261 million times.
Prior to Sunday, Susan hadn't performed since 2019.
"All she has ever wanted to do is sing and she was at that point convinced that her career was over. She was devastated, very deeply upset as well as being ill," the source said. "She hired a private speech therapist once the crisis was over and she was out of hospital. Since then she has been seeing him a few times a week plus doing homework in between and also seeing her regular vocal coach."
The source concluded, "She has worked very hard to get to the point where she could perform last night although we are not quite back to the point she was before the stroke."