By now, you’ve probably heard the story about Susan Boyle. She is the unlikely contestant from Britain’s Got Talent and she took everyone by surprise with her amazing voice.
As she took the stage for her first audition, the audience and the judges laughed at her. As a 47-year-old virgin (take that, Steve Carell) from small-town Scotland, Susan is not your prototypical contestant on a talent show like this. She’s not exactly attractive, but she had big ambitions to be a professional singer. She wowed the crowd and now she has become an Internet sensation.
Somehow, this middle-aged spinster has become a media darling. Boyle has already been interviewed by The Today Show and I hear that she will be making appearances (via satellite, presumably) with both Oprah and Larry King. Who cares about the other Britain’s Got Talent contestants, right? Everyone seems so enamored with Boyle, whose YouTube video is at 20 million views and counting, but I’m not quite so convinced. For now, I’m reserving judgment on Susan Boyle.
Don’t Judge a Book…
There’s something to be said about the efficiency of snap judgments and the inefficiency of too much information. At the same time, those snap judgments can oftentimes be incorrect and that’s precisely what happened with one Susan Boyle. Everyone in the audience, Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan included, judged this book by its cover. They saw a middle-aged woman who had never been kissed, lived in a small village, and did not look like a superstar. They surmised quickly that she would fail. Well, she didn’t.
Yes, there is absolutely a lesson to be learned here. Everyone deserves a fair shot at success and we shouldn’t allow our preconceived notions to cloud our perceptions, especially if these preconceived notions are largely unrelated. Susan Boyle wants to be a professional singer. How does it matter how old she is? How does it matter where she lives or how she looks? I don’t foresee her being much of a pop star, per se, but she could find a place on Broadway perhaps.
Don’t Believe the Hype…
Yes, Boyle has become quite the Internet sensation and everyone is jumping for joy over her amazing success thus far, but we also have to realize that this was just one performance. Even when she belted out a sample on The Today Show on NBC, it was the same song she belted out on Britain’s Got Talent. Can she handle different genres? Different styles? How will she handle direction? Are we not judging the book by its cover again?
I’m not buying into the hype. In watching the video, I think that she does a good job, but it wasn’t anything astoundingly spectacular for me. She may still win me over in the weeks to come, but she could have easily blended into the background if she was an ambitious 20-something instead. Ironically, it’s because of her humble origins and lot in life that we have taken an interest.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, here is the clip of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. Judge for yourself.
“I think that she does a good job, but it wasn’t anything astoundingly spectacular for me”
“…it’s because of her humble origins and lot in life that we have taken an interest.”
Agreed.
the hype around Ms. Boyle is based on the idea that her voice does not match her appearance. Had she a more mainstream appearance, would her performance be as notable? She would have probably passed to the next round of judging, she does have a beautiful voice, but she certainly would not have had the media all abuzz.
I don’t think that she was in any way making herself out to be a star. She just wanted, as she stated, to sing in front of a large audience and she got her wish. She had had some hopes to be a professional singer but obviously hadn’t taken it very far. It’s not really about humble origins or beginnings, it’s more about humble choices and a humble life which she has lived all 48 years. A lovely voice, a sweet lady. She never said she was a star, she just said she wanted to sing. The rest of it is what we have created around her. And if the world really wants to make a star of her then with training, makeover, manipulation etc. it will be totally possible (you don’t think they don’t do that to the others, do you?). I hope she stays as she is, though. That is what is so captivating. She is an ordinary woman with a beautiful voice. The rest of us have been trained like monkeys to expect that there should be something bigger and better in order to admire someone.
I don’t think that she was making herself out to be a star either, but the media attention around this lady has blown her abilities way out of proportion. She’s good, very good even, but is she really so much better than the countless other “very good” singers out there?
I don’t think it’s ALL about her appearance and origins, though of course that adds to the drama of her “underdog” myth. I can tell you first hand that “I Dreamed A Dream” is a difficult song, written for a mezzo-soprano. It’s also incredibly well-known, with memorable performances by Randy Graff, Patti LuPone, and others. She did a stunning job. And more than being frumpy and virginal, she’s 47 and came from NOWHERE with an incredibly polished presentation of a demanding piece. For me at least, it’s not that she doesn’t pluck her eyebrows, it’s that she’s 47 and still chasing her dream. She went for it. How much easier to continue singing in church and stay safe. That’s what’s moving about her story to me.
Did anyone see the numbers in on the impact this woman is having on the Internet, it’s hysteria!
Who cares if she can sing or not, she will make someone alot of money if marketed right. (LOL, I’m not really THAT cynical).
