Susan Boyle stuns them all on Britain's Got Talent

April 14, 2009 12:59 PM

Susan Boyle, a big surprise on Britain's Got Talent . Miss Boyle astonished the judges at the auditions for ITV1 show with her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables.

Her eccentric ways and less than polished appearance drew sniggers from the audience when she initially appeared but they were mesmerised from the moment she broke into song and gave her a standing ovation.

posted by otherwordlyglow (193 comments total)

Sure, I know, it's a youtube clip and a kind of silly show, but seriously, this just made my day.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 12:59 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

I prefered the heavy guy with the funny teeth who sang opera.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:00 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

That was Paul Potts, the male Susan Boyle.
posted by CunningLinguist at 1:03 PM on April 14, 2009

POL POT?
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:05 PM on April 14, 2009 [7 favorites]

I hear the beeb is working on Britain's Got Teeth. Should be smashing.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:05 PM on April 14, 2009 [21 favorites]

If she were really pretty, this clip would just be "meh". She's fine, she hits the notes, but it's nothing great.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:05 PM on April 14, 2009

Wow, this post arrives only one day later than the story made headlines on Yahoo's front page and elsewhere. Thanks!
posted by adamms222 at 1:06 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

She ROCKED!

It was also very nice to see the contrite expressions of the judges at the end of her performance. They were reminded again that the box does not equal the contents.
posted by djrock3k at 1:07 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Not to be a Debbie Downer but I agree with roomthreeseventeen; she's sort of adequate. Yeah, she's good for a random person off the street but she certainly isn't going to be appearing on Broadway any time soon, looks non-withstanding.
posted by Justinian at 1:08 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

If only there were some hints in the production to tell me how I'm supposed to feel about her performance.
posted by chococat at 1:13 PM on April 14, 2009 [43 favorites]

Can someone explain to me how Britain's Got Talent works? Had the judges really never heard her sing before? Had the producers heard her sing?

It looked to me like whoever was managing the sound had rehearsed with her. He had the reverb tweaked just so, &etc. But maybe not?

I'm totally naive about how these reality TV show things work. I don't have a TV, and I've literally never watched American Idol or any of the others.

(FWIW, I thought she was awesome.)
posted by alms at 1:13 PM on April 14, 2009

Are we really patting ourselves on the back for recognizing that an unattractive woman over the age of 30 might be talented at something?
posted by availablelight at 1:15 PM on April 14, 2009 [56 favorites]

I'll have to agree with roomthreeseventeen. I think people were blinded by the shock and missed the fact that she was struggling with the low notes and a bit off key in parts. She's inspiring, but they are quite a few singers her age (and older) that are far more technically proficient. I guess this is what happens when these shows are sensationalized to the point of absurdity.
posted by Awakened at 1:16 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I can't sing a whit so you better believe I'm attractive.

VERY attractive.
posted by mazola at 1:19 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

A technically proficient singer or not, she made a smart bit of television.
posted by mrmojoflying at 1:19 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

the only thing more cynical than writing her off based on her looks is elevating the performance based on her looks. I wish her success and applaud her courage though. Hopefully she'll get her first kiss out of this, and it won't be some slimeball exploiting her.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:20 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I don't know why the jaded attitude here still surprises me occasionally.
posted by HopperFan at 1:21 PM on April 14, 2009 [19 favorites]

I thought the audience reaction was the most remarkable part. When she first came on stage the audience was full of sneers are eye-rolls, and then it dissolved into stunned silence and then enthusiastic applause. This kind of thing just happens so rarely in real life. People can make cruel snap judgments. It's amazing to see the object of those judgments not only prove them wrong, but causes a whole group of people to reverse their original appraisal and openly acknowledge it. Just the 'Holy Crap! We were wrong!' reactions make the youtube video worth watching.
posted by Alison at 1:21 PM on April 14, 2009 [20 favorites]

Oh, sure, good television. It's nice to see Amanda Holden go from her usual expression of stunned incomprehension to a slightly different expression of stunned incomprehension. But solely on singing ability, she woulda been voted off American Idol rather a long time ago.
posted by Justinian at 1:22 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

This is one of the reasons I absolutely HATE American Idol and its ilk: the first few weeks of audition episodes. The sheer enjoyment the show takes at ripping apart deluded people leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The reason this clip is interesting is because you expect her to fail completely, and she doesn't. She's not the best singer ever, she's just good enough to be a surprise to the judges and the audience.
posted by graventy at 1:22 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

This kind of thing just happens so rarely in real life.

Ever seen showtime at the Apollo?
posted by cashman at 1:23 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT: Well-to-do cynical celebrities infrequently impressed by encounters with talent.
posted by odinsdream at 1:23 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

I think she's fantastic in every way.
posted by Ugh at 1:23 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

My choir teacher and vocal coach of many years demanded technical perfection. She was adamant though, that technical perfection was not the goal, but the path. "You can do it perfectly, but it can't be sterile. It's always about the music. You have to make music."

Madame Boyle went out there - and maybe wasn't perfect - but she damn well made music, and everybody in the hall felt it, with certainty. The look on Simon's face was priceless.

The fact that she looks like one of the char-women from a Monty Python skit only made it that much more enjoyable.
posted by Xoebe at 1:23 PM on April 14, 2009 [28 favorites]

Are we really patting ourselves on the back for recognizing that an unattractive woman over the age of 30 might be talented at something?

Well, some of us are apparently patting ourselves on the back for being able to see through the terrible media plot that wants to portray her as talented.

Me, I thought it was nice to see a large TV audience being reminded that an ordinary-looking middle aged woman from nowheresville might have extraordinary abilities and a remarkable capacity to shine when the moment demanded it.

(To the "she's not all that" crowd: no one is claiming that they've unearthed the new Jenny Lind, but that's an impressive voice; I suspect it's even better than it sounded here: when the crowd responded so warmly I detected a bit of emotion-induced tightening that took a while to ease: it's hard to produce a full sound when you're emotionally moved--that's why we call it being 'choked up').
posted by yoink at 1:24 PM on April 14, 2009 [13 favorites]

But solely on singing ability, she woulda been voted off American Idol rather a long time ago.

So...you're claiming that people get voted off American Idol "solely on singing ability"?
posted by yoink at 1:25 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Oh yeah, that clip was totally about technical proficiency. Totally.

Fuckheads.
posted by unSane at 1:28 PM on April 14, 2009 [9 favorites]

It is true it works because she was set up to fail. But still. I got goosebumps. She's certainly got talent.
posted by Rashomon at 1:28 PM on April 14, 2009

At first, we thought you merely homely and sad, and were awkwardly embarrassed by your brazen lower-class cringe-worthiness; but you sang well, and it delights us.
posted by Auden at 1:30 PM on April 14, 2009 [27 favorites]

MetaFilter: Your Favorite Slightly Disabled Amateur Singer Sucks.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:30 PM on April 14, 2009

I hear Fox are working on a version called America's Got Fatter. Should be super awesome dude.
posted by i_cola at 1:31 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

In addition to Paul Potts, there was last year's "diamond in the rough": Andrew Johnston.

[Previous MeFi FPPs -- Potts, Johnston].
posted by ericb at 1:33 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I guess this is what happens when these shows are sensationalized to the point of absurdity.

Jeez, ya think?
posted by CunningLinguist at 1:33 PM on April 14, 2009

Look, if the masses are watching this and they get a sense that snarky cynicism can make them look foolish which in turn causes them to be slightly more thoughtful for at least a little while, that's some sort of victory. Right?
posted by basicchannel at 1:35 PM on April 14, 2009 [8 favorites]

Hopefully she'll get her first kiss out of this...

