It was painful to watch her try to control her nerves.

So it wasn't really surprising yesterday when word came from across the pond that Boyle was being treated for exhaustion at London's Priory Clinic, checking in a day after she finished second to the dance troupe Diversity, the London Sun reported.

"Nobody has had to put up with the kind of attention Susan has had. Nobody could have predicted it," show judge Piers Morgan told a British breakfast show. "It has been crazy, she has gone from anonymity to being the most downloaded woman in history."

(Bet Cindy Margolis never thought she'd lose her title to Susan Boyle.)

But Boyle's YouTube clip ("Wow, women who don't look like Britney can actually sing better than Britney"), which was viewed more than 220 million times, led to a media storm which questioned her looks, her awkwardness and her remark that she had never been kissed.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond was scathing about the pressure, saying there were "elements of a press who like nothing better than to build people up and then drag them down."

By Friday, the pressure Boyled over as Susan reportedly went into seclusion after exploding at a pack of tabloid journalists.

TV company TalkbackThames yesterday said Boyle was "exhausted and emotionally drained" and was taking a few days off.

The Priory, one of a chain of mental-health clinics, is known for treating celebs such as Kate Moss and druggie/rocker Pete Doherty.

* In other Susan Boyle news, Piers

Morgan told "Inside Edition" that he had received a call from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who "was very concerned about Susan. He heard what happened and wanted to make sure she was OK," Morgan said.

We're sure President Obama is equally worried about Adam Lambert.

* Speaking of the way the media

builds up and tears down, Tattle came across this Internet headline yesterday on an Australian news site's "Most Popular" Links: "Swayze 'says goodbye as cancer spreads.' "

Uh oh, we thought.

The story talked about how the "Dirty Dancing" star had gathered together his friends and loved ones upon learning that his pancreatic cancer had spread to his liver.

In it, the National Enquirer was reporting Swayze had prepared himself for death.

One problem: Although it was still popular yesterday, the story was written Nov. 28, 2008, meaning Swayze has entered his eighth month of preparations.

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