Susan Boyle: Serious Record-Smasher

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So Susan Boyle's new album? Oh, it just happened to hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, selling 701,000 copies -- the most ever for a female debut artist since SoundScan started keeping track in 1991 -- and shattering a record previously held by resident Murder Inc. tough-bitch Ashanti. If that's not badass enough for you, consider that I Dreamed a Dream also displaced Eminem's Relapse for one-week album sales in 2009 and, in fact, bested a record set in 2008 by AC/freaking/DC! It also topped both Gaga albums currently on the chart and new releases by Rihanna and Miley Cyrus. For a little perspective, the very buzzy For Your Entertainment by Mr. Adam Lambert sold 198,000 copies.

To what do we attribute this remarkable feat of dreamed dreams coming true? Could it be that Boyle has a certain appeal to a certain demographic that's prone to sort of purchasing albums? Or is it just that she's freaking awesome?

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