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Classic musical numbers. Heavenly spiritual hymns. Holiday favorites. These are the types of songs that Susan Boyle has performed impeccably throughout her singing career en route to becoming a household name. But believe it or not, Boyle has a secret weapon up her sleeve: covering iconic classic rock songs.

The America’s Got Talent legend took the stage for the U.K.-based Children in Need fundraiser in 2014 and stunned the world with a version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”

Watch Susan Boyle’s transcendent “Wish You Were Here” performance here.

In a word? Awe-inspiring. Whether you consider yourself a Pink Floyd fan or not (or a Susan Boyle fan, for that matter), there’s no denying that Boyle’s beautiful cover is original and dramatic. Operatic, even. The spirit of the classic song was kept intact — but Boyle’s soaring, angelic vocals gave it new meaning and renewed inspiration.

The 63-year-old has come a long way from her 2009 Britain’s Got Talent Audition that turned her into an overnight superstar. In a 2019 interview with Sunday Post, she candidly revealed that anxiety almost got the best of her before her famous Audition.

“When I look back on the day I auditioned for BGT, I had lots of nervousness,” Boyle explained. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I went on for a good time and a good giggle, and the good giggle has turned into something very nice, so there you go.”

It’s turned into something more than simply “very nice” — her time on BGT launched her singing career that’s still going strong today.

Here’s what to know about “Wish You Were Here”
Released in 1975 as part of their ninth studio album of the same name, “Wish You Were Here” continues to be one of the legendary band’s most significant recordings. In 2024, it’s still regularly heard on classic rock radio. Although it didn’t make an impact on the Billboard charts as a single in 1975, it helped propel the entire Wish You Were Here album to the top of the Billboard 200 LPs chart.

In 2017, Billboard proclaimed “Wish You Were Here” as the number-one song on its list of 50 greatest Pink Floyd tracks. The song’s lyrics were specifically praised, with Billboard declaring, “its ultimate feeling is one of human connection, of needing friends and family and loved ones to give you a reason to keep fighting in the first place.”