Reminds me of a one-liner by Demetri Martin when I saw him last week in concert here in Boston: "I was walking down the street and I saw an ugly pregnant lady, and I thought, good for you."
posted by ericb at 1:38 PM on April 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

She's good, and her voice is certainly unexpected, but Paul Potts gave me a bigger grin.
posted by ben242 at 1:39 PM on April 14, 2009

I hear Fox are working on a version called America's Got Fatter. Should be super awesome dude.

Your gingivitis is showing.
posted by gman at 1:42 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Unsane, I love you.

I don't watch these audition shows anymore, but I used to. The clip seems good in that it takes an awkward, "odd" person and shows you how wrong you are in your initial assessment of them; and perhaps how superficial and intolerant of different people you are.

Yes, the direction was heavy-handed but c'mon -- it's a basically a *gameshow*.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 1:46 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Aside: how the hell are Ant and Dec still popular? Aren't they long overdue to age out of their "gurning Geordie man-boy" shtick?
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:49 PM on April 14, 2009

Someone asked how the show works. It reminds me of The Gong Show in that each judge gets a vote... hang on, just found this explanation at Wikipedia:

"Acts from the pre-auditions that progress to the next stage perform in front of a studio audience and three judges, having just 1 minute to impress them. The audition process is similar to The Gong Show but with each judge pressing a buzzer instead of banging a gong if they have seen enough. Each buzzer can only be pressed once, and when all three have been pressed the act must stop. However, this does not necessarily mean that the act will receive a "no" from the judges."

...the link goes on to explain the judges give immediate feedback on their performance, decide if the contestant can proceed to the next stage of the competition, etc.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 1:51 PM on April 14, 2009

Are there really people here who don't realize those reaction shots from the crowd and judges probably didn't all happen live as she or any of the other contestants were singing?
posted by emelenjr at 1:54 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

If she were really pretty, this clip would just be "meh". She's fine, she hits the notes, but it's nothing great.

If she were pretty, I probably wouldn't be sitting here with tears in my eyes.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 1:54 PM on April 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

Hopefully she'll get her first kiss out of this...

Reminds me of a one-liner by Demetri Martin when I saw him last week in concert here in Boston: "I was walking down the street and I saw an ugly pregnant lady, and I thought, good for you."

Just to be clear, my comment about the kiss was a response to what she said in the video about never having been kissed.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:55 PM on April 14, 2009

Her backstory is rather interesting. She'd put her life on the back burner to care for a sick mom-and after her mother died finally had the courage to try this.

(And fwiw I think if someone could be bothered to give her a makeover, folks would be very pleasantly surprised by the results.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:56 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

The reason this clip is interesting is because you expect her to fail completely, and she doesn't. She's not the best singer ever, she's just good enough to be a surprise to the judges and the audience.

Why would you expect that, given that most people in the U.S. have only experienced Britain's Got Talent is that Paul Pots clip, I was expecting to be blown away. Instead, i found it mostly meh.
posted by delmoi at 1:58 PM on April 14, 2009

Right.

So an awkward guy but a good opera singer comes on and shocks everybody last year. They get a big rise in publicity and internet chatter from it.

And this year, the EXACT same thing happens; shit they even claim she's never been kissed. It smells of producers wanting to top the Little Engine That Could from last year.

What's coming next year? A 30-year-old emaciated, one-armed, blind transsexual vagrant that can do a medley of Mozart using a violin made from scrap metal and amazing mongolian throat singing abilities? With a heartbreaking story, no less. Ant and Dec will be falling over themselves.

Give me a break. I might sound cynical, but I prefer to think that BGT is the more cynical party in all of this.
posted by flippant at 2:00 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

What's coming next year? A 30-year-old emaciated, one-armed, blind transsexual vagrant that can do a medley of Mozart using a violin made from scrap metal and amazing mongolian throat singing abilities?

Meh.
posted by The Bellman at 2:07 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

The technique of a one-armed violin player had me stumped until I remembered Hollywood Knights.
posted by joaquim at 2:07 PM on April 14, 2009

HopperFan:

I think what many people here are reacting against is what appears to be extreme cynicism on the part of the show's creators: the insistent falseness of this extremely constructed narrative (old, unattractive woman from the country can sing good,) the roughness of its execution (e.g., the miserably amateurish narrative pacing and cinematography,) and the underlying implications of bringing such figures into the spot light (- what I've seen other posters refer to as ug-sploitation.)

The only thing that seems to be going for this clip is that Susan Boyle appears to be genuinely quite charming and a fairly decent singer. Unfortunately, the show just exploits the very virtuous parts of our socialization (not judging a book by its cover, &c.) that make us notice her where we might not notice an equally proficient singer who is also attractive and popular.

I don't think, though, that we must necessarily be naïve to imagine this entire constructed experience is anything but a gimmick used to sell a very cheaply produced show aimed at a broad, bourgeois audience on a trashy, advertising-supported network - it certainly is, but I can accept that this realization does suck all of the joy out watching actual self-made talent. Still, there's plenty of YouTube for unsigned, non-professional musical talent (- just at this moment, I have open.)
posted by Sangermaine at 2:09 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

I think those who are whinging about the fact that she wasn't perfect are missing something. The professionals, the ones who are perfect, train every day within an inch of their lives, and are surrounded by producers and other pro musicians whose job is to them them look good. That someone with little more training than singing in the shower every day can do that well should command a little respect.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 2:09 PM on April 14, 2009 [11 favorites]

There's a seat in Hell waiting for Simon Cowell. What a nasty piece of business.
posted by Sassenach at 2:10 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Never been kissed? I'd hit...oops, wrong website.
posted by digsrus at 2:10 PM on April 14, 2009

Meh. If I hadn't seen this done last year with Paul Potts, it would have been more impressive. I'm just assuming the whole thing was staged.
posted by empath at 2:16 PM on April 14, 2009

This literally brought tears to my eyes.

Les Mis is one of my favorites, and when this rather plain, middle-aged Englishwoman started singing, I was blown away.

For all of you saying, "Meh, she was just average," she sang, a capella, an extremely difficult song, and for all we know that was her first time ever on a stage, let alone with such a large audience watching.

I thought she was absolutely brilliant.

It makes me wonder what her life has been, that she has this incredible talent and it's only just now being discovered within her.

Where was the young girl with dreams of singing on the stage?

Did she never think she was good enough back then? Did it take a lifetime of just muddling through life to get her to this point, where she finally felt confident enough to just say, "To hell with it, I'm going to give it a try"?

Or did she simply choose a different path back then, maybe deciding to trade one dream for
another, become a wife and mother before returning to her girlhood dream of singing?

I. loved. this.

Thank you, otherworldlyglow.
posted by misha at 2:17 PM on April 14, 2009 [7 favorites]

Ugh, on preview, I see the life story, and she did indeed defer her dream to take care of her Mum, so all my conjecturing is a wasted enterprise.
posted by misha at 2:19 PM on April 14, 2009

You know who else has never been kissed.
posted by aftermarketradio at 2:21 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Well I was much more impressed by Flawless (though I suspect a lot of stage school in their background, pro choreography etc)... not that I ever watch of course, just nothing on, channel surfing, eating me tea.. honest guv
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:24 PM on April 14, 2009

I like this mainly for the bit where Simon Cowell very briefly makes a face that looks like he just got kicked in the junk and suddenly realizes that he likes it.

That and I'm a big softy. While the manipulation is transparent - she's having a ton of fun and it shows and it burns through whatever dross the producers dare attempt to daub on.
posted by loquacious at 2:25 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

She ain't perfect but she can sing on a line and tell a story and that's a fuck of a lot more than most younger but mechanically adept singers manage. I mention Nina Simone -- whose voice was raw ore: 90% tailings and 10% gold, but oh what gold. No, she ain't Nina, or Ella, or countless others with damaged but real instruments, but she's earnest and honest and she can really sing. And with a year of technical training, she'll still be able to sing on a line and tell a story, and you won't have anything at all to complain about. Yes, I felt a little manipulated by the song choice and eye rolling but fuck it -- she's a real person, and how many real people do you see on television these days?

