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After what must have been the most exhausting weeks of her life, Scottish singer Susan Boyle placed second on “Britain’s Got Talent” and was promptly hospitalized for exhaustion at a London mental health clinic. Although she was widely considered the favorite to win the reality TV show, Boyle lost the competition to a male dance group called Diversity.

According to published reports, Boyle seemed relieved when the winner of the show was announced, beating her by a 4.7% margin. Boyle said that the best act had won and wished Diversity all the best.

Boyle’s April debut catapulted the shy churchgoer into one of the most public faces in entertainment. The video of her first appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent” has drawn more than 220 million views, making it the fifth most-watched video in YouTube history.

Boyle told Oprah that she was “loving every second” of the media attention, but by the finals, she seemed less sure. The day before her appearance in the finals, Boyle exploded at aggressive tabloid journalists and seemed anxious during her performance, a reprise of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables.

The media scrutiny, which Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond said contained “elements of a press who like nothing better than to build people up and then drag them down,” appeared to have taken its toll on Boyle. Everything from her appearance to her social awkwardness to her never-been-kissed remark was dissected by journalists, bloggers, and reporters.

Last Monday, TV company TalkbackThames said that Boyle had become “exhausted and emotionally drained” and needed a few days off to recover from her recent experiences. She was released later in the week and appeared to be in good spirits.