The Week in Viral Videos

Eye-opening videos viraled through the Net this week, leaving trails of laughter, tears, and awestruck blog posts.

Begin with the phenomenon of Susan Boyle, the frumpy 47-year-old who went on the TV show Britain's Got Talent, received derisive chuckles for her dowdy looks and her dream of singing professionally—then stunned everyone with a soaring, opera-quality performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables (video here; get out your handkerchiefs).

The "spinster...who lives with her cat and has never been kissed...totally wiped the smug smiles off the faces of Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell with the first notes that emerged from her mouth," raves Undacovasista. "What a wonderful story in this age of media cynicism," says Chuck Warnock.

A Tennessee pastor who blogs at WithoutWax.Tv wrote that the vid taught him "an important lesson": "In our world today we think only the pretty can be succesful.
We think respect and honor should be reserved for those who look and act a certain way....I got nauseous watching this video wondering how many Susan Boyles come in and out of [church] each week unnoticed, unloved and undiscovered."