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Susan Boyle (born 1961), is a Scottish church volunteer who came to public attention on 11 April 2009, when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent.

Boyle leapt to almost immediate global fame with a stirring rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round. Before she sang, both the audience and the judges had expressed scepticism based on her somewhat plain and unprofessional appearance. In contrast, her vocal performance was so outstanding that she has been dubbed "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell". She received a standing ovation from the live audience, attracting yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden, and the "biggest yes vote in three seasons" from Piers Morgan.

The juxtaposition of her powerful voice with the audience's first impression of her triggered global interest, with articles about her appearing in newspapers all over the world, and millions watching a YouTube video of her performance in the first few days. Cowell is reported to be setting up a contract with Boyle with his SyCo Music company label, a subsidiary of Sony Music.

Personal life

Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and her appearance. She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother, who died in 2007 at the age of 91. Her performance in the regional finals of Britain’s Got Talent was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother's death. Boyle stated in The Washington Post that she entered the contest at the behest of her late mother, who urged her to "take the risk" of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. She is unmarried and presently unemployed. She aspires to become a musical theatre singer in the vein of Elaine Paige.

News media

The majority of British newspapers carried articles on Boyle's performance and subsequent Internet coverage. The Sun writer Colin Robertson gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the contest's previous opera-singing winner Paul Potts. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Boyle confirmed she had a meeting with the Sony BMG record company but said "I can't say much about it. It's early days and I'm taking baby steps."

Many international news outlets also carried stories on her including the New York Daily News, Australia's Herald Sun, Germany's Der Spiegel, China's Xinhua News Agency, and Korea's The Chosun Ilbo. In the U.S., ABC News coverage suggested that Boyle may be "...Britain's newest pop sensation...", and the Entertainment section ran the headline The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell.

On 16 April 2009, the Scottish Daily Record newspaper published an online link to a recording of "Cry Me a River" which she made for a charity CD in 1999.

TV shows

Following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show. She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's Early Show and ABC's Good Morning America, and via a telephone interview on FOX's America's Newsroom. In an interview, Simon Cowell said Boyle had received an invitation to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show and predicted that if she did appear "there's every chance Susan Boyle will have the number one album in America".

Social media

The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours. As of April 17, 2009, the video had been viewed more than 18 million times, making it the most viewed video of the month worldwide. On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg. The same video was also popular on Reddit, with enough clout to top this site's front page. The Los Angeles Times wrote that the popularity of this video may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short timeframe, noting that this makes it "perfect for the Internet, where short clips rule."

Susan Boyle's fame also spread by links posted on the Twitter website, including praise from celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. When told about this Boyle was said to not have heard of Kutcher and although recognised the name 'Demi Moore' knew little about her but thanked them for their support.

Social analysis

Boyle's sudden fame has drawn much commentary on what could explain why this story was so widely-reported and what the strength of her sudden popularity says about society. Others drew moral lessons from people's reaction to Boyle's performance. For instance, writing in Scotland's The Herald, Collette Douglas-Home described the story as a modern parable and a rebuke to the assumptions people make based on others' physical appearance. Similarly, Lisa Schwarzbaum, in an article in Entertainment Weekly, stated that Boyle's performance was particularly moving as it was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation. Commenting on the audience's reactions before she started singing, Boyle stated:

Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. ... There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.

— Susan Boyle, The Washington Post

After Boyle's performance, Holden stated:

I am so thrilled because I know that everybody was against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical and I think that's the biggest wakeup call ever. And I just want to say that it was a complete privilege listening to that.

— Amanda Holden, Britain's Got Talent

Echoing these comments by Holden, Jeanne McManus wrote in The Washington Post that, in talent shows such as Britain's Got Talent, one of the main sources of drama is the collision between performers' sometimes exaggerated sense of self-worth and the opinions and reactions of their audience. In Boyle's case, McManus believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck". Indeed, New York's Daily News stated that it was this stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing that made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television. This article also noted that the idea of an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature and that this is why, when this theme made its unscripted appearance in reality television, it created an enduring and powerful effect.

On the other hand, although this audience reaction was unscripted, it may have been anticipated. Writing in The Huffington Post, Mark Blankenship noted that the producers of the show would have been aware of the potential of this story arc, stating that the programme seemed to deliberately present Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction. He does note, however, that "as fabricated as it is, her on-camera arc is undeniably moving." The fact that Boyle is in her forties has also been cited as contributing to this strong emotional impact. In another Huffington Post article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that people may have been "weeping for the years of wasted talent", since most of Boyle's life has been spent in obscurity and those wasted years can never be recovered. All the same, Pogrebin still classed Boyle's performance as a triumph for what she called "women of a certain age", as she sees it as representing a victory over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women.

In a feminist analysis, a columnist in The Guardian pointed out what she perceived as a fundamental difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition, which she saw as reflecting a societal expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectations being made about men. In a similar vein, a columnist on Salon.com wrote that Boyle's performance reminded people that "not all fortysomething women are sleek, Botoxed beauties", going on to say that Boyle's sudden fame came from her ability to remind her audience that, like them, she is a normal, flawed and vulnerable person, familiar with disappointment and mockery, but who nevertheless has the determination to fight for her dream.

