Practically everyone who has been on the Internet at all in the last 10 days knows by now who Susan Boyle is. Until a couple of weeks ago, no one outside Britain (and not everyone in it) really cared about Britain’s Got Talent, another of the seemingly millions of talent competitions judged by Simon Cowell the world over. Now we all have a clear favourite.
The story, for those of you who use the Internet only for checking your e-mail: On April 11, Susan Boyle appeared on Britain’s Got Talent claiming that she wanted to be a professional singer. She was (and is) 47 years old. She was also short, badly dressed, and not particularly attractive; and as she expressed a desire to sing like Elaine Page it was obvious that the presenters, the judges and the audience were preparing themselves to make fun of her. There were smirks all round and one young woman in the audience rolled her eyes very dramatically. Until she sang.
I’m not sure if she was actually brilliant or if her (undeniable) talent was magnified by the judges’ obvious low expectations, but she stunned everyone; including the audience, who gave her a standing ovation. A few days later, not only had millions of people seen the clip online and caused the song she sang (I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables) to race up the charts for iTunes sales, but an older recording she had done had surfaced as well.
In the past week or so I’ve met people who are convinced that the whole Susan Boyle story has been scripted to create this particular emotional reaction. I hope it isn’t (I’m one of those people who are emotionally caught up in it) but if it is I can see why it would work.
The fact is, this is the sort of story we all really want to hear. I frequently tune in to the early episodes of reality TV talent hunts to laugh as the deluded and talentless are weeded out of the competition, but at heart I love underdog stories. Movies about the little guy making it big. Supporting the team least likely to win. And Ms Boyle is even more of an underdog than most. Women in showbiz (well everyone in showbiz but particularly the women) are supposed to be beautiful and young and thin.
In no other field would I consider 47 to be elderly, but already I’ve had to stop myself from describing her as “old” twice in this column. We need her to be up there, being dowdy and 47 and aware of how far she is from the “right” sort of image; and not caring because she knows she’s an incredible singer. It’s like a really uplifting film (possibly a musical).
But spare a thought for the nasty eye-roller in the audience. It was mean and judgemental, but no more so than the smirks everyone else was wearing. Yet she’s the one immortalised in a hundred YouTube videos, so that half the world would recognise her if they passed her on the street.
More than just the considerable humiliation, while everyone else (including the sceptical judges) gets to take part in this wonderful, feel-good-movie story, she is shut out forever.
The writer is a student of English
literature and a compulsive book buyer. She blogs at
http://bluelullaby. blogspot.com
bluelullaby@gmail.com