Susan Boyle soared to the top of the U.S. album charts with her debut album, setting a 2009 record of 701,000 copies sold.

Boyle’s I Dreamed a Dream, which was released last week, marked the best U.S. opening of a female artist’s debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, according to Billboard magazine.

The middle-aged Scottish singer who became an international  sensation in April after appearing on TV show Britain’s Got Talent, also topped the British album charts earlier this week.