Several British newspapers commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. Writing in The Scotsman Craig Brown quoted a U.S. entertainment correspondent who compared Boyle's story to the American Dream, in that it represented talent overcoming adversity and poverty. The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they saw as urban deprivation in her home town. Similarly, The Independent New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that America is a country that will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady." Piers Morgan, one of the show's judges, also commented on the unusual power this story seemed to have in the U.S., stating that "Americans can be very moved by this sort of thing." He likened Boyle's rise to fame from poverty and obscurity to that of the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, who was the subject of a series of Hollywood films.

References

1. Bryant, Tom (2009-04-13). "Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle says she hated the way she looked on TV". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
2. "Talent show singer is online hit". BBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
3. ^ Jordan, Mary (2009-04-14). "The Scot Heard Round the World". The Washington Post. p. A-8. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
4. "'Never Been Kissed' Singer, 47, Wows Cowell". MSNBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
5. ^ Gould, Lara (2009-04-12). "Britain's Got Talent: Singing sensation Susan Boyle sang to escape the bullies". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
6. MacDonald, Stuart (2009-04-12). "Secret sadness of Britain's Got Talent star". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
7. "Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle proves big hit on YouTube". Daily Record. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
8. ^ "Auditions 1". Britain's Got Talent. Episode 1. 2009-04-11. ITV. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
9. Robertson, Colin (2009-04-10). "Paula Potts". The Sun. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
10. Staff (2009-04-14). "Susan Boyle, the most unlikely reality TV star ever, shocks Simon Cowell on 'Britain's Got Talent'". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
11. Staff (2009-04-13). "UK talent show stunned by Scottish virgin Susan Boyle". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
12. Staff (2009-04-16). "Die Maus, de Brullte". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2009-04-16.
13. Staff (2009-04-16). "英国47岁无业女子参加电视选秀节目一唱成名图". Xinhua (in Chinese). Retrieved 2009-04-16.
14. Staff (2009-04-17). "그냥 노래만 불렀는데..." The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 2009-04-17.
15. Farhanghi, Hoda (2009-04-14). "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell". ABCNews Online. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
16. "Exclusive: Susan Boyle's first ever song release revealed - listen to it here". Daily Record. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
17. "Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle's promise to mum". STV.tv. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
18. Smith, Harry. She Dreamed A Dream (streaming) (Television). CBS News. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
19. ^ Simpson, Richard (2009-04-16). "Thumbs-up as Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan discovers she's an international star... with 18m YouTube hits". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
20. Hemmer, Bill; Kelly, Megyn. Hitting Her High Note (streaming) (Television). FOX News. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
21. Khan, Urmee (2009-04-14). "Britain's Got Talent church worker Susan Boyle becomes YouTube hit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
22. "Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)". YouTube.com. 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
23. Mudhar, Raju (2009-04-15). "Never-kissed singer an instant Web star". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
24. QueenZ (2009-04-12). "never judge a book by its cover-amazing singer Susan Boyle". Reddit.com. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
25. ^ Collins, Scott (2009-04-17). "Talent trumps all for YouTube sensation Susan Boyle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-04-17. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
26. Robertson, Colin (2009-04-14). "Crying out for Moore". The Sun. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
27. Irvine, Chris (2009-04-15). "Demi Moore 'in tears' at Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
28. "Susan: Demi who?". The Sun. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
29. Moran, Mark E (2009-04-15). "Making Sense of the Powerful Reaction to Susan Boyle". FindingDulcinea. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
30. Douglas-Home, Collette (2009-04-14). "The beauty that matters is always on the inside". The Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
31. Schwarzbaum, Lisa (2009-04-16). "'Britain's Got Talent' breakout Susan Boyle: Why we watch...and weep". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
32. McManus, Jeanne (2009-04-16). "The Dream She Dreamed". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
33. Staff (2009-04-16). "Susan Boyle was the golden ticket of reality TV". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
34. Blankenship, Mark (2009-04-16). "Two Reasons Susan Boyle Means So Much to Us". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
35. Pogrebin, Letty Cottin (2009-04-16). "Why Susan Boyle Makes Us Cry". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
36. Gold, Tanya (2009-04-16). "It wasn't singer Susan Boyle who was ugly on Britain's Got Talent so much as our reaction to her". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
37. Williams, Mary Elizabeth (2009-04-16). "The triumph of Susan Boyle". Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
38. Brown, Craig (2009-04-16). "A dream comes true as singer Susan becomes instant hit with American fans". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
39. McConville, Ben (2009-04-16). "Singing 'spinster' strikes chord in talent contest". Associated Press via SignonSanDiego.com. Retrieved 2009-04-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
40. Usborne, David (2009-04-16). "Dreams come true for overnight star". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-04-17.

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• Current events
• Britain's Got Talent contestants
• Internet memes
• 1961 births
• Living people
• People from Blackburn, West Lothian
• Scottish Christians
• Scottish female singers