I Just Don't Get the Big Deal with Susan Boyle
I JUST DON'T GET THE BIG DEAL WITH SUSAN BOYLE. I watched the video on YouTube. In case you haven't seen it (but almost everyone I know has), it's a clip from the British TV show Britain's Got Talent (which is, from what I can tell, just a televised talent show, with Simon Cowell as the head judge.) It starts with the pre-performance interview showing a small-town, homely 40-something woman, mentioning that she's never been kissed--Susan Boyle.
She waddles out on stage, in a frumpy, awkward-length dress. For the next few minutes, Simon Cowell and the other two judges make snarky remarks about how simple and unattractive she is (most of which seem to go over her head). It's uncomfortably obnoxious. She mentions she wants to be like some singer, who I can only assume is a famous British soprano, and states that she's going to sing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. (Although, with her Cockney accent, I didn't realize what she said until she actually started singing.) The mere fact that I was viewing this on YouTube made me certain her performance would either end in Will Hung notoriety or she would do an excellent job.
She did an excellent job. Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice. So? Nothing about this performance compelled me to forward the video to all my friends or join her Facebook fan page (which has over 1.4 MILLION members).
Yes, I thought she was really good, but even as I watched the reaction of the judges and audience, I thought surely I was missing something. The audience members are visibly moved. The female judge gives her a standing ovation. (Ostensibly, just to show off how comparatively well-dressed and attractive she is.) Even stone-cold Simon Cowell is brought to tears. So what's the big deal? What am I missing? Are unattractive people not supposed to be able to sing?
So I went to her Facebook fan page (which many of my friends have joined--more than I care to admit), to figure out what some of her fans were saying:
"You gave the world a wake up call." - Really?
"Please don't let yourself and your wonderful personality be spoiled by the TV giants." - I agree, she has an endearing, happy-go-lucky personality, but she's the phenom she is right now because the TV giants put her on TV in the first place!
"You give us old gals inspiration." - OK, this one I get. I'm sure there are a lot of women (and men) out there who would love to get up on stage, belt out their favorite show-tune, and really stick it to Simon Cowell. It takes a lot of courage. It takes more courage for those of us who have average or below-average singing voices. Don't you think Susan Boyle had an inkling of an idea of the kind of voice she has? How much courage does it really take if you have a voice like that?
"The best I have ever heard." - Best what? Best singer? EVER? If you heard her on the radio, I'm sure you would love her voice, but I challenge that you'd deem her the BEST SINGER EVER. What about Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand, or Bette Midler? (Whose Facebook fan pages have only 15,000, 3,600, and 3,000 members, respectively) They are all lovely women, but none of them are "classic" beauties, and I'm guessing each of them could sing the pants off Susan Boyle.
It's really Simon Cowell and his co-producers that are the geniuses behind this. Don't you think they knew what they were doing when they played down her stage makeup, didn't pluck her eyebrows or do her hair, encouraged the judges to let loose on her with their questioning? They wanted to set her up to fail, so that everyone would be "shocked" when she didn't. This led to the viral marketing campaign, her millions of fans, and, I'm sure, countless new viewers who will tune in to see how she fares in the rest of the competition. Which all mean one thing: BIG bucks for Britain's Got Talent.
I still don't get it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, she had the courage to follow through with one of her dreams. That's an important message, but there are many people who inspire me to do that all the time. Isn't the real message here to always under-promise and over-deliver? She was "packaged" in a way that makes you assume mediocrity at best. So good for the producers who masterfully exploited her looks and our emotions! And shame on us for being surprised that someone who looks like that could have a nice voice.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I suspect that we all might be able to separate the sociopaths in the world from the rest of us based solely on how they react to Susan Boyle's audition on "Britain's Got Talent." The emotional warmth of that voice singing that song was powerful, and those who don't feel it probably also don't feel a lot of other emotions the rest of us take for granted.
You need to talk to someone on your wavelength like the very very very good looking Zoolander, who is apparently having the same problem.
You also need to get an education. Cockney accent? That's East End London. Like Michael Cain, or the Geico Gecko. She's got a North Country, Scottish brogue.
Also consider purchasing either a good pair of eyeglasses or a computer monitor with better resolution. I watched several versions of the BGT video and didn't see judges making comments about her appearance. They rolled their eyes when Susan did a goofy bump, grind which was meant to be humorous. And it appeared that e verybody scoffed at her age and ambition.
It remains to be seen whether or not Susan Boyle will be a real powerhouse singer.
