Susan Boyle, Shooting Star

(CBS)  It comes out of nowhere, lights up the night sky for one brief, exciting moment - then disappears. It's the story of a shooting star, and some say, the story of Susan Boyle, as CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports.

Over seven weeks, the YouTube sensation was transformed into a genuine celebrity, and when Susan Boyle sang in the talent show final Saturday night, almost a third of Britain was watching on TV.

Nineteen million people tuned in to see the improbable star come right to the brink of finishing first - and come in second.

The winner: a high-energy dance group called Diversity. Boyle's only prize, was praise.

"You've had the guts to come back here tonight and face your critics, and you beat them," judge Simon Cowell told Boyle.

She may have beat the critics, with a smile and a shuffle. But within hours a candid photo showed a different face, and she was checked in - 'exhausted and emotionally drained,' her handlers said - to a private mental clinic.

Her voice coach said she was just a vulnerable woman: an innocent, caught up in the fame game.

He still carries a letter she wrote him.

"Dear Fred, You are the first person to tell me you liked me. I've been crying ever since. No one's ever told me that before," voice teacher Fred O'Neil read from the letter.

Friends and family say Boyle's resting now, but doing fine - finally back out of the spotlight.

[arohanui-2009]

The questions from the judges after her performance sealed her fate... vultures the lot of them! What a crock and what a set up to ensure she lost to a dance troup the likes of which are a dime a dozen in the States.

[rwsmith29456]

I would say rather than finishing, Susan Boyle is just starting. She needs to work on things like expanding her repertoire and find songs that are right for her and put out a cd. these last few weeks have been great exposure for her but at an awful price.

[kerry4ever]

I think she can have a good career but needs to concentrate on recording rather than performance. The BGT format simply gave her 6 weeks of unrelenting stress, whereas a record every six months, with maybe a few well managed personal appearances should do her no harm, and keep her in touch with her public. It was the unrelenting pressure that caused the problem, and Cowell is no fool and will not risk harming the goose that will lay him the golden egg.

[serafim2-2009]

It is no wonder that Miss Susan Boyle is suffering from exhaustion, but, although her first appearance on the world stage was certainly a refulgent shooting star, I see it as the omen of the beginning of a stellar singing career, of a star set in the heavens as immovable as the Morning Star. Miss Boyle has the support of countless millions of persons worldwide who were mesmerised by her voice, the voice of the nightingale who made the Emperor weep, but who could not continue singing within the confines of a cage. It seems she has the complete support of the judges of "Britain's Got Talent" and that there is at least one CD contract in the works. No, I do not think we have seen or heard the last of Miss Susan Boyle. May she continue to delight and console us with her talents for decades to come. She is strong; she will learn to soar above the sordid trash of papparazzi and tabloids. Give the Lady time!

[rwsmith29456]

These last few weeks she's lived would have been too much for anybody. The question is will she still pursue her dream where she has established a strong foothold or sink back into obscurity. I personally think that she has a future in music if she takes a more reasonable pace and develops her repertoire.

[MartyPA]

Amanda Holden is wrong about Susan condition.
Oxygen deprivation at birth, or at any time, DOES cause brain damage.
They were aware of Susan's condition and how she'd react to things, but she wasn't protected.
Had she been kept away from the media in London, she would have been just fine.
She was harrassed by the journalists and they knew how she'd react.
It worked out perfectly for them because they didn't want her to win.