The Ballad of Susan Boyle: Has Life Killed the Dream?

"I had a dream my life would be
So different from the hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

-- from I Dream a Dream, Susan Boyle's chosen song for her audition and finale

Like millions of us, I followed the rags-to-riches story of the poor, plain Scottish woman who lived with her cat, then wowed the judges and the world with her glorious voice, and became a mega-star overnight via You Tube. She was expected to win the $160, 000 first prize on Britain's Got Talent, and perform for the Queen.

Didn't happen. After coming in second in the finals on Saturday night to a dance group called "Diversity," Susan Boyle was admitted to a private clinic in London on Sunday for an "emotional breakdown," according to Britain's Daily Mail.

This is a story that may yet have a happy ending. But life doesn't guarantee it, even if the tabloids do. Meanwhile, we can learn at least three lessons from this compelling event, and use them in our own lives:

Be wary of hype. Just like on American Idol, lavish praise and overexposure don't mean all that much, except to the people making the hype: the pundits, judges and media that sell their stuff. The public may buy it at first, but eventually sees past it. Hype evades truth. Even when Boyle's second performance was flawed, the judges seemed to pass over it. Hype often becomes pernicious.

Risk means reward. Susan chose to play it safe, repeating the same song that she sang at her audition, "I Dream a Dream" from Les Miserables. A safe choice, and she sang it beautifully, but there was not much growth or excitement. "You'll Never Walk Alone" or some other blockbuster had been suggested by many fans, and she might have soared. The winning dance group on the other hand seemed to grow each time, with complex and risky programs.

Strive for the best, prepare for the worst. The winning dance team claims to have expected second place and was thrilled with the outcome. With all the hype it would be hard for fragile Susan Boyle to have expected to lose. She was gracious when she heard the outcome, but is now hospitalized for "exhaustion."

All three lessons come together. The time that Susan Boyle spent talking to fawning reporters, and fending off fans, could have been spent learning a new song, and adjusting to the realities of what was ahead.

The tale of Susan Boyle isn't over, and has taken on a newer and deeper dimension. It may indeed become an iconic moment in our collective consciousness, remembered for years in song and word. We'd like to think it will have a fairy-tale ending, but we don't yet know if her life will end up joyous or tragic, or somewhere in-between.

In the longer run, Susan Boyle will probably become known more for her story than her voice. Perhaps we have learned a lesson.

Comments

[Trueheart]

Like many others, I've been drawn to this story and can't really explain why it has touched me so deeply--but it has.

I don't agree with the points you make.

Hype: " Even when Boyle's second performance was flawed, the judges seemed to pass over it."
I're read several stories which explained that Boyle had been fighting a cold and a sore throat, and she says that is why her voice cracked at the start of the semi-final performance. The power with which she delivered the final punch to Memory more than made up for this. This is, after all, an amateur show (or so we are told).

Strive for the Best; Prepare for the Worst: She surely did strive. And millions of people from all over the world tuned in to that stupid show because of her. The worst? If you do a little searching on the internet, you will find that there seems to be a controversy brewing over the vote. YouTube's published number for Susan Boyle was wrong. If you voted for her, you were actually voting for 2 of her competitors. So guess what? Dance act Diversity won by only 4.7%. Whaddaya think?

Risk Means Reward: On Britain's Got Talent, it is almost a tradition to perform your original audition piece if you make it to the final. See BGT 2008. What's your point?

[seachild]

excellent article...other bloggers should take note...

thank you

[Emmaxx]

In regards to Susan Boyle, I’m going to venture a little further and suggest that we may be dealing with a BGT conspiracy that set Susan Boyle up for failure right from the get-go....

Let’s take Saturday night for example… it was not until 15 minutes before she was to go on stage that her gown FINALLY arrived to BGT’s performance center! So for the last half hour before she was to go up on stage, she was in complete hysterics because she had no idea if her gown would even arrive in time at all for her performance! Just wondering but what outside (or ah hem… inside forces) forces were responsible for the hold up on the delivery of that dress??? Hmmmm

And while we’re on the subject, how is it that BGT even allowed some unscrupulous members of the press to harass her in such a way to cause her to finally give them a piece of her mind? Who was there from BGT to protect her at the time when that happened? It’s very obvious to me that something very fishy is going on here in La La Land and Simon Cowell will have a lot of questions to answer on all of this. I can’t wait to see this guy squirm.. BIG TIME; but I've got a hunch that hell will freeze over till that ever happens. :(

[Trueheart]

I really don't think that Simon Cowell & Co. could have controlled the press on this. It is so unprecedented.

But I do agree with you that media coverage has crossed the line and endangered this woman's physical, emotional and mental well-being. As an example, while looking at UK stories on Boyle, I ran across a survey where the public was asked to vote on whether Susan was a talented performer or a talented freak. There is a point at which being heartless becomes unethical. How would you feel if you read things like this about yourself? Me? I'd buy a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue and curl into a fetal position for about 48 hours.