Personally I think she has the right stuff.
But isn't it interesting that so many people around the world are hoping to see her succeed?
Can you perhaps grasp the thought that this global emotional outpouring is the most important part of the story?
I don't think you have to be a personal fan of Susan Boyle to understand 'what the big deal is.' Unless you live under a rock you understand that the present accepted understanding of 'success' includes being young, attractive and desirable in some fashion. To be reminded that beautiful things are also found in people who may have side-stepped a career or even fame for qualities like compassion and selflessness for elderly parents and others, well that makes us all happy to see someone like that get long-deserved recognition. Susan Boyle is a nice example of the human spirit, not what advertising and movies tell us is popular. Plus the song was awesome, and it was sweet to see her get choked up over the audience's reaction. Its pretty sad if you can't give her the credit for that. Shame on all of you bloggers who nay say her.
I'll try again. Rachel seems personally uncomfortable when talent trumps hard sell.
As a commentator on social phenomenon, you are a great baker!
lol....;>D
"Cockney accent"?????? From West Lothian, Scotland? This is one of the more cynical and unpleasant articles to appear here lately.
There are worse ones. Susan is equal to the woman you mention in my opinion. She has lived her songs and she draws us in. Besides she has the voice of an angel. There is just something about her. On the other hand I know a number "Susan Boyle's" out there. The unsung heros. The plain people who are judged by their ordinary appearance who do remarkable things such as starting and running a food bank, work with the homeless or mentally disturbed, starting and running a booming no kill shelter for dogs, perhaps they take care of their eldery parents or disabled spouse. All these people can walk taller now knowing they are somebody and that beauty is truly an inside job.
I have even seen articles where people act like she has done nothing when she took care of her eldery mother, volunteered in her church and we know she recorded a song for charity.
I did a double take at the "Cockney Accent" reference also,but as a transplanted Scot for over 50 years, I have more of a burr left than Susan has - especially in her rendition of Cry Me a River. I wish her all the luck in the World.
The Susan Boyle "phenomenon" has NOTHING to do with "Oh look, the unattractive lady can sing". It isn't a freak show. It is about a triumph over people's REACTION to plain-looking, ordinary people who dare to come out of their box. It is about TALENT that deserves to be heard (and the debate about whether Boyle's is now the greatest voice ever heard is also silly).
Susan Boyle is no more to blame for the media's predictable overexposure of her story than she was for all of the initial eye-rolling and derision she faced from the studio audience and judges in the first placve. And she is not responsible for all of the current eye-rollers who are trying to restore their natural, eye-rolling "superiority".
We KNOW that "ugly" people can sing. They can even write columns.
But do they all have courage?
Me and over 100,000,000 other people were moved to tears.
Even the lyricist of Les Miz thought she was special.
Humbug Rachel!!! I thought it was extraordinary and touching. I don't really care that it's a (possible) marketing ploy, or if her physical appearance was stage managed to create the impression that plump middle-aged ppl with double chins can't sing. If the judges were able to "feign" surprse as successfully as they did, they certainly deserve even bigger kudu's. The bottom line is that I was left gobsmacked and enjyed it at face value. May Susan savor her 15 minutes of fame and may all her fans enjoy it with her.
The initial acts on Britain's Got Talent line up and go in front of the judges. THEN they are selected for further appearances. So this was not a setup by the producers.
As a woman of 5'3", ok looks, approaching middle age, and not a lot of fashion sense, I think some of us are just touched because we know what it's like to be marginalized by our looks. When I first saw the video, I had no expectations by her looks. I didn't give them a second thought honestly. But clearly the audience and the judges did. She has a beautiful voice, but no, not the best in the world. Some of us just find great joy in the success of an underdog who was obviously misjudged. I wish her all the best and I will be following her success with great interest. And absolutely, the way the editors staged the show was set up. It's all marketing.
Perhaps you don't get get it because you are narcissistic and lack the empathy gene.
Yeah, I second that. No empathy gene.
If you don't get it -- no one can explain it to you.
Agree with both of you. And also - you are right; if you don't get it, and don't want to get it, no one can explain it.
I JUST DON'T GET THE BIG DEAL WITH Rachel Thebault. I read her articles on the Internet. In case you haven't seen it (but almost no one I know has), it's an article from the Huffington Post (which is, from what I can tell, just another Internet blather spot, with Rachel Thebault as one of the blatherers) It starts with the biography describing an egotistic candy maker who uses pretentious words like confectioner and trendy--Rachel Thebault.
