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End the Torture: Let Susan Boyle Go Home
It may seem strange to apply the words of an ex-football player to a newly-minted singing sensation. But that comment by Curtis Martin, an eventual Hall of Fame running back who starred for the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, applies perfectly to what we're now seeing with Susan Boyle. The middle-aged Scottish plain Jane who became a overnight worldwide sensation with her performances on Britain's Got Talent, the English version of American Idol, seems to be moving closer by the day to a complete emotional meltdown.
The latest chapter came this week when Boyle had to miss two more performances on the 24-date Britain's Got Talent concert tour, after already skipping several other appearances. Today, organizers decided she shouldn't perform at a show in Cardiff after she reportedly had a "screaming fit." In Liverpool yesterday, witnesses said she was crying from her hotel balcony, begging for her cat to be brought to her. All this comes weeks after she checked into a private clinic for what was described as a breakdown.
It's time for someone to say "enough." Ms. Boyle's rags-to-riches story is taking a turn toward tragedy, even faster than what we've seen from others traveling the arc of sudden fame. She is said to have mild learning difficulties, and may simply be incapable of processing the immense amount of attention she now receives. Or maybe she just doesn't like it, and wants her old life back. When someone is crying out from a balcony, "I want my cat, I need my cat," as other hotel guests saw her doing in Liverpool, it doesn't take Sigmund Freud to see that it's a cry to return to the environment and things she's familiar with.
But without someone interceding on her behalf, it might not happen:
"Her mentor Simon Cowell is close friends with the owner of the Planet Hollywood casino and hotel, Robert Earl, and has been trying to broker a deal which would see her singing on The Strip. A source said: 'Simon is confident that Susan will achieve a huge amount of success in America.'She is already a household name despite coming second on the show, and she is now being lined up to play a number of dates in Las Vegas."
Right. She can't handle a show in Liverpool, but she's going to be the toast of Vegas. It's time for someone with her best interests at heart to step up and, at least temporarily, pull her away from all this.
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I'm getting tired of American journalists picking up fabricated stories from the British tabloids & printing them as true without any fact-checking. The "cat rant" is an example: A call to the hotel staff could verify that the incident never happened, but that would require work, wouldn't it? In the original tabloid article one "bystander" is quoted, but there is no name attached, no photo of the incident. If a voice like Susan Boyle's was screaming from a balcony, don't you think someone might have taken a picture with their cell phone? I am disgusted with the mendacity of the British press & the laziness of ours.
The BGT tour schedule is insane. If she sang at every venue, her voice could be destroyed. The promoters know that, and gave her free rein to make her choices, which she has done. So far she has made 9 appearances, with standing ovations for every one. She is a perfectionist & will not give her audiences less than the best. Her technical skills have increased, and her connection with her audiences is incredible. Don't take my word for it. Go to YouTube & check out the videos take from cellphones at every show.
This not some fragile, unbalanced person. This is a gifted performer who's had to take a speed course in dealing with the insanity of a media circus. She' coming through it summa cum laude. Just ask her audiences.
Susan has some minor brain damage, not mental illness. There's a big difference.
She went through an extrememly difficult 9 weeks. No one could have handled it.
I, for one, will never believe that she didn't want to quit the show. Her brothers certainly wanted her to 3 weeks into it, and we know she wanted to quit 2 days before the final.
They sent her to a "safe house", but yet claim they didn't see a problem!
She wasn't sleeping or eating properly, and eventually reached the breaking point. She was physically worn out.
She and NO help dealing with it. BGT just watched it progress. She should have been pulled from the competition.
I find it odd that there are never any pictures or direct quotes when they write about the strange things she supposedly does.
She doesn't have to do all of the shows, in fact, she doesn't have to do any of them.
I don't find her to be a weak person at all. The fact that she keeps trying, despite the vicious tabloids, makes me thing she's a very strong and determined woman.
Actually its not the British version of American Idol it is the British version of America's Got Talent. The X Factor is the British version of American Idol. The X Factor replaced the very popular Pop Idol. While Susan Boyle does have a lovely voice I don't know how anyone would expect this woman could be plucked from obscurity and not have any issues. Sad but true. She probably would have benefited from therapy along the way.
Hmm. I sent a thoughtful post this morning that was did not pass monitor muster. Is it because
I suggested that the author offered opinions without facts, using instead unsubstantiated
reports of a meltdown? Is it because I suggested a double standard by painting Susan Boyle
as unstable and a criminal even if she did cry for her cat, while glossing over sports figures
who perpetrate mayhem on society? Even the post I was responding to is gone, while there
is one suggesting we put her and us out of our misery. Actually, Susan Boyle has contributed
much joy to the world, the antithesis of misery.
Actually, I responded to your post and disagreed with you and mine did not appear. Where they went I don't know. It was not "unsubstantiated" that she got into an argument on the street with photographers and the police showed up. No one is "glossing over" sports figures, but that subject has nothing to do with this. No one is calling her a "criminal". Suggesting she might benefit from a break, "at least temporarily", is not some far out idea. She is a talent, but it all seems to be overwhelming her at the moment. A few weeks at home might be the best thing for her. Hope that doesn't offend you.
