Susan Boyle Deserves To Be A Swan: Stop Howling About Her Makeover!

When Susan Boyle, the unlikely Britain's Got Talent contestant, stunned Simon Cowell and the rest of the world with her angelic voice, the incongruity of her appearance made her even more enormously captivating.

Before she launched into her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream", no one watching suspected that the gifts of a singing star were hidden inside the frumpy, frizzy-haired package of a 47 year-old spinster from northern Scotland. People in general, and talent scouts like Cowell, don't expect in these sophisticated times to find talent of a world class variety so completely undiscovered and completely camouflaged. Most people with showbiz capabilities and aspirations today make it into the hands of an agent or manager long before hitting middle age. The inner beauty of Susan Boyle is the stuff of fairytales like Shrek, where a gorgeous princess called Fiona is trapped inside an ogre's body.

Now of course in Fiona's situation, when the cartoon character gets the opportunity to shed her ogreness forever, and "look" like a beautiful princess 24/7, she chooses to remain an ogre on the outside in order to be true to herself or something like that. The audience applauds her brave decision and she lives mostly happily-ever-after with her ogre husband, Shrek.

However in Susan Boyle's case, the singing sensation made her first mini makeover moves last week, dying her grey hair brown, cropping off some of her frizzies and trading in her shapeless housedresses for tailored separates and a poppy print dress and pumps. And honestly, she couldn't look more thrilled in her photos to be undergoing the beginnings of a swan-like transformation.

Nevertheless, there have been howls from her new fan base. She's no longer "authentic" is one common criticism. "It's the contrast of her soaring voice with her unassuming appearance" that makes her "special" is another. She won't be "just like us" anymore is the general drift of the concern and that that will render her less appealing.

I say to these critics: you don't walk in Susan Boyle's shoes, whether they are clunky or stylish.

Just as the frumpadump dress she wore on "Britain's Got Talent" didn't diminish her spectacular vocals, neither will an eye-popping print dress take away from them.

It's a fact: no woman chooses to be unattractive. The excitement of a transformative makeover has a long history — fairytales and other stories that pre-date Shrek are full of them, like Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, and Pygmalian.

Susan Boyle deserves to enjoy her moment, and anything she wants to do to enhance her appearance will not erode the quality of her singing voice.

Let's not forget that for every popular singing star in Hollywood whose natural beauty is part of their appeal like Britney, Mariah Carey and Rihanna, there are examples of talents packaged in less conventional bodies. Think of American Idol's Kelly Clarkson, who was also frumpy and pudgy when discovered. Barbara Streisand was a "funny girl," Bette Midler's looks were unique and k.d. Lang dressed like a kooky cowgirl. None were by any means classically beautiful and yet all have enjoyed big careers and undergone various makeovers.

So to those grousing that Susan Boyle colored her hair and that now makes her "inauthentic," give her a break.

She's waited 47 years to show off her totally authentic singing voice. Let the woman revel in her Cinderella makeover — she's earned it!

For more on Susan Boyle, follow Bonnie Fuller at twitter.com/bonniefuller.

Comments

[ForObamaInDallas]

Didn't read the article, but wanted to post that I completely agree with the headline.

Ms. Boyle is rockin' it!

[Retrofuturistic]

Her spirit will shine through, no matter what the outside of her looks like.

[tandrmcdonald]

Have any of these anti-make-over critics asked Susan Boyle how she feels about the make-over? I seriously doubt it; they just open their flap and start spewing their unsolicited opinions. If Miss Boyle doesn't mind why should it be anyone else's business? It isn't as though someone told her to take singing lessons or tried to change that about her.
Get a life!
Gramma Rose

[textynn]

Susan Boyle: Cinderella of the middle aged variety. Go Susan Go. Let the fairy godmother do her thang!!!

[abliss2379]

Maybe she doesn't want her career to consist of people marveling over the incongruity of her voice to appearance, at the expense of her voice. Maybe she has feelings, too, and has begun to feel the sting of some of these comments. Whatever, it's her choice and more power to her.

