After pondering this question for some time, I conclude that part of my reaction - and a good part of Susan's appeal for me - comes from her confidence & sense of humor. When we first see Susan, she's backstage eating a sandwich. So what? - but most of us, shortly before going on national TV for the first time, would probably be doing a Jamie Pugh, not eating a sandwich. Then Ant & Dec ask her if she's nervous. "Yeah, sure, no?" and sort of braces her arms. Very endearing. Then the whole bit about living alone w/ cat, never married, never kissed - but before it has a chance to get pathetic, she turns it into a joke. When she walks on stage, all I could think of was Monty Python - the Pythons, TerryJones in particular, in drag doing their British Housewife bit. I thought this was going to be a comedy act, esp. after the hip grind. THEN she sang. It was amazing. When finished, she just turns and walks offstage!! Adorable, and genuine. Her reaction to the judges was sweet. But when Simon told her that he knew, from the minute she walked on stage, that they were going to hear something extraordinary - well, Monty Python was back!! "Oh, Simon!!! (squeaky laugh)" Her reaction to the judging itself was unbelievably moving. The Happy Dance was heartfelt - topped only by the way she composed herself, blew a kiss, and in the most dignified fashion, walked off stage. Watching her absorb it all back stage ("Oh my God! Oh my God!") was unbelievably moving again. Then, as someone wrote on-line, that youngest child of nine, teased and mocked, finally broke down & cried only when she was alone. It breaks my heart that she likely went to that audition alone.
Knowing what we now seem to know about Susan, she appears to be quite a cut-up. When she said that she was "47 - but that's just one side of me!" she wasn't kidding. There's the frowzy 47-year-old spinster; the Monty Python middle-aged woman; the amazing singing talent, overlooked for so long; the shy, retiring, dutiful daughter; and then, there's the Little Tiger, up for a laff with the Irn Bru guy. What a combo! Somewhere in there, we can all relate.
I've never seen anyone go from "totally unknown" to "household word" in approx. 48 hours. The first week was a free-for-all, with media roaming around her house, etc. Took her (and BGT) a week or so to get a handle on it. Then, it was media harrassment as she tried to resume life as she knew it, and came to grips with the fact that that's probably gone for good. Once she took Simon's advice and started to limit the media access, she seemed to adjust to the situation and to start to really enjoy it. Now, I think her confidence is coming to the front, with world-wide approval and endorsements from major stage big shots. I truly expect her to blow us away on Sunday, and to put the final nail in the BGT coffin next weekend. I never in a million years expected to enjoy something like this as much as I have - following Susan on a day-to-day basis, and the back 'n forth with the members on this site. What a wild ride!