G ~ The reason sports figures are pertinent is because the author of this blog mentions them in his opening paragraph. Did not say anyone was calling her a criminal, but they are making such a fuss over her calling for her cat or telling a rude journalist to buzz off. This seems so out
of proportion to what sports figures and musicians have often done, which, as I pointed out, includes various criminal acts. Why this scrutiny of this woman over basically nothing. A curse word: ooooooh. Yelling for her cat. Wow! And as far as I know, the police were at the hotel already when the journalist said something rude to her and she responded. The police then asked if something was wrong and she said yes, apparently in Salty Scotch language. Seems like a tempest in a teapot to me. Yes, indeed, she could benefit from a rest. Unfortunately, is does not look like going home to her little village will work, with the media hanging all over the fence, popping photos everytime she steps out her door. I do hope she finds a peaceful place to recuperate from this intense media barrage. I am among those who are waiting for her to come to America and sing.
That is why I say, it is the media who should go home. Enough already.
Cheers !
This is an outstanding article! My question is, what the H@LL is wrong with Simon? Why is he so oblivious to the fact that Susan Boyle cannot, now or will ever, be able to handle any singing engagements no matter where they are.
She needs to be sent home until it gets worse. The show is over. Let her live out the rest of her life in peace with her cat.
Simon needs to get his game on and help her record in a studio and let the rest go. IF that is what she wants. I can see that the rude press and the fans could put anyone over the edge.
How many people has Sean Penn punched out? We have dozens of "celebrities" in America that repeatedly lose it......no one says that they are "dowdy, frumpy, mentally challenged, etc." (although I do believe some of them are mentally challenged..obviously the press doesn't agree with me)
Or someone could put the cat in a carry box and bring it to her hotel. Just a thought.
read simons letter he wrote today.
HE says he never forced her to do anything, and you know what, she probably doesnt.
She was too sheltered to arise into this much fame, but on the other hand, never said i want to stop with the show. So, you can be upset all you want, but she chooses to continue to perform as she wanted to her entire life. Find me a star that never went through these stresses.
The lady isn't narcissistic and self-involved enough to handle throngs of fans with aplomb. Crying on a hotel balcony for her cat tells me it's time to go home. She can have a terrific recording career, but the personal appearances might destroy her.
I'd love to buy Susan Boyle's CD and that is what she should be doing instead of being put on display this way. For all her singing ability, she obviously has a lot of anxieties and I also read she was born with a disability because of lack of oxygen at birth. So I see Ms. Boyle making beautiful music in the recording studio, but perhaps not performing as much and because of her health issues she shouldn't be expected to sustain a long tour.
Maybe I'm knit-picking but it's difficult to take someone as an authority on a subject with writing that begins with a glaring mistake. "Britain's Got Talent" is NOT the British "American Idol". That would be "Pop Idol". The equivalent stateside would be "America's Got Talent".
You're nitpicking. That doesn't render an opinion on Boyle invalid.
I disagree with the comments in this article. This woman has waited all her life for this once in a lifetime opportunity to realize her dream. Sure, she's having problems. Who wouldn't? Can the author say that he would be able to handle such sudden worldwide fame with aplomb? If you read Simon Cowell's article about her and the show itself, you will realize that he is well aware of the problems that she has had adjusting to her new celebrity. She was told that there will be no pressure on her to perform all of the tour dates. If she isn't up to it, then she doesn't have to do it. So why the big uproar?
Maybe sexism and ageism is at the heart of it. I didn't want to go there, but I have no choice. Give this
woman a break already! Let her be for heaven's sake. If she can have a little breathing room, well she just might have a chance to realize her dream of being a singer. If anyone is to make the decision to let it go, it should be Susan and her family. So she missed her cats. What on earth is wrong with that? This is a woman who has lived in a tiny village all her life with her family and her cats. She knows nothing of the outside world. With time and care, I think she will be fine. Good luck and hang in there, Susan!
It's so odd to see our society's sexist attitudes towards women played out in the public arena like this.
"We" should intervene and tell a grown adult woman that she may not work in a certain field, certain arena, participate in certain competition -- because it's just too much for the poor dear.
"Society" always assumes it has the right to treat women like children or mildly-retarded beings -- the reference to her having a "learning disability" is a riot -- half the people I know have learning disabilities of some type, yet nobody has suggested taking away their civil rights and appointing a guardian to make decisions for them.
She's an adult. She can make her own decisions. This type of feigned concern is the backbone for the sexist exclusion of women from opportunity throughout our society -- women can't do this because they're not tough enough, they can't do that because it will upset them. Let her work it out with her own friends. But let's not pretend that "society" can exclude women altogether under the pretense of "caring" for them. It's not caring -- it's a denial of basic respect for her right to make her own decisions and live her own life.
No one is saying she can't have some kind of career. But she's obviously under pressure. Great talent does not always mean a secure personal life. See Judy Garland. Boyle is not coping, so more of the same is not the answer.
Thank you. I agree. She's an adult. Women, and especially women "of a certain age" have historically been held back and shoved aside in the name of protection. I am cheering her on.
The first time I saw her on camera in an interview I said to myself she has Asperger's. This has made it easier for her to close herself off from distractions to concentrate on developing her talents, but more stressful relating to other people.
Yes, let's put her... and us... out of her misery. A sad, sad spectacle...
So what about the other performers who have taken days off? Are they also ready for the Priory?
Yes, Susan may be fragile..but that doesn't mean she can't have a successful recording career. There are millions that will buy her recordings.
How many tours has the very successful Enya (from Ireland) done? Didn't seem to hurt her career any.
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