Give it up for Ms. Boyle!
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:25 PM on April 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

...plain, middle-aged Englishwoman...

She's a Scot.
posted by i_cola at 2:29 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Her backstory is rather interesting. She'd put her life on the back burner to care for a sick mom-and after her mother died finally had the courage to try this.

Yes. I don't think it's a bad thing that people are more impressed with the singing of a shy person with neurological disabilities who's had no training and very limited life opportunities than they would be with the singing of a more technically accomplished person who's had ample training and many performance opportunities.

The thing about American Idol is that most of the people on it are trained and professional singers, to some extent. They've had jobs from church soloist to dinner-theater singer to being in one of those amusement-park show-tune groups to "Up With People" and so on. They're not, like this lady, someone who's really never had any performance experience at all.

So, yeah, she's no Kelly Clarkson, but unlike Kelly Clarkson, she hadn't been training for years, performing for money, and even doing demo work for a record company before going on a TV "amateur" show. Ms. Boyle really is an amateur, and people are responding to that with empathy.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:32 PM on April 14, 2009 [8 favorites]

Saw this last night and watched it twice in a row. Choked up both times. It's the juxtaposition of song and singer that does it for me. She sings about the way the weight of reality crushes your dreams and hopes, and you know that she's singing from hard experience.

A article about her today confirms it:

“The kids round here torment her. It’s not fair, she doesn’t deserve it.

“It’s got worse since her mother passed away.

“In the winter when there’s snow on the ground the house becomes a target for them.

“I’ve chased them away a few times. No matter how different she is she shouldn’t be treated like that.

And yet she sings. She owns that song.
posted by Missiles K. Monster at 2:34 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Are there really people here who don't realize those reaction shots from the crowd and judges probably didn't all happen live as she or any of the other contestants were singing?

It's funny when a commitment to cynicism prompts this kind of fantasia, as if the only antidote to being fooled by others is to fool yourself. It's like conspiracy theories: "No one's going to pull the wool over MY eyes; I'm not falling for any of the pablum the government doles out to the sheeple: it's obvious to any fool that --[insert crazy nonsense here]!" The whole point of shows like this is that they're cheap and quick to make. Hiring actors to perform pre-scripted eye-rolls would massively drive up the costs of the production--and to what purpose? Why wouldn't the crowd react in exactly the way that they're shown reacting?

And this year, the EXACT same thing happens; shit they even claim she's never been kissed.

And again. "They" didn't claim that. She said it. It was a joke--playing on the well-known phrase "sweet sixteen and never been kissed." She wasn't saying that she had literally never been kissed.

And even if it is true that the production company desperately wanted another Paul Potts story, so what? Are you suggesting that she's actually a gorgeous young 23-year-old wearing a frumpy-middle-aged bodysuit? Or that she's actually a well-known broadway star merely playing the role of unknown?
posted by yoink at 2:40 PM on April 14, 2009 [7 favorites]

Wait, I don't get it. She's disabled?
posted by otherwordlyglow at 2:41 PM on April 14, 2009

Yeah - I felt like I was being duped watching that. It felt like a total set up and I found myself wondering if the prop department had provided her with a frumpy dress to play up the "contrast" of good voice vs. regular looks. Somehow the mean spiritedness of the initial reaction (which I'm sure the producers were playing up) and then the turn around reaction both felt equally bad to me.

That Andrew Johnston clip made me cry though.
posted by serazin at 2:49 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm not an expert on vocal performance so It's just super that there are people willing to helpfully tell me I shoudn't have enjoyed this too much.
posted by longsleeves at 2:52 PM on April 14, 2009 [25 favorites]

Physical beauty, and its absence, really do matter.

I've never seen this show (apart from the celebrated and similar Paul Potts clip) and I don't know its norms, but the rawness of the well-intentioned condescension from the pretty female judge really struck me.

We can view the show's underdog framing of the singer as contrived and ham-handed... but still, the courage to perform like that, in the face of low expectations, in the apparent absence of a talent-nurturing support system, I find inspiring.

I watched the clip; it made me feel good; that's all I ask.

Thanks for the link.
posted by darth_tedious at 2:55 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, I cried and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Whether you view Boyle's story cynically or not, it was an impressive display because it conveyed so well the dazzling possibilities in life that exist even for those folks we might not usually notice. It's easy for me to believe that her life hasn't been so grand, but she took a chance *on herself*, made a lot of people happy and gained something - new respect from others, better self-esteem and (undoubtedly) some admirers. I think she was brave, and I am in awe of her strength. She's obviously an angel and a sweet soul. I like her.

Certainly there must be many, many thousands of souls who watched her performance and were uplifted in some way. If you feel her performance was somehow contrived or snarkworthy, I'd love to hear what you've done to bring more joy to the planet than she's done recently.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:56 PM on April 14, 2009 [10 favorites]

I don't know why the jaded attitude here still surprises me occasionally.

Because you keep clinging to those last shreds of human decency like a stubborn bastard.
posted by rokusan at 2:59 PM on April 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

Well, I saw this live (ish) via the interwebs with no pre-warning. I said to my better half 'watch the train wreck' and was blown away. I thought she was being set up as a 'when auditions go wrong' (I saw it as a web clip) and was really impressed. I have sung that very song in eisteddfods, and know what it is like to sing it as if you live it. Well done her. Yes, she needs a lot of polish if she is ever going to get anywhere, yes the show is contrived, yes ant and dec are prats, yes the whole genre is stupid, but she has a great voice. Now, we get to see if she can sing anything else or if she has just been polishing that tune for 15+ years.
posted by Megami at 2:59 PM on April 14, 2009

Fantastic performance. Goosebumps and tears.

Also interesting is how different Simon is on this show from how he is on American Idol - he obviously inhabits "cranky Brit" as a character he plays over here. Much nicer guy on this show.
posted by jbickers at 3:03 PM on April 14, 2009

> Are we really patting ourselves on the back for recognizing that an unattractive woman over the age of 30 might be talented at something?

It's a lot better than not recognizing the talent of a woman over the age of 30 because she's unattractive.

We've come a long way, baby!
posted by cotterpin at 3:13 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

she sang, a capella, an extremely difficult song

Does a capella not mean what I think it means? There was a backing track; we saw those cheeky gobshites chappies Ant & Dec pressing play on it.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:16 PM on April 14, 2009

I don't get it -- her voice is certainly nice, but why am I supposed to be surprised that she's got a good voice? Have we really devolved to the point where we expect that only young, pretty people have talent? Some people say I'm cynical for not tearing up. I say at least I didn't automatically assume she has a shitty voice just because she doesn't look like Leona Lewis or something. CF. "Oh, that Adele girl certainly can sing, can't she? Even though she's fat."
posted by incessant at 3:26 PM on April 14, 2009 [7 favorites]

I don't get it either. This seemed like a completely constructed narrative to me. The crowd's and judges' reactions were blatantly spliced in and re-edited in order to Create a Moment (Charlie Brooker, previously, I thought). It felt so obvious. I don't think it's jaded to notice this!
posted by kanewai at 3:38 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

At work I am the Chief Cynicism Officer. And I liked this. So there!
posted by FishBike at 3:38 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Just listened to the clip without watching the video, so I wouldn't be biased by her appearance. I certainly didn't find it surprising or shocking or anything like that. If someone had played me that audio without telling me any of this backstory, I would have said, "hey, she's pretty good for a talent show contestant." She's better than 90% of the American Idol folks I've seen, but she's still in the same league.

