Singing sensation Susan Boyle's first album soared to No. 1 on US album charts Wednesday with sales of 701,000 copies, beating new releases by Adam Lambert and Rihanna and becoming the best-selling debut of 2009. Boyle, 48, a frumpy Scottish singer who became an international YouTube phenomenon after appearing on TV show “Britain's Got Talent”, also topped the British album charts earlier this week. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” release through Sony Music Entertainment, marked the best US opening of a female artist's debut album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, Billboard.com said. It was also the fastest selling album in Britain this year and has topped the charts in Australia and Ireland. Billboard said only one album in SoundScan's tracking history had seen a bigger opening week than Boyle. US rapper Snoop Dogg's album “Doggystyle” sold 803,000 copies in its first week in 1993 - before traditional album sales began tumbling in the face of piracy.
