The artist: Susan Boyle

The album: I Dreamed a Dream (Sony)

The spin: The half-year since Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent debut has been a painful one for the fans who turned that Internet video into a worldwide phenomenon. Would Boyle fall apart under the pressure of instant fame? Would Simon Cowell and company give the Everywoman such a polish she’d no longer be recognizable?

It’s hard to imagine many of that group will be disappointed with I Dreamed a Dream, which comes close to delivering what’s expected and was clearly made by people who knew better than to try to change the singer’s style. But the record isn’t nearly as good as it might have been, and its sometimes monotonous vibe won’t persuade many listeners who aren’t already in the fan club.

Though it showcases the pretty side of Boyle’s voice, occasionally even letting her be playful (the whisper and croon of “Cry Me a River,” for instance), “Dream” is surprisingly short on power. Yes, the stirring title track is here, and Boyle displays some convincing pop expressiveness on “Proud,” but elsewhere it’s as if she and producer Steve Mac are holding back. Mac doesn’t help matters when, bizarrely, he lets Boyle get lost among the backup choir in “Amazing Grace” and pushes the synths full tilt just as she’s working her hardest to sell the Madonna cover “You’ll See.”

Some strange choices turn out nicely — Boyle certainly makes the Stones’ “Wild Horses” her own — but what’s with the 5 mph take on “Daydream Believer” that makes the song sound like a breakup ballad?

A more earthy production would have gone a long way here, but the slick shimmer does work for “Silent Night.” (Just try to avoid that one in the month to come.) Maybe now that the overnight sensation has delivered a record that doesn’t break the hearts of the faithful, next time around she can let herself go just a bit.

The grade: C

– John DeFore