Nothing against her, of course. She sounds like a pretty cool person. But this is some overblown TV hype right here. I think it's pretty sad that the story here is basically "wow, ugly old people can be cool too!"

And what the fuck was up with the audience snickering when she told them her age? Bunch of assholes.
posted by equalpants at 3:39 PM on April 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

If you feel her performance was somehow contrived or snarkworthy, I'd love to hear what you've done to bring more joy to the planet than she's done recently.

It wasn't her performance that I object to, it was the heavy-handed editing and emotional manipulation of the producers.

(Also I've brought no joy to the planet this week. I must get cracking on that.)
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:40 PM on April 14, 2009

I don't care for these shows but I was moved. Part of the appeal is the song. "I Dreamed a Dream" is sung by Fantine, a character who has been terribly used by life but from whose suffering springs this beautiful song. The performer here seems to reach some of the metaphorical, interpretive notes of the music.
posted by Morrigan at 3:40 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

why am I supposed to be surprised that she's got a good voice

No, that's not it.

Have we really devolved to the point where we expect that only young, pretty people have talent?

Pretty-much. Which is why it was touching. It's like a stereotypical Lucas-slow-clap, only for real.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:42 PM on April 14, 2009

For all of you saying, "Meh, she was just average," she sang, a capella

What? A capella?!? One of us watched the wrong clip. If she had sung it a capella I would have been significantly more impressed.
posted by Justinian at 3:45 PM on April 14, 2009

What? A capella?!?

That's right, she's stone deaf.




may be not true
posted by found missing at 3:56 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I don't think, though, that we must necessarily be naïve to imagine this entire constructed experience is anything but a gimmick used to sell a very cheaply produced show aimed at a broad, bourgeois audience on a trashy, advertising-supported network - it certainly is, but I can accept that this realization does suck all of the joy out watching actual self-made talent.

Some of you here need to learn how to sit back and simply enjoy something. Knowing how the trick works doesn't mean you can't be impressed at its execution.
posted by fatbird at 3:58 PM on April 14, 2009 [7 favorites]

Wait, I don't get it. She's disabled?

According to everything I've read about her, she has neurological disabilities resulting from birth hypoxia, and has had learning issues and other limitations as a result of that. Her self-presentation certainly isn't inconsistent with that characterization.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:59 PM on April 14, 2009

You haters totally remind me of the old Steven Wright joke about how when he watches football with his grandfather, every time they do an instant replay, grandpa thinks they got another touchdown. "I was going to tell him, but I realized the game he was watching was better than the one I was watching."
posted by jbickers at 4:01 PM on April 14, 2009 [22 favorites]

According to everything I've read about her, she has neurological disabilities. Really, I had no idea. She seems pleasantly odd and slightly awkward but I think it's a bit patronizing, even if she has some limitations (who doesn't?) to call that disabled. And furthermore, my reaction had nothing to do with thinking she was unattractive. I actually think she's kind of cute.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 4:06 PM on April 14, 2009

Times: Two years ago, after the death of her mother, she stopped singing. “I though I would take a break - it seemed appropriate,” she said. Eventually she felt ready for a comeback, and chose Britain's Got Talent, her mother's favourite show.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:06 PM on April 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

"I think what many people here are reacting against is what appears to be extreme cynicism on the part of the show's creators: the insistent falseness of this extremely constructed narrative"

Really? Does this even need to be stated, like it's some kind of insight? I don't give a shit about the flashy show editing and cutaways, I fast forward to the moment she opens her mouth, and ignore all the chaff around her.
posted by HopperFan at 4:09 PM on April 14, 2009

Susan Boyle had the courage to believe in herself. That's what we saw in her performance and that's what we heard in her song, and that's why it moves us. It's what inspiration is all about.
posted by grounded at 4:09 PM on April 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

I think it's a bit patronizing, even if she has some limitations (who doesn't?) to call that disabled.

I think when the local children tease you and everyone in town describes you as "different" and "born with water on the brain" and "not right" (all mentioned in the articles I've read on her), then that's got to be described as living with a disability. Which is hard fucking work, so kudos to Ms. Boyle for coping with all of that and hanging onto her dreams.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:12 PM on April 14, 2009

Her song choice was inspired. I could see her and hear her in every note and every word. This quality of finding a song that truly can be hers, inhabiting it, in addition to her voice, is a gift that many singers do not have.
posted by Robert Angelo at 4:16 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

(And fwiw I think if someone could be bothered to give her a makeover, folks would be very pleasantly surprised by the results.)

I think that's part of the plan. These shows are "produced." Her hair, lack of makeup and wardrobe choice were very likely predetermined by he producer/director and all along "part of the plan" to transform her over the course of the television series --- from a "lump of coal" to a "diamond."
posted by ericb at 4:17 PM on April 14, 2009

Which is hard fucking work, so kudos to Ms. Boyle for coping with all of that and hanging onto her dreams.

No, you don't understand. The producers of BGT planted her in that community 48 years ago, hired an actor to play her "mother," taught her to act "different" so that she'd score the audience's sympathy ('gimp-symp' as it's known in the biz). The whole story's totally fake.

That's what I read here, anyway.
posted by yoink at 4:20 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

Her hair, lack of makeup and wardrobe choice were very likely predetermined by he producer/director and all along "part of the plan" to transform her over the course of the television series --- from a "lump of coal" to a "diamond."

Yeah, living in her council flat she usually gets around in Prada and Chanel. Devious old hag. Good thing you're hear to see through her games.
posted by yoink at 4:23 PM on April 14, 2009 [6 favorites]

Yeah, living in her council flat she usually gets around in Prada and Chanel. Devious old hag. Good thing you're hear to see through her games.

Not her games, the producers' games. Nobody said she had any games. Can't we be appreciative of her and resentful of the producers' silly framing?
posted by equalpants at 4:27 PM on April 14, 2009

Metafilter: More cynical than Simon Cowell
posted by dirigibleman at 4:29 PM on April 14, 2009 [11 favorites]

"Can't we be appreciative of her and resentful of despite the producers' silly framing?"
posted by HopperFan at 4:30 PM on April 14, 2009

Like a few others here, I don't care about how the moment might have been constructed or edited. I work in TV, I know how to do that. What I responded to was this woman walking out there and having the moment of her life, singing with more feeling and emotion than most professional singers I've heard lately, and coming off stage and dissolving into tears because of the reaction she was given in a life that probably hasn't seen much -- or any -- approval from people outside her family.

God. I thought I was a cynical person, but compared to some people here, I'm freakin' Pollyanna.
posted by OolooKitty at 4:31 PM on April 14, 2009 [17 favorites]

HopperFan: I'm confused. Isn't that the exact same thing as what I said?
posted by equalpants at 4:35 PM on April 14, 2009

I'm not cynical. I am just extremely familiar with the song and various performances of it.

Was it great TV? Sure. Was it a moving moment? Definitely. Do those facts mean that her singing in and of itself was super special? Absolutely not. And why should I say it was? It can be great TV and a moving moment, no doubt extremely special for Susan Boyle and the people who saw it live without having to somehow claim this was a brilliant performance of the song on a technical level.

Why does enjoying the moment for what it was without making it into something it was not make me cynical?
posted by Justinian at 4:39 PM on April 14, 2009

I don't like Les Miz, and I expected her to be good (because the post said so),

and her singing still had me in goosebumps.
posted by jb at 4:39 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, living in her council flat she usually gets around in Prada and Chanel. Devious old hag. Good thing you're hear to see through her games.

Don't get me wrong. I tear up when I watch her performance. Like others I think she is an inspiration. I loved her performance and her backstory.

