She said: “When I look in the mirror I see that I brush up quite well. It?s a bit like a cygnet to a swan.

“Now, I see a sophisticated lady. Even though the outwardness has changed, inside I?m still the same, but now I?m a bit more refined in some ways.

“Put it this way, a woman who went on Britain?s Got Talent with mad hair, bushy eyebrows and the frock that I was wearing that night had to be noticed.

“It was a good choice at the time. In fact, the whole process has been pretty good for me.?

Susan has done incredibly well since last year’s Britain’s Got Talent. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, sold more that eight million copies around the world. Now Amazon.co.uk have been inundated with pre-orders for Susan’s second album, which is yet to be recorded or named. There have so far been two million pre-orders and is set to be the most pre-ordered CD in history.

Susan also spoke of the effect the death of her mother, Bridget, had on her in 2007.

She said: ?It was life-changing, not having her to depend on so much. I had to learn to do things for myself.

“My dad has been dead for 10 years now and my mum for two-and-a-half. They both had a good innings. They were elderly when they went and they?d been sweethearts since they were 20. They went to school together, came from the same area, grew up together.

“This was a promise that I?d made to my mum ? that I?d do something with my singing. She was the reason I pursued my singing. She had a good belief that I could do it. I couldn?t straight away because the bereavement hit me hard.

“My confidence had been pretty good at the time. But when you lose someone as powerful as your mum, you feel as if a part of you is taken away.

“A good way of levelling out, I found, was to tell myself that she may not be here physically and mentally, but spiritually she is. That?s what keeps you going. I have my faith which is the backbone of who I am.

“I?m getting over that slowly and putting my promise into practice.”

Susan talked further, about the musical family from which she comes.

“Oh, we were quite a squad,? she says. ?All very musical. My dad used to sing, my mother sang and played piano. I have two sisters who are very good singers. My brother Joe was a good songwriter, too. We were a wee bit like the von Trapps. We loved the Beatles in the 1960s. I was a wee lassie and we?d sit and watch Top of the Pops, and wait for them and the Rolling Stones to come on.

“My dad hated the programme, so he used to turn it down. But I used to turn it back up for devilment. My father was a fair sort of a person, mind you, but he caused a lot of arguments over that programme. We were never allowed to go to the local dance hall, but I had a sister who used to shimmy down the drainpipes and sneak out. Gradually my brothers and sisters flew the nest.”

At the moment, Susan maintains she is too busy with music to think about romance, even if she wanted to! However, any future boyfriend of Susan would need to be accepted by her family, so says Gerry Boyle. In an interview with an Australian magazine, he said: “Our family is very protective of Susan. Anyone coming into a circle from a romantic angle would have to go through the rigour.

?She becomes attached very easily to people so she has to be careful. There has to be a bit of reality in her life. I think the world realises that she is fragile. She?s desperately keen to be loved again.?

Susan also spoke about her school days, and the times when she was bullied. She said: “I started to get bullied at school. They used to knock me about a bit and make me cry. There?s nothing worse than another person having power over you by bullying you.

?For anybody with that kind of problem, I?d tell them to see a teacher, but I didn?t do it.

?I didn?t think I could trust anybody and it made me a bit of a sitting target.

?By the time I got to secondary school, I wasn?t sure who was my friend or enemy. I didn?t make friends very easily. I did try, but they made fun of me and I felt pushed aside.”

Now Susan has lots of money and fans the world over. Nevertheless, brother Gerry cautions: “Now that Britain?s Got Talent has gone, she?s got a commitment. She has to sing, she has to travel, she?s in the working world the same as the rest of us. I think Susan will have to realise that staying at the top takes a heck of a lot.”

I know that I for one can’t wait to hear her second album.

Pre-order sales at Amazon have been proceeding extremely briskly, with more than two million requests in two weeks, according to a report in the Daily Mirror. The album is set to become Amazon’s biggest CD pre-order in their history.

An industry source told the Mirror: “We haven’t seen this before. It’s seven months ahead of the release and already people are putting in requests for pre-sales. It’s an incredible achievement already.”