But regardless of the money thing, I thought she had an awesome voice, and the woman who sang the original version, (Ms. Patti LuPone), was also pretty impressed, per. her comments on the morning shows the day or two after.
Wrath of Nino on Susan Boyle
I think Susan Boyle is a wonderful singer and I’m thrilled for her to get the chance to sing before a wide audience. There is nothing I like more than seeing somebody pursue their passion and I hope she carries this as far as she wants to.
I suppose for me it boils down to what the purpose of this show is. If it’s really to discover Britain’s most talented performer, then her looks don’t matter either way and all of this hype is ridiculous. If it’s to provide entertainment and a positive, feel good experience for the audience, then this is perfect (as long as Ms. Boyle doesn’t feel exploited by this attention, which doesn’t seem to be the case). One objective isn’t better than the other.
I think we must factor in that the material she sang is very moving and extremely effective. I think she sang it very well, but there’s no doubt that the audience’s immediate and overwhelming enthusiasm augmented the overall perception. I always wonder too about the editing of those YouTubes and what it was really like in the room as opposed to how the final clip was presented.
At any rate it is a fascinating subject. I’m taking a very interested “wait and see” approach as well.
To the commentator who asked “Had she a more mainstream appearance, would her performance be as notable?”…
If she had an appearance that was marketable (no disrespect intended, it’s about the media, not this sweet girl) she would be in London or New York or Vegas or LA. She wouldn’t have lived more than half of a small life in the wilds somewhere outside of Glasgow.
On a related note,Celine Dion is kinda funny looking but interested parties have been working on her appearance since she was a child.
I don’t think that’s completely fair, because I’m sure that there are some very attractive people who live their whole lives in small towns. They may not be as “polished” or “refined” as their big city counterparts, but they can be very good-looking. No disrespect, but that’s clearly not the case with Boyle.
And yes, I agree that Celine Dion is “kinda funny looking” too.
Good looking people who want to be singers and have talent often go places, though it doesn’t always work out well.
It’s very possible that selfless priorities kept Miss Susan Boyle at home rather than it being a case of her being passed over by people who could have been benefactors.
Oh, BTW, she has recorded something for a charity record before, in a completely different style and I think we can agree she sounded pretty good. I should add that I have been a professional singer for 20 years and she knows what she’s doing.
http://bit.ly/8okGT
Funny you talk about snap judgments and decisions. Everyone of these comments and the post itself are snap judgments of a persons appearance, her talent, background, and the songs she has sung.
Every decision we make, even to not make a decision, is a decision that is based on the facts we have at that moment. We all need to step back, process all the facts, including that she sang a different verse of a different song on Larry King with “NO MUSIC” and impressed the talent shows judge who was also on Larry King. She also sang on Anderson Cooper 360, which means she is making the rounds of the media and will never be alone in Scotland ever again.
Give her a break, she has a minimum of 2 more performances, before she wins anything. She has done well for now, she has a great voice, but can she do it live now that she has all this attention?
My comment neither contained nor was intended to convey anything resembling a snap judgment. I don’t think the original post did either.
Thanks Jenny. I think the point of my post was that I’m not entirely sure what to think of Miss Boyle just yet. She’s got talent–that much is clear–but is she really any better than the countless other singers trying to break into the business?
That said, it’s good to see that no matter you origins, no matter your background, no matter your age, there is always an opportunity to succeed. You just have to grab it.
You didn’t understand the thrust of my point.
All decisions or non decisions or judgments are made in a moment, in a snap. We all make judgments just like that. It’s the ones that we don’t make and wait to process that are real decisions and judgments.
With Susan Boyle being thrust into the mainstream with the media in just the past few days we are all getting a a flood of input and are making judgments or decisions based on incomplete data.
I didn’t say that anyone’s comment wasn’t right, just that we are making a judgments based on too little important input.
In fact, Michael’s decision to not make a judgment is a good thing. As I said at the end of my first comment, she still has a ways to go and we can make better judgments as she continues in the public eye.
There’s a place for her on Broadway if she can get the proper voice training.
It’s just a little sad that people are ‘blown away’ by stuff like this because frankly, I’ve been listening to people with amazing voices for years and years. She’s good, she’s not Rebecca Caine or Sarah Brightman good, but she’s got a lot of promise.
Susan Boyle got a beautiful voice, no doubt about it.
But the media hype surrounding her performance on Britain’s Got Talent is totally ridiculous.
If she wins the competition, people would probably say how could she not win given all this media hoopla. Would this be fair to her?
And should she not win it, the media circus would probably be out in full force, dissecting every possible reasons for her loss. Would this be fair to the eventual winner?
This is part and parcel of showbusiness but the lady just want a stage to express herself, give her a break!