I loved the Paul Potts's (2007 -- and not "last year," as others have misstated above) and Andrew Johnston's (2008) evolution on BGT.

I think that the directors/producers purposefully don't "touch" the entrants who they discover in the pre-television auditions do indeed have talent. Over the various episodes they let "professionals" transform the contestants -- with vocal training, hair/make-up/wardeobe/styling, etc. You also notice it on programs like "Every Dream Will Do," "American Idol," etc. Not only do the competitors develop and evolve in their talent, but also in their appearance and demeanor.

No knocks at all against her. She's charming. She's talented. She deserves to go far in this competition. I hope she wins.
posted by ericb at 4:40 PM on April 14, 2009

She was great and her performance was awesome, but I HATE HATE HATE the editing that BGT does. "Look, someone to laugh at!" "Look, they don't suck!" "Look, audience is surprised!" "Judges are shocked!" *sweeping pan shot of audience* etc.

Watch the Paul Potts clip, and then this one again. The cuts are almost identical.
posted by mrbill at 4:40 PM on April 14, 2009

*who indeed have talent.* *wardrobe*
posted by ericb at 4:43 PM on April 14, 2009

"HopperFan: I'm confused. Isn't that the exact same thing as what I said?
posted by equalpants"

Not really. I mean, I think everyone that turns on Britain's Got Talent, American Idol, etc... know what they're going to get. MrBill is exactly right - the editing is almost exactly the same from show to show. It's just boring to point it out, because no one disagrees that it's is an over-produced pile of crap. It's just nice to encounter something refreshing in the midst of all that.
posted by HopperFan at 4:46 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Do those facts mean that her singing in and of itself was super special? Absolutely not. And why should I say it was? It can be great TV and a moving moment, no doubt extremely special for Susan Boyle and the people who saw it live without having to somehow claim this was a brilliant performance of the song on a technical level.

Yes, slay the straw men! Slay them! Today, there will many straw women who woke up straw wives and will go to bed straw widows!
posted by yoink at 4:46 PM on April 14, 2009 [10 favorites]

I think that the directors/producers purposefully don't "touch" the entrants who they discover in the pre-television auditions do indeed have talent.

No doubt this is true, but it does put people in the odd position of railing against the "fakery" of leaving her as she, in fact, is. Presumably the "honest" thing would be to transform her into someone she wouldn't recognize in the mirror.
posted by yoink at 4:54 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Over the various episodes they let "professionals" transform the contestants -- with vocal training, hair/make-up/wardeobe/styling, etc. You also notice it on programs like "Every Dream Will Do," "American Idol," etc. Not only do the competitors develop and evolve in their talent, but also in their appearance and demeanor.

This is exactly what sucks about this type of show. It'd be cool if there were real talent shows, where ordinary, talented people could just show up and do their thing and win a prize without having to be packaged and shrink-wrapped into some samey commodity.

Susan Boyle doesn't need a fucking makeover; she's a fine, presentable, average-looking person who can sing, not like a professional (at least in the gross robotic over-emoting affected pop radio American Idol manner people seem to love, ugh), but better than a lot of amateurs.

God damn I miss The Gong Show.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:58 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's just boring to point it out, because no one disagrees that it's is an over-produced pile of crap.

Fair enough, I guess it is boring to point that out. I was just responding to yoink, who seemed to be interpreting the cynical comments here as slags against Ms. Boyle. As far as I can see, nobody is blaming her for the production/hype, or accusing her of being deceptive.
posted by equalpants at 4:59 PM on April 14, 2009

I am no judge of singing. But I am a judge of "it". And this gal has got it in spades.
posted by notreally at 5:00 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

I watched the clip after reading the comments here. I was surprised because her performance really was flawed, yet it didn't matter-- she filled me with emotion. On stage, performing, this woman magically transformed herself and that is great theater. I don't care about the show, I don't care about the producers, I only care about her future. I am hoping that this will lead to better things for her and life filled with joy. She deserves it.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:01 PM on April 14, 2009 [11 favorites]

Fair enough, I guess it is boring to point that out. I was just responding to yoink, who seemed to be interpreting the cynical comments here as slags against Ms. Boyle. As far as I can see, nobody is blaming her for the production/hype, or accusing her of being deceptive.

It's not that the cynical comments are slags against Ms. Boyle. It's the posturing of the cynical set here who can't simply enjoy a nicely staged bit of turnabout without making sure we all know that they know how dreadful the world really is.
posted by fatbird at 5:17 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

She was profiled this evening on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams with a mention that viewers watch the YouTube video. The network provides a link on their website.

Quite a shout-out from a leading American broadcast network regarding a contestant on a U.K. talent show.

You go girl!
posted by ericb at 5:30 PM on April 14, 2009

I have to confess, I'm a bit partial to that song. Right after I listened to Ms. Boyle, I went and looked up this performance by Elaine Paige that I enjoy as well.

I love both versions, and for different reasons.
posted by HopperFan at 5:33 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Damn you for linking to that clip. You knew I'd tear up and ruin my eye makeup and you didn't even warn me.
posted by anniecat at 5:35 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm a cynical mf'er and I hate les miz, and man I thought this was touching. Oh this woman, I am happy to see her loved. And she has a great broadway voice, full of character. Thanks for posting this, it made me happy.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:35 PM on April 14, 2009

Did you see her when she walked off stage, hands trembling, knees nearly buckling? It was real to her and a rare glimpse at a person having their moment in the sun. For that I am glad to have seen it.
posted by Ugh at 5:57 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Oh, you big cynical poofs. This was lovely. It was a wonderful thing, and all of you naysayers probably spent the better part of your teen years giving swirlies to the AV kids.

Bless her heart, what a wonderful moment for her. How anyone could see this, and not tear up a bit at the underdog finally getting her day in the sun is beyond me.

This made my day.
posted by dejah420 at 6:03 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's magic because 99% of the links I click today lead me straight to venom and vitriol. And this one certainly appeared to be going in that direction when you watch a Patricia Routledge lookalike wander on-stage. But instead of watching someone's dreams get smashed to tiny pieces in front of a wide-angle lens, we saw a dream realized.

And that is better than a bucket full of lolcats.
posted by greekphilosophy at 6:41 PM on April 14, 2009 [9 favorites]

Yay, I am doubly pleased:
1. Because I found the clip pleasantly moving and heartwarming, even tho' I don't at all like this kind of sucky music and never watch those talent programs; and
2. I thought I was a cynical and condescending bastard, but this clip and some of the comments here raise the bar a whole lot higher.
posted by binturong at 6:51 PM on April 14, 2009

And that is better than a bucket full of lolcats

Even these cats?

This is a very cute cat in a bucket.
posted by bitteroldman at 7:15 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

All I know is that I teared up. I am the most negative, cynical bastard about phony emotion you could ever meet. The whole thing was probably engineered, but I don't care. I live for this. I live for the goodness in human life. And my hero, madamjujujive favourited me. All you 'meh' people need to cherish the good things you encounter. Without looking at it too closely. Our world now is full of negative crap. Celebrate the singer, and celebrate the balloon flying into the clear blue sky.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 7:16 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

I hated that clip, I could barely stand to watch it, and that's got nothing to do with being cynical. I found the production and editing so distasteful, and actually downright creepy (in a "holy cow, this is what TV must be like in the fictional world of Orwell's 1984"), that despite the obvious charm and impressive vocal chops of the performer in question, I was left feeling squicked out.

But hey, here's hoping Ms. Boyle can rise above the scum she's become involved with. I'm not too cynical to believe that is possible.

Also: I spread joy wherever I go.
posted by the bricabrac man at 7:20 PM on April 14, 2009

That clip raised my opinion of reality TV a bit (from zero), brought tears to my eyes, and then brought me to Metafilter where I was crushed under several tons of softball-sized hailstones of pure frozen snark.