Susan is to start work recording the album in two weeks time. She said: “I’m hoping to make it better and a bit extra special.”

A spokesman for Amazon said: “We are certain it will make the Xmas No 1 spot. It’s not often you can say that in April.”

A spokesman for Amazon.co.uk told The Telegraph: “Just eight months ago, no one was aware of the talents of Susan Boyle. Now, she has generated more Amazon pre-order CD sales globally than any other artist.”

However, I would like to draw your attention to another young artist, Hollie Steel, who’s debut single “Where are you Christmas?” has just become available for pre-order, the release date being December 7th.

Hollie Steel was in the final on Britain’s Got Talent alongside Susan Boyle, and charmed the nation with her amazing voice. Compared to a young Julie Andrews / Audrey Hepburn, Hollie is a well grounded young lady from a lovely, supportive family whom I have met.? If you would like to hear a preview of some tracks from Hollie’s forthcoming album, you can do so on her Official MySpace Page.

Hollie’s family have paid themselves to put the album together, and Hollie needs 6,000 pre-orders in order for the single to be stocked in the HMV stores here in the UK on release.

Support this lovely girl and? pre-order Hollie’s single (it costs ?1.99, delivery is free in the UK. Shipping to Europe is ?2.50 and the Rest Of The World ?4.50.)

Here is a recent video of Hollie performing in Hong Kong:

Michael Buble, the Canadian singer, is backing Susan Boyle to become number one by vowing to buy 20 copies of her album when it’s released.

Michael became a fan of Susan after watching her performance of “I Dreamed A Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year.

Susan’s album, which is due out on November 23rd, has already achieved the highest pre-release sales in the history of Amazon.com, despite them restricting the number of purchases to a maximum of 3 per person.

Buble said: ?I didn?t understand Susan Boyle. I was cynical and critical because I had never seen her in that first show where she comes up and says, ?I want to be a singer,? and the audience looks at her and says, ?Oh please!? I got goosebumps.

?I?m going to go, when this record comes out, and buy 20 copies? because what a beautiful story of an underdog.

?It gives me faith in the human condition that we still have that kind of feeling that we actually want the good guy to win. It killed me. It is a really beautiful, beautiful story.?

“I Dreamed a Dream,” will be released by Sony on November 23rd.

“We?re thrilled by how passionate Susan Boyle?s fans have been,”? Craig Pape, senior manager of Music at Amazon.com, told BusinessWire.com. “Although it?s normal to see early enthusiasm for artists who have come off of television shows, the response from our customers to Susan Boyle?s upcoming album has been unprecedented.”

Here is the list of the Top 10 CD pre-orders of all time in the Amazon.com Music Store:

Susan Boyle?s ?I Dreamed a Dream? is currently available for pre-order for $9.99 at Amazon.com and ?8.99 at Amazon.co.uk.

However, Amazon.co.uk currently has no such restriction. I was able to add 20 Susan Boyle albums to my basket without a problem (surely 20 is enough for most people?) I checked out the Amazon.co.uk delivery policy, and they will deliver CDs to North America – see North America Delivery Rates for further details.

For other countries worldwide, full details of the Amazon.co.uk international delivery policies can be found here.

Well, my friends, could this be a loophole?

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes are still offering odds of 5/2 that Susan Boyle will be number one at Christmas on both sides of the Atlantic.

The album is currently still at number one on Amazon.com and has climbed to number 19 on Amazon.co.uk.

Number one on the chart currently is Whitney Houston?s? “I Look to You”. However, Susan’s album is placed above the remastered Beatles album, “Abbey Road”.

The complete track listing is currently a mystery, but will no doubt contain “I Dreamed a Dream” as that is the name of the album. Other tracks thought to be listed include “Cry Me a River” and a Rolling Stones cover song. “Memory” might also appear, as Susan also sang that song on Britain’s Got Talent.

It is also not known which track will be the debut single, but “I Dreamed a Dream” is a likely choice.

Susan’s fans are hoping that Susan will get the Christmas number one spot for both her album and her single, making a fairy tale ending to the year for our favourite Scottish songstress.