Susan Boyle Gets Candid with Oprah About Bullying and Performs Track from The Gift

On the Tuesday, October 19th, edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Susan Boyle got a little one-on-one time with the talk show queen and discussed facing bullies in her own life as a child. Bullying has been prominent in the news due to recent suicides among gay teens and others who have experienced it and many celebrities have spoken out against the issue as part of the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Check out more about"It Gets Better."

The Scottish singer shared, "Bullies were burning my clothes with cigarettes and stuff like that and trying to trip me up. It wasn't really human. I was being hit around the head...That is the physical, but the more hurtful is the psychological. Name-calling. Really repeated name-calling." Boyle continued, "It made me feel as if nobody loved me. I didn't really matter. I was just a target. Once you give bullies that power, they've really got a hold on you."

The Britain's Got Talent alum also revealed how she dealt with the situation and it all comes down to the old adage that living well is the best revenge. She explained, "What you do is you do well in something and you try and gain their respect in some way, and that's what I was trying to do with my singing." Nowadays, Susan said that she feels "loved," and added "that's something I didn't feel when I was younger."

While on Oprah, Boyle treated the viewing audience to a rendition of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" complete with a 60 member children's choir. The song is set to appear on Susan's upcoming Christmas album The Gift which hits stores on November 8th. Check out the performance below:

Nikita Palmer (@CitadelNow) for Citadel Digital © 2010