Thanks bunches, Metafilter.
posted by mmoncur at 7:33 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

It's a friggin TV show, fer chrissakes.
How pathetic to you have to be to fall for manufactured pap like this?
posted by 2sheets at 7:43 PM on April 14, 2009

How pathetic to you have to be to fall for manufactured pap like this?

How pathetic do you have to be to shit on people for enjoying something genuinely charming and heartwarming, even when it's packaged in what everyone has already acknowledged is an artifical and manipulative enterprise?
posted by fatbird at 8:10 PM on April 14, 2009 [9 favorites]

The mehsayers here remind me of someone who was a coworker recently, but who I knew in college--we actually met through our angsty, twentysomething blogs. He said that he reread his early blog entries, and just wanted to grab his 21 year old self and hug him and stroke his hair and tell him "shhh... shhh... it'll be alright." We imagined his early self struggling at first, then acquiescing to the hug as the tears started to flow...
posted by fatbird at 8:14 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

That clip raised my opinion of reality TV a bit (from zero), brought tears to my eyes, and then brought me to Metafilter where I was crushed under several tons of softball-sized hailstones of pure frozen snark.

Thanks bunches, Metafilter.

Was that sarcasm? I can't tell anymore.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:15 PM on April 14, 2009

How pathetic to you have to be to fall for manufactured pap like this?

A least some measurable iota of an amount less that someone who just spent their time writing that. What? Your Algonquin Round Table taking a smoke break?
posted by Cyrano at 8:17 PM on April 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

I watched a BBC program where the old farts who produced Sgt. Pepper's got back in the studio with the original recording and mixing equipment and had a bunch of pop kids come in and record the album.

It was shocking to me how truly awful some of Britain's top performers are. They are so dependent on ProTools and post-processing that they — literally, my gods! — sound no better than me when they haven't those crutches.

So this woman? Yah, she's way the hell better than probably 80% of the performers out there right now.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:39 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Yeah so I've watched this five times at various points throughout the day. Admittedly it was hard for me to not notice the emotional setups and tweaking but, y'know, they aren't hard to ignore after the first time, and recognizing them does not mean I have to throw out the clip as a whole.

At first I was like 'man I really wish the audience would quiet down that clapping so that I could hear her better' and then my brain was like 'dude... six... that's not the point'.

All I can really say about this is that they had damn well better treat this lady right. I want her life to be amazing and for people to recognize her value, and not just as a singer.

Thanks for the post, otherworldly.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 8:48 PM on April 14, 2009

It won't end. Friends keep emailing this clip to me, and others keep posting it to Facebook. Everyone seems to want to inspire me today.

People: It's Simon frakkin' Cowell. He's made a living off of mocking the handicapped and the mentally ill and the effeminate and the fat & anyone else who doesn't measure up to his small ideals. I cannot accept anything from this show as an emotionally honest moment, especially when the strings they are pulling are so damned obvious. It almost becomes more odious - the formula is laugh at the freak (cash in), laugh at the freak (cash in), laugh at the freak (cash in), then pull a fast one and cry at the freak who makes good (cash in).

And, yeah she cried. It seems like EVERYONE on these shows cries at some point. 80% of the time these shows mock the contestant ruthlessly for their tears.

So may people look to these shows for some kind of emotional validation. I feel for the contestants. Most of them have talent. Most of them are ridiculed, unless the producers can come up with a better, more money- and publicity-generating story arc.

The irony here is that so many of you claim to be cynical bastards and are defending this clip. Well, I'm a sentimental a Mick as they come and this made me cringe.
posted by kanewai at 9:08 PM on April 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Copy this if **Susan Boyle** got you here.
posted by Awakened at 9:53 PM on April 14, 2009

I loved her posture.
posted by binturong at 10:19 PM on April 14, 2009

Question: I heard that Paul Potts, the person with a similar story a few years back, was actually professionally trained before he came on. Is Susan Boyle trained professionally, too? I couldn't find anything to confirm or deny it.
posted by flatluigi at 10:43 PM on April 14, 2009

It was a wonderful thing, and all of you naysayers probably spent the better part of your teen years giving swirlies to the AV kids.

No. The naysayers were most likely AV kids!
posted by ericb at 11:20 PM on April 14, 2009

I heard about one second of her singing before the crowd noises took over, so I really can't gauge her ability (other than trusting the raucous approval of the audience). It will be interesting to see her second round. I wish her luck.
posted by RavinDave at 11:21 PM on April 14, 2009

She reminds me of my mother. Mom was always a little like Ms. Boyle. It's where I get my smart-ass tendencies from. Had mom made it four more years and had been able to see this, she'd have been clicking "Play Again" until the mouse button cracked.
posted by azpenguin at 11:25 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I love people and I love singing. I can't stand the editing on that show. It obliterates any authenticity in the crowd's or the judges' reactions and masks the actual good work that's happening on stage.

It feels like entertainment for a world in which we've given over our affect entirely to television.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:42 PM on April 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Some one should remake this clip but with libertarians.

I look down on him, because he watches reality TV and is moved by it.

I look down on him because he votes democrat and believes it makes a difference.

I secretly infected a Somali child with diphtheria today, just to test my new weight-loss drugs.
posted by fullerine at 1:26 AM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, please ignore my a capella remark. I don't know what I was thinking--couldn't comment until a little while after the clip, and my memory sucks.
posted by misha at 8:02 AM on April 15, 2009

She wasn't dressed up like a super-frump, she was dressed like a normal middle-aged lady. A decently-fitting church dress, stockings and heels, tasteful makeup. As for her somewhat unfortunately wiry, thinnish gray hair -- so many people dye their hair now that I think it's a bit of a shock to see someone on TV who hasn't spent the day at the salon.

I admit I rather liked watching the snobs get their snickering cut short. I thought she performed very well; she's certainly a fine amateur.
posted by desuetude at 8:31 AM on April 15, 2009

You know what?

This is a person who really gets this song. I've heard Ellen Paige, Judy Kuhn, Hayley Westenra, and the rest of the parade sing this piece. While technically proficient and perfectly lovely, there is little connection there with the underlying experience of the song. When I watch any of these pretty people stand on that stage, I can't help thinking, "Really? So different from this hell you're living? Because I'm not buying it."

Part of the beauty of Susan's performance that night was its unexpectedness, which would have been the case even without the lousy, overwrought editing of the producers. Part of it was because it was technically a little flawed and that gave it more credibility for me. It felt pained, not perfect. Exactly as the lyrics suggest it should.

The rest of it was because of the story behind her even getting there at all. Which is her story and not one which the producers drummed up.
posted by jeanmari at 10:34 AM on April 15, 2009 [5 favorites]

Well, next up is (reportedly) "Whistle Down the Wind" in round #2. She won't have the element of surprise. I still think she'll knock their socks off and I'm pulling for her to do well. But I'll consider this the acid test.
posted by RavinDave at 12:10 PM on April 15, 2009

According to everything I've read about her, she has neurological disabilities resulting from birth hypoxia, and has had learning issues and other limitations as a result of that. Her self-presentation certainly isn't inconsistent with that characterization.

Check out her interview to which jeanmari links. Her "self-presentation": she comes across as well-spoken, engaging, very capable, intelligent and very likable.
posted by ericb at 12:47 PM on April 15, 2009

Singing "If Only" from WDTW? That is a great piece, too. Clever choice, because it is not well known since the musical isn't as well known as others. This is the only video I could find of the recording, but the visual (anime?) doesn't match the audio.
posted by jeanmari at 12:47 PM on April 15, 2009

Hmm ... I guess I just assumed she'd be doing the title song (the Tina Arena thing), but "If Only" strikes me as a much better choice. And perhaps much more likely, in that it was done by Elaine Paige.

