Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer whose talent show performance catapulted her to global stardom, arrived in Japan on Tuesday to perform on a New Year’s Eve music gala watched by millions.

Boyle waved cheerfully to fans as she was escorted through Narita airport east of Tokyo, declining a request by television networks to give an impromptu song on the spot.

She is due to appear on Japan’s best-known music extravaganza, public broadcaster NHK’s year-end “Kohaku Uta Gassen”, which literally means “Red and White Song Battle” and has been running since 1951.

The plain, unemployed 48-year-old’s soaring voice was discovered in April when she stunned judges on the “Britain’s Got Talent” television show with her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables”.

Although she ended up as the runner-up in the competition, footage of her singing became a YouTube hit, with more than 100 million viewings.

The church volunteer’s first album, “I Dreamed a Dream”, was the best-selling debut in British chart history and it also topped the US charts.

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