She writes her first article about her husband (named after a bird or something), drops the names of some actors to draw readers in, then writes about her remarkable business prowess and her little bakery website, to which she conveniently includes a link to. She continues to write other articles disguising her home business advertising with subjects about her shallow facebook friends, airlines she's not happy with and her disenchantment with Disney.
Her grammar is ok. Rachel Thebault has two beautiful daughters. So? Nothing about this woman compels me to recommend that anyone read her articles, or visit her website that sounds like a communist concentration camp.
So excuse me when I take exception to her scathing critique of Susan Boyle, a human being like everyone else, who has moved millions to tears with her voice. She then belittles so many people who have shared their heartfelt impressions and gripes about her own inability to share in the collective joy and appreciation.
You must forgive Rachel. She lives in Tribeca. The Susan Boyle phenomenon is not something that can be manufactured, no matter how clever the packagers. People responded genuinely, to a genuinely talented, humble and gracious lady. Susan deserves all the good thngs that I hope will come her way.
I JUST DON"T GET THE BIG DEAL WITH Brian Lund. I read his comment on someone else's opinion on the internet. In case you haven't seen it, (I know, only lifeless losers lurking on Blog comment sections probably noticed it), the rant began complaining about the subject matter of Rachel's blog and an amazing response from Blog opinion section extraordinaire - Brian Lund.
You see, the first thing I noticed about him was how weird looking he is. He is an awkward looking 40-something music teacher. He cruises internet blog comment sections to let the world know how he really feels! Now I may have been judging a book by its cover, but man did I expect huge things out of Brian!
So of course I dug deeper. Brian has his own website where he sells Internet Car Videos. What an entrepreneur! Brian's grammar is ok. Unfortunately, he lacks a spell check button - otherwise I am sure he would never have misspelled words like "liscensed."
So excuse me while I take exception to people like Brian's scathing critique of Rachel, a human like everyone else, who has moved a handful of ugly, self-conscious, bullied, untalented and spiteful commenters to post comments on her blog.
Brian, I know there is someone out there searching for a soulmate - a thoughtful commenter, an internet car video producer, and a friend. Hey, maybe Susan Boyle's still single.
How disappointing Ms Thebault. Was it really necessary to be so derisory about Susan Boyle. Just one of your gross inaccuracies was to refer to her "Cockney" accent. If you don't know what you are writing about, leave it to someone who does! The lady stated clearly that she was from Scotland.
The definition of a Cockney is one born within the sound of Bow Bells, London. Just in case your education did not stretch that far, London is 400 miles from Scotland, and in a different country!
Susan Boyle may not be stunningly good looking on the outside, but is a good and talented person inside.
On the other hand, you have clearly demonstrated you are not so nice on the inside! If your journalism is intended to be a sophisticated demonstration of your talent, you missed by a long way, about equal to the distance London is from Scotland!
excellent reply, thank you
I am indifferent to Susan Boyle. I do find it interesting though that people are so touched by her. I find it even more interesting that people like Ms. Thebault choose to see the bad in people like her. Every time a feel good story comes to light people get caught up in the emotions of the story. A short time later (it never fails) the nay sayers start to come out of the woodwork. Acting as if they knew along something the rest of us didn't. I'm not sure if its a feeling of superiority they're after, or if they want to look like rebel journalists. We all know the Susan Boyle phenomenon will come to an end, I guess Ms. Thebault will be able to say she told us so. In any case, the fact she wrote the article, is far (far,far,far)more interesting than anything written in the article.
Hi everyone. I think you might find some angry Scots , saying that Susan's accent sounded like a cockney accent, if you came to Scotland they might not buy you a whisky for that. I don't think everyone in the audience was laughing, it would have been a lot louder. If you have watched all the programs especially the auditions, you get all sorts of people and that is why the public love it. I thought she was lovely when she smiled, and I don't think they dressed your down, they decide what they wear themselves. I also thing the British audience are very different to a American audience. Last year they had some fantastic 70 to 90 year olds on singing and performing other wonderful things as well, and yes the crowd have a good chuckle and a laugh at their expense but once they perform the crowd joined in and love them , and that is why I love the program , because I see all ages. Having seeing what a hard time some of the previous contestants have had in the previous serious, I admire her , because it does not matter about what anyone one else thinks , she loved it ,as she said herself to Ant and Dec the presenters it was bloody fantastic. She has good friends that will look after her.Listen to her sing cry me a river on you tube and hear how pure her voice is.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