This is shaping up to be quite interesting. She set the bar pretty high. Did she hold back something in reserve? Then again, who knows? Paul Potts came out swinging with his strongest song immediately.
posted by RavinDave at 1:31 PM on April 15, 2009

I don't care what anyone thinks of her "technical ability" or the quality of the show. I admire that she had the courage to take the chance and put herself out there. I think it's a real testament to believing in yourself and giving your dreams a shot before life passes you by completely.
posted by scarello at 1:56 PM on April 15, 2009

Oy.

Her hair, lack of makeup and wardrobe choice were very likely predetermined by he producer/director and all along "part of the plan" to transform her over the course of the television series --- from a "lump of coal" to a "diamond."

It felt like a total set up and I found myself wondering if the prop department had provided her with a frumpy dress to play up the "contrast" of good voice vs. regular looks.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. She talks about how she went out to the beauty parlor, or whatever they call it there, to have her "hair curled specially" for the show, and the dress was one she bought to wear to her nephew's wedding.

This seemed like a completely constructed narrative to me. The crowd's and judges' reactions were blatantly spliced in and re-edited in order to Create a Moment

Several people who were in the audience that night have posted around the net that what you saw on the television (or youtube clip) was pretty much exactly as it happened, though of course there was some intercutting for reactions.

Question: I heard that Paul Potts, the person with a similar story a few years back, was actually professionally trained before he came on. Is Susan Boyle trained professionally, too? I couldn't find anything to confirm or deny it.

Paul Potts had had vocal lessons, yes. Susan Boyle has had absolutely no training at all, has lived a life in which she has been mocked since she can remember, truly has never been kissed (read an interview or two), and spent most of her adult life taking care of her mum.

It's Simon frakkin' Cowell. He's made a living off of mocking the handicapped and the mentally ill and the effeminate and the fat & anyone else who doesn't measure up to his small ideals. I cannot accept anything from this show as an emotionally honest moment

Really? Take a look toward the end where she sings "so different from this hell I'm living / so different now from what it seems", and watch Simon Cowell's expression as he breathes in with disbelieving joy, and sighs out with a genuine smile and a look in his eyes like he's fallen in love. You think Simon frakkin' Cowell can fake that?

Damn, MeFites. Give up on the cynicism for once in your MefiLives and take joy in the moment. She killed. Love it.
posted by tzikeh at 3:06 PM on April 15, 2009 [12 favorites]

i could see her--after some raining--playing Grizabella or Mrs Lovett.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:10 PM on April 15, 2009

Are we really patting ourselves on the back for recognizing that an unattractive woman over the age of 30 might be talented at something?

I for one (speaking as an ugly chick over 30) am applauding anyone in the entertainment industry for realizing this, because generally speaking, NO, THEY DO NOT recognize that. I don't care if it was edited out the wazoo, that lady proved a point and just got herself a bunch of fans. I think that's awesome. She's my Lloyd Dobler that gives me hope this week (even though I can't sing either).
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:48 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

i could see her--after some raining--playing Grizabella or Mrs Lovett.

The very best typos are the ones where you just can't quite tell if it is a typo. I'd say she's weathered quite a few rainstorms of one kind or another.
posted by yoink at 5:01 PM on April 15, 2009

He said that he reread his early blog entries, and just wanted to grab his 21 year old self and hug him and stroke his hair and tell him "shhh... shhh... it'll be alright."

It's not your fault.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:22 PM on April 15, 2009

i could see her--after some raining--playing Grizabella or Mrs Lovett.

a little fall of raining?
posted by greekphilosophy at 6:25 PM on April 15, 2009

Good GOD, Metafilter - lighten the fuck up and put the godforsaken cynicism away, just for once, please! I'm sure the best of you can explain why the media masters manipulated this and how fabricated it was and how mediocre she really is, but for fuck's sake - it was brilliant to watch

It made my day, and for the life of me, I don't really know why - and more importantly, i don't care why.

For once in your holier-than-thou lives, would you people please just enjoy something for what it is and stop trying to analyze the crap out of it?

Fabricated or manipulated or whatever you want to call it, it made me tear up, something I rarely, if ever do, at stuff like this. And for once, just once, it showed just how wrong you sanctimonious, perfectionist pricks out there in world can be - and you know what? That's okay in my book. Good on you, Susan Boyle, and thanks for making my Wednesday.
posted by tgrundke at 8:17 PM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Here's my reason for slight cynicism upthread. She has a terrific voice for someone with apparently no training. As someone who was born with hydrocephalus myself, as she seems to have been according to the papers, it's nice to see her in the spotlight. I could just do without the heavyhanded production as mentioned above. There's no doubt that she's talented and her story is touching. Her story and her performance elicit a certain reaction without any help. But the editing, the reaction shots, etc.—they all are designed to amplify that certain reaction. Not only is that gross, it's just not necessary. It's like a laugh track. Only, instead of being reminded what's supposed to be funny, I'm being reminded what's supposed to be amazing.
posted by emelenjr at 9:08 PM on April 15, 2009

I bawled.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:47 AM on April 16, 2009

OK, I'm done now.

Fuck most of you and your dead, black hearts.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:49 AM on April 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Look, I think she was and is wonderful, someone with spirit who hasn't let a hard life grind her down. I don't know anything about singing, so I enjoyed her song, and her reaction to her success. She was so genuine, I think, in comparison to the other reality shows where people say "it means EVERYTHING to me" or "I'm devastated" and burst into tears at the drop of a hat or when the director lifts a finger.

But what appalled me was a huge room full of people, either under direction or from their own free will sniggering at another human being who had the guts to give something a go. And then they "felt", wow, this woman actually is worthy of singing to us, let us cheer instead of listening to her. How hypocritical, and fake, and selfserving. This is what disgusts me. Not the lady herself, with her neat figure and her sweet face and sense of humour, and sense of self. She is a hero -- the show is disgusting.
posted by b33j at 5:27 AM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

For once in your holier-than-thou lives, would you people please just enjoy something for what it is?

Yeah, who doesn't love cheap manipulation and the exploitation of a naive woman who's already had some tough breaks?


b33j just said it better than I could have. I was repulsed by seeing her trotted out there in front of an audience primed to snigger at her appearance, her age and even her very hopes.

Hating on this vile show does not mean hating on Susan, but some of you clearly can't tell the difference.
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:53 AM on April 16, 2009

Suan Boyle interview (and singing) on CBS Early Show [video | 05:20].
posted by ericb at 9:07 AM on April 16, 2009

She is a hero -- the show is disgusting.

I don't think there's a single person in this thread who doesn't think the show is disgusting. Some of us think that Susan Boyle rose above the show.
posted by yoink at 10:08 AM on April 16, 2009

I wonder how you will all feel if you find out she had years of musical training and was trying to pursue a career in music before she quit to look after her mother. Will the emotional response change?
posted by srboisvert at 11:12 AM on April 16, 2009

Whether she was manipulated or not, or the production people messed with it a bit, she seemed to enjoy performing and I, as well as many others, enjoyed watching her.
posted by mskonz at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2009

I wonder how you will all feel if you find out she had years of musical training and was trying to pursue a career in music before she quit to look after her mother. Will the emotional response change?

Yes, of course. But the pleasure of seeing room full of sniggering assholes getting their smug preconceptions knocked for a loop would remain.
posted by yoink at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2009

She evidently did have a bit of training, though her response the the question on the Today Show was a bit clipped and cryptic. What does she consider training? What do you consider training? High school? Church choir? A couple seminars? What would be available to someone in a small village that would produce a voice like that? I suppose it's possible she traveled, enrolled in a professional conservatory and walked away on the eve of graduation, but I'm kinda doubting it. And little short of that would lower my opinion of her obvious talent.

