LONDON � In the physics of entertainment, this is Boyle�s law: If Susan the human supernova is on the telly, then a gazillion viewers are sure to be trailing, comet-like, in her wake.

The truth of that axiom is set to be demonstrated this weekend as �Britain�s Got Talent,� the star-search reality show that made frowzy, frizzy-haired Susan Boyle a household name from Argentina to Zimbabwe, enters its highly anticipated semifinal phase.
Officially, it�s still a secret whether the singing Scotswoman will be among the contestants to progress to the next round of the competition; the fortunate 40 are to be announced Saturday, the day before Britain�s ITV network begins broadcasting the semifinals live over five nights next week.
But for Boyle not to make the cut would be a public-relations disaster � not to mention a colossal business blunder � that would probably trigger a bigger popular revolt in this country than the present dust-up over politicians who claimed horse manure on the taxpayer dime.
�It�s almost impossible,� Julia Hobsbawm, head of the media analysis firm Editorial Intelligence, said of the chances Boyle would be passed over. �If popularity and the popular consciousness is anything to go by, she�s still very much in the bloodstream of opinion. That hasn�t abated.�
The show�s producers and its panel of judges, including the omnipresent Simon Cowell, are certainly aware that to vote Boyle off would be to kill their golden-egg-laying goose. Since her initial appearance on the program April 11, when she wowed the audience with her rendition of �I Dreamed a Dream� from the musical �Les Miserables,� the 47-year-old charity worker has gone on to become a global phenomenon. That has come either in spite of or because of � depending on whom you ask � her bushy-browed looks and self-proclaimed virginal innocence.
It�s been almost six weeks and Boyle-mania has barely waned. The fires have been stoked by appearances on �Oprah� and the �Today� show, admiring comments from Demi Moore and Patti LuPone, and endless commentaries on what her fame means in jaded, irony-soaked Britain.
The YouTube video of that first audition has now racked up a staggering 58 million hits � nearly as many people as live in the United Kingdom.
�Oh, my God, on all the shows I�ve ever worked on, far and away� Boyle has been the biggest sensation, said Sara Lee, the program�s publicist. �I don�t think anybody in the U.K. has seen anything like this.�
As proof of Boyle�s instant fame, it wasn�t long before the British media treated her the way they do just about every homegrown celebrity: by trying to take her down a peg.
She was dismissed by one commentator as a �pretty good singer, but � not a great singer.� Others aloof from the general mood of adulation have said the same.
Britain�s pull-no-punches tabloids then took Boyle to task for succumbing to the temptation of a makeover, though by all accounts it was an inexpensive indulgence � less than $60 � to lend just a little color and shape to the over-exuberant gray locks that had prompted more than one or two public snickers.
�Out went the virgin sensation�s unkempt, shapeless mop. In came a modern, wavy, brunet style to complement the slimmed-down eyebrows she�d had trimmed for 5 pounds (about $7.50) days earlier,� reported the Sun. The paper alleged that the producers of �Britain�s Got Talent� were �frantic� that Boyle�s endearingly frumpy looks were about to change.
More serious were the whispers that her image of a dowdy, lonely spinster was a slightly exaggerated one. Not long after her performance, she backtracked on her much-ballyhooed declaration that she�d �never been kissed,� saying that actually, she�d �never stopped.�
But the backlash against Boyle was mild compared with the venom often shown toward the rich and famous here. And the general contours of her biography � the humble background, the mild learning disabilities, the grief at her mother�s death, the quiet life at home with a pet cat and the unkind teasing from neighborhood children � have stood up to scrutiny.
Together, they formed an irresistible brew for a battered British public seeking relief from the misery of a nose-diving economy, a self-serving Parliament and a slew of bad news.
�She�s really the ugly duckling story,� Hobsbawm said. �She�s not the prettiest kitten in the box, and yet she has the sweetest voice. And that is a good story.�
�The British public loves an underdog. The whole world does. Susan especially is the ultimate underdog,� added Lee.
That, however, isn�t really an accurate description anymore. According to Britain�s bookmakers, Boyle is now the odds-on favorite to win �Britain�s Got Talent� when it wraps up May 30.