[Siobhan11]

She got her hair done, put on some makeup, perhaps had her brows shaped. Bought a few articles of clothing. It is not like she had cosmetic surgery.

Good for her. Whatever makes her feel good.

[MTGradwell]

What you fail to realize, and what Susan Boyle herself apparently failed to realize, is that the "Britain's Got Talent" judges own her. As judge Amanda Holden said, "“For now we’ll keep her exactly as she is because that’s why we’ve all fallen in love with her". Boyle will pay dearly for defying that edict, though not in any way that could jeopardize the financial success of her future output.

While wearing his "X factor judge" hat, Simon Cowell arranged for that show to popularize Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", and then to steer two different cover versions of that song towards the coveted UK Christmas no. 1 slot. This was bound to increase interest in other cover versions and in the Leonard Cohen original. What is not readily apparent in all this is that Cowell had bought all rights to the song, having been impressed by a version sung on American Idol about a year ago. Every time any version of the song got airplay it was Cowell, not Cohen, who got royalties. Cowell didn't need to worry about which version hit number 1 and which hit number 2, because he was backing every horse in the race, and stood to be massively enriched whatever happened.

You can be sure that, before you can say "insider trading", the judges will have carved out their stake in the careers of anyone who shows promise in the auditions, and there will be tight contracts governing everything about their promotion, including their appearance.

[JScott]

And Kelly Clarkson was smart to read her contract hire lawyers to find a way to
break it and she did successfully break from Simon et al.

[Ohioan730]

Madonna was never that pretty, either. That didn't stop me from wanting to copy her "Desperately Seeking Susan" style. I thought Susan was fine the way she was because it was novel and new to have a real-lady-­at-the-sup­ermarket type display her talent. I felt a "one of us" kinship with her. Perhaps that was selfish of me. Every lady likes to look her best on TV.

[Camis]

how out of date is the term "spinster" anyway? she is real, like many of us. leave her alone! when we find reality beautiful instead of trying to change reality into a projection of our own fears, we'll be a much happier society. her beauty is precisely in the reality of who she is. it should be honored.

[WilliePilgrim]

One has to wonder whether Ludwid VanBeethoven himself would have ever found popular acceptance based on how he looked, which, incidentally, is almost identical with Ms. Boyle.

[wietog]

I think Susan Boyle is a character that Dawn French is playing!!!

[Zonie]

Is a woman really a spinster at age 47?

Geez......that's harsh.....

Old maid not in vogue anymore?

Bachelor girl perhaps...­.......but please.....don't reinforce the sort of sexism that we still make fun of women, who but for the grace of a few different arrangements in an amino acid chain could be ourselves....

[Thevail]

I'm all for her mini-makeover! First she showed the world that you REALLY CAN'T judge a book by it's cover. Now she's maybe showing a few other books with battered covers..that a nice dust jacket can do WONDERS for a good book!

She's probably done more for fashion over 40 than What Not To Wear has in years. And she's doing it really well. She's not "tramping it up a notch", she's just bought a few new clothes, paid a little attention to her hair, and bought a tube of lipstick, something she probably had no particular reason to do while she was busy caring for her elderly mother 24/7.

[Milinda]

Thevail, I like what you posted.

[mac33z]

It’s amazing that people flip out over something like the make over thing.
Goddamn, let her live, she was a great power of example, and showed she could kick ass, and actually had talent too.
When most of Hollywood’s women have had umpteen face-lifts and countless other operations to look like something they’re not, as well as emulating the horrid anorexic look, what’s the big deal if Susan dies her hair.
To get fixed up a little is ok. The Hollywood horror show of “fembots on parade,” is totally unappealing. Couple that with the fact that a good portion of them are marginally talented at best, and it makes for a real cosmic goof.
Let her have some oxygen for godz sake.

[Weirdwriter]

Amen, Ms. Fuller!

Those who want Ms. Boyle to stay frumpy want a novelty act. Susan Boyle clearly stated she wanted to be a professional singer.