I guess we'll have to wait until newsies run their background checks.
posted by RavinDave at 2:18 PM on April 16, 2009

What if Susan Boyle Couldn't Sing? (via)
posted by equalpants at 6:10 PM on April 16, 2009

Interesting article on a song she released for a small charity CD in the late 1990's. Still doesn't rise to the level of professional bona fides, but it appears to have charted. I can't get the media to play (prolly blocked outside UK - or maybe my machine is futzed).
posted by RavinDave at 6:41 PM on April 16, 2009

I just got it to play. Interesting interpretation of the song, very emotive!
posted by jeanmari at 6:54 PM on April 16, 2009

Don't know if anyone is still reading this but another recording attributed to her is on YouTube from a charity CD back in 99. Cry Me A River.

I think she's the real deal.
posted by fshgrl at 7:01 PM on April 16, 2009

Interesting article on a song she released for a small charity CD in the late 1990's. Still doesn't rise to the level of professional bona fides, but it appears to have charted.

"Charted" generally means it made the charts - the Top 40 or whatever. But there's no chance that this little release - pressed in an edition of only 1000 copies for a local charity - ever made the charts.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 8:24 PM on April 16, 2009

Yeah, I misread something in the article.
posted by RavinDave at 10:19 PM on April 16, 2009

an unattractive woman over the age of 30

Late to the party here, but I just have to add this: I happen to think she's quite attractive (and I'm not being sarcastic). I do think she'd look better wearing bolder colors instead of a plain beige dress, but her basic appearance is rather fetching.

But more importantly, I'm hugely attracted to - and inspired by - her feisty spirit, courage, and belief in herself. That sassy, defiant way she swivels her hips when she says "I am forty-seven...and that's just one side of me!" totally rocks. Yeah! Go Susan!
posted by velvet winter at 11:12 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Cry Me A River.

Damn. She's good!
posted by ericb at 9:10 AM on April 17, 2009

Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle warned against image makeover.
posted by ericb at 9:14 AM on April 17, 2009

Her version of Cry Me a River shows what she can truly do. I imagine the audience she sang in front of is of several orders larger than any she's entertained before, and that after a hiatus like the one she took after her mother's death she was out of practice performing or even thinking about music. I'm also sure she knew she'd never have a chance the like again. That's quite a bit of emotion to channel and focus while singing and she did it beautifully. I don't care if the show played me like a cheap fiddle. There was no artifice in her.

What I keep thinking about is how cheap production and distribution is sold as the great democratizer of the arts, when really it's not. Gifted social networkers, outright panderers, and young, attractive people brilliant at cultivating an image still win out much or more as they've ever done. I don't have the words for it but I think there is an unmistakable feeling in art that is created by someone with few such gifts -- art that is the only expression for an otherwise unheard voice. All the longings and dreams forced to pool there make for an unforgettable sound. Marry that to such natural technical proficiency as Susan Boyle's and it makes for something truly rare and beautiful. The tawdry trappings can't take a thing from it. I'm sincerely grateful I got a chance to hear her -- and that against every probable chance, she got to be heard.
posted by melissa may at 11:07 AM on April 17, 2009 [4 favorites]

I don't care if the show played me like a cheap fiddle. There was no artifice in her.

Well said, melissa may. My feelings exactly!
posted by velvet winter at 2:45 PM on April 17, 2009

This article from the NYT perfectly encapsulates some of my conflicted feelings about why this bothered me.

The audience and judges “were initially blinded by entrenched stereotypes of age, class, gender and Western beauty standards,” [feminist writer Pogrebin] added, “until her book was opened, and everybody saw what was inside.”

Middle judge Amanda Holden is described as lovely, 38, artfully put together and seemingly unable to move her face to register surprise. Ha! Take that botox.

But turns out I'm wrong to have gotten kerfuffled here, because... Miss Boyle’s performance has been significant, too, in that it has unexpectedly provoked a debate about prejudice against the not so young and not so beautiful. She's a pretty good singer, but she's a GREAT role model and she's spurred everyone to talk about what it means to be worthwhile in our society.
posted by incessant at 11:56 AM on April 18, 2009

After hearing Cry Me a River I take back my initial criticism of her. She's got it. In spades.
posted by Awakened at 1:17 AM on April 19, 2009

How few bones does the entertainment business have to toss to those who don't fit the preconceived mold in order to insure even greater legions of applicants for underpaid or unpaid internships and support staff?
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:50 AM on April 19, 2009

First of all, I have to say I really enjoyed that, and after hearing Cry Me A River, it's clear that the BHT performance was no fluke. Yes, as so many have said, the production is cheap and shitty and transparent, but the performance and the greater story so far transcend it that is still completely heartwarming and inspiring to watch. I find it interesting that ultimately, in a meta kind of way, in going for gross emotional exploitation not only were the tables turned on the judges and the audience, but the baseness of the whole format itself becomes even more apparent and inadvertantly self-mocking.

Also, this thread shows a lot of reflexive cynicism. There is certainly a case for realism but can you at least acknowledge that there was still something amazing and genuinely good? There are backtracking comments that Susan Boyle was real but the show was not, but that is in the obvious category anyway.
posted by blue shadows at 3:02 AM on April 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Britain's Got Competition.
posted by RavinDave at 5:15 AM on April 20, 2009

but the performance and the greater story so far transcend it that is still completely heartwarming and inspiring to watch

This is what makes the moment pretty special. I'm not sure she could follow up such a great song selection with equal surprise, but in that one moment...she made her mark on the world. Its the story along with the song, that really seals this as being full of awesome. And on top of that, she's got a pretty good voice too :)
posted by samsara at 6:59 AM on April 20, 2009

Larry King Live interviews Boyle (who says, "I had lessons for two years"), and judge Piers Morgan apologizes. Part 2 includes her doing a bit of the Titanic theme song My Heart Will Go On, a cappella.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 1:02 PM on April 20, 2009

meh.

This is the exact opposite of Britney Spears. People are still judging by appearance, it's just a contrast this time. She's above average, at best.
posted by empath at 4:15 PM on April 21, 2009

Early recording of Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle unearthed -- "...made at her own expense... and distributed...to only a handful of her closest friends in the village of Blackburn [10 years ago]."
posted by ericb at 3:42 PM on April 22, 2009

Boyle stalked by paparazzi.

Boyle banishes bushy brows.
posted by ericb at 3:49 PM on April 22, 2009

I have to confess, I'm a bit partial to that song. Right after I listened to Ms. Boyle, I went and looked up this performance by Elaine Paige that I enjoy as well.

Apropos of nothing, that's Ruthie Henshall, not Elaine Paige, but holy moly, a superlative performance.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:00 AM on April 24, 2009

Oh crap, thanks, FelliniBlank. I never realized I put the wrong link in there - I was looking at several different performances of the song, and must have borked the copy/paste somehow.
posted by HopperFan at 5:33 AM on April 24, 2009

Susan Boyle's Got Competition:

Jamie Pugh sings 'Bring Him Home' from Les Miserables.

Callum Francis sings 'Consider Yourself' from Oliver.

posted by ericb at 12:16 PM on May 8, 2009

There's also:

Flawless - Dance Act.

Diversity - Dance Act.

posted by ericb at 12:27 PM on May 8, 2009

Ya know ... I'm starting to think *I* could frickin' sing "Les Miserables".

These people make it look so easy.
posted by RavinDave at 2:46 PM on May 8, 2009

I love the old Forbidden Broadway version of "Bring Him Home."

The lyrics start: "God it's high. This songs too high..."
posted by greekphilosophy at 6:59 PM on May 8, 2009