Susan Boyle has become the first female act to have simultaneous number ones in the UK and US twice in one year, eclipsing the likes of Madonna and Mariah Carey.

Only The BeatlesandSimon Cowellhad high praise for the 49-year-old: "I'm thrilled for Susan, she has once again defied the odds. She is my superwoman."

This week Susan revealed she was a fan of Mary Byrneto win. "Mary’s got a fantastic voice and I don’t view her as competition. I view her as a fellow artist."

"I find it very gripping,” she said of the series. “But it’s an open competition; it could go one way or the other."