If we learned one thing from Monday night's "America's Got Talent: The Champions," it's that Scottish singer Susan Boyle has still got major singing chops.
Boyle competed for the first time on the U.S. version of the internationally-successful singing competition program as part of the top tier of winners over the years, and once again blew everyone away with her powerful, emotive voice.
Naturally, her rendition of The Rolling Stones' 1971 hit "Wild Horses" earned her a Golden Buzzer from judge Mel B — and a standing ovation.
"What an absolute honor and pleasure it is to be sitting here and listening to you (and) your angelic voice," said the former Spice Girl. "I want to be the woman who gives you something you deserve."
"I can't think of any other contestant who has defined this show better than you," judge Simon Cowell told her, reflecting back on her initial 2009 appearance on "Britain's Got Talent."
Back then Boyle was 47, shy and a bit frumpy — not your typical reality show contestant. She told judge Simon Cowell she'd never been kissed. But when she opened her mouth to launch into "I Dreamed A Dream" from "Les Miserables," the entire audience hushed ... and broke out into applause.
"Before 'Britain's Got Talent,' people saw me as somebody quite ordinary," Boyle said in an interview from the show before she performed.
She did not actually win "Britain's Got Talent," despite becoming a viral sensation, though. She came in second, and went on to become a solid recording artist. "I've sold over 20-million-odd records," she said. "Even I'm overwhelmed."
But that runner-up position lends her competing on "America's Got Talent" even more importance. "I have something to prove," she said.
This isn't her first time on the "AGT" stage; Boyle performed on the second semifinal results show of Season 6 in 2011. She's also topped the U.S. and UK charts over the years, and starred in her own 2009 TV special, "I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story."
Earning a Golden Buzzer Monday means she'll advance directly to the finals round, so "AGT" has certainly not seen the last of Boyle.
Whatever happens, she said, she already feels like a champ, and hopes to inspire "those who don't have the confidence to do things, for those who don't have a voice (and) the ones who people tend to ignore."