Susan Boyle Opens Up About Bullying on ‘Oprah’

Scottish songbird Susan Boyle took the stage of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Tuesday (October 19) for the biggest performance of its 25-year history. The Britain's Got Talent superstar spoke in-depth about her new album (The Gift), her new memoir (The Woman I Was Born to Be), and performing for the Pope and meeting her teenage crush, Donny Osmond.

Boyle also revealed her personal experiences about a controversial topic that's been hitting the headlines a lot this year: bullying.

"[Bullies were] burning my clothes with a cigarette and stuff like that and trying to trip me up," she told Oprah. "It wasn't really human. I was being hit around the head, stuff like that."

Boyle also elaborated on the long-lasting effects of bullying. "[There was] really repeated name calling," Boyle explained. "It made me feel as if nobody loved me. I really didn't matter. I was just a target. Once you give bullies that power, they've really got a hold on you."

She also credits singing for keeping her spirits up, adding that it was the one thing she could use as her defense against her aggressors. "I couldn't do the fisticuffs because, to be honest, I was an absolute coward," she added. "What you do is you do well in something and you try and gain their respect in some way, and that's what I was trying to do with my singing."

The Gift, Boyle’s follow-up to her best-selling 2009 debut I Dreamed a Dream, arrives November 9th via Columbia. Her autobiography, The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story Autobiography by Susan Boyle, hit store shelves last week.

Check out Susan Boyle's performance of the Crowded House hit "Don't Dream It's Over" with a 60-person choir below.