Susan Boyle sucks her thumb and cries after U.S performance

Just moments after finishing a note-perfect live performance, Susan Boyle was seen on television breaking down in tears.

The 48-year-old had been enjoying lunch with fans at the Rock Centre cafe in New York’s Rockefeller Centre.

But she appeared increasingly withdrawn and started to tremble and suck her thumb. Then, visibly overcome with emotion, she bowed her head and began to sob.

It happened just moments after she was presented with a patchwork quilt knitted together by hundreds of people from 28 countries including the UK, US, Australia, Mexico, Japan and Antarctica.

Perhaps realising she was crying in front of hundred of fans – and the cameras – Susan quickly snapped out of it and performed a lively dance.

A spokesman for Miss Boyle said: ‘She was just overjoyed and extremely touched with the reception she had had from everyone in America.’

But the incident, at the end of  a whistle-stop promotional tour of the US, has prompted fresh questions about the Scottish singer’s ability to cope with her new found celebrity.

It is only months since she was catapulted to stardom on Britain’s Got Talent, leading to worldwide fame – and a spell in The Priory Clinic.

She checked in to the rehabilitation centre hours after coming second to dance group Diversity on the talent show in May.

Since then, she has kept a relatively low profile as she recorded her debut album, I Dreamed A Dream – already the biggest advance CD seller in history.

It has sold 134,000 copies in the UK on its first day of release on Monday. The figure, which is more than many major artists sell in an entire week, has surprised even industry experts.

It is now expected to sell nearly 400,000 copies this week, making it the fastest selling album of the year and outstripping some of the world’s biggest stars including Robbie Williams and Mariah Carey.

Miss Boyle, who had learning difficulties as a child, has spent the last few weeks promoting her CD, including travelling to the States.

She drew huge applause as she singing in front of a crowd of hundreds outside the Rockefeller Centre.