Susan Boyle

[gldstwmn]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...yle/index.html

Scottish singer 'gobsmacked' by overnight stardom

(CNN) -- The Scottish woman who became an Internet singing sensation after her performance on a British talent show said Friday she doesn't want fame to change her.

She shocked and inspired the audience, judges, and Web watchers with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Misérables" in the first round of the show.

"I wouldn't want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false," she told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday. "I want to receive people as the real me, a real person."

Boyle's appearance belied her talent, but in the end it was the very reason she won over the audience. There is speculation TV producers might give Boyle a makeover for the rest of the show, but she refused to say whether she'd accept one. iReport.com: Have you been judged on looks?

"I can't make a comment on that," she said.

A clip of Boyle's performance on the talent show had more than 15 million views on YouTube by Friday, and the world's media have beaten a path to her door in Blackburn, Scotland.

While she said she's the same person -- the shy girl who has never been kissed -- it's clear that Boyle's life already is changing.

In her home are heaps of fan mail and cards from well-wishers. Throngs of fans have been shrieking at her doorstep begging for her autograph.

Boyle said she's still in shock and overwhelmed by her overnight stardom. "I'm gobsmacked, absolutely gobsmacked," she told CNN on Friday morning.

During an earlier interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Boyle expressed amazement at people's reaction to her -- "the way everyone seems to have embraced me, the way they seem to have apparently fallen in love with me," she said.

The singer acknowledged she noticed the initial snickers when she got onstage for her performance on "Britain's Got Talent." But she said she didn't let it get to her. If nothing else, it fueled her motivation.

"I just thought mentally, I'll show them, so I did," she said. "If people are cynical, you try and win them 'round and it worked. It must have been a miracle, but it worked."

Boyle still has a long way to go -- having just gotten through to the second round of "Britain's Got Talent" after judge Simon Cowell described her first performance as "extraordinary."

If she can make her way through the show's final rounds, she will get to sing for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show. Boyle has promised to be on her best behavior if she gets that far.

"Whatever comes my way, I am ready. It would be lovely to sing for the queen. There would be less of the carry-on from me and more of the singing.

"She is a very regal lady, very nice, so I would be nice, too, and just get up there and give it a bit of wellie [try]," Boyle told the show's Web site.

Boyle began singing in school productions at 12. She had private lessons and won local competitions, but a professional career never took hold partly because of circumstances at home.

Boyle said she cared for her aging parents, both of whom have died.

Thoughts of her mother led Boyle to apply to be on the talent show, she said.

"She was my inspiration, and she was the driving force behind my application," Boyle told CNN. "I felt it was a tribute to her. She was a wonderful lady."

Boyle said she was trying to take her newfound fame in stride.

"It's a challenge. Life is a challenge sometimes, but this is different. And I like to test myself.

"If it all gets too much and they lock me up, I want a great big straitjacket with spots on it -- a pink one ... and a big zip on the back so I can escape."

Cowell reportedly is trying to piece together a record deal for Boyle, an unemployed charity worker who lives with her cat, Pebbles. But Boyle said she's not focusing on any of that yet -- she still spends her time concentrating on the current competition.


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I'm rooting for her. Her performance didn't make me cry. I guess I'm one of the 5% who didn't cry.
I can't see her living her current lifestyle for much longer though. I think she is being a bit naive there.
In case you've been living under a rock, this is who I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

[skcin]

She didn't make me cry either, but I can appreciate her amazing talent. I hate that it's news that "someone like her" could possibly be talented - as if the fact that she's not the textbook version of an attractive person makes it shocking that she can sing. Of course, it's news that she'a bit older & has never been discovered up until now, bu tthat's not how most of the media is playing it.

[David]

What the hell was that song? it sounded like the theme at the Convention of Maudlin Mooncalfs.

Why do these singers on American Idol always sing such dreck? Or am I generalizing (because I don't see the show often)?

Do any of them ever perform any Mozart arias, or Schubert lieder?

I hate so much of that poppy, sappy stuff from Lloyd Weber & all his copycats. Is that the only **** that these wannabe-famous singers work on?

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by skcin

She didn't make me cry either, but I can appreciate her amazing talent. I hate that it's news that "someone like her" could possibly be talented - as if the fact that she's not the textbook version of an attractive person makes it shocking that she can sing. Of course, it's news that she'a bit older & has never been discovered up until now, bu tthat's not how most of the media is playing it.

Well, I think there is that aspect of it. But, I think Ms. Boyle played it by camping up the 47 year old line. So, there is some of that as well. In the end, she was stunning to these ears. I do think, however, that her gestures and positioning during the song suggest that this is not her first time on stage.

[carrie721]

Originally Posted by David

What the hell was that song? it sounded like the theme at the Convention of Maudlin Mooncalfs.

Why do these singers on American Idol always sing such dreck? Or am I generalizing (because I don't see the show often)?

Do any of them ever perform any Mozart arias, or Schubert lieder?

I hate so much of that poppy, sappy stuff from Lloyd Weber & all his copycats. Is that the only **** that these wannabe-famous singers work on?

if someone goes on american idol, why would they sing a mozart aria? it's a show for cultivating pop talent. that's not to say they still couldn't make better choices of material, but neither mozart nor schubert makes any sense.

however, this wasn't even american idol, it was britain's got talent. i don't know enough about the show to say what kind of material she had to choose from.

that being said, i dig susan, but i think the way the media is handling the whole thing is silly. first of all, the audience/judge reactions to her before and after her performance were so craftily edited, it felt contrived and disingenuous, and that's a shame. and the way the interviewers on the early show talked down to her was cringeworthy. she might have off-kilter looks and a brogue, but she's not an idiot.

[strandinthewind]

Interestingly, the woman who originated the part - now THERE is a voice



Having said that, SB's was sweet and she will go far if she strikes while the iron is hot. If I were she, I'd be in the studio next week doing two things:

1. a Christmas record for next Fall, and;

2. An album of show tune standards to be released June 1.

The public is fickle and she has had over 20 million hits on youtube alone

[diane_k]

I think the sensationalism will die off little by little, but I definitely think she'll be set for life after this. Dream big, Susan!

~DK

[gold_dust]

Originally Posted by carrie721

if someone goes on american idol, why would they sing a mozart aria? it's a show for cultivating pop talent. that's not to say they still couldn't make better choices of material, but neither mozart nor schubert makes any sense.

however, this wasn't even american idol, it was britain's got talent. i don't know enough about the show to say what kind of material she had to choose from.

that being said, i dig susan, but i think the way the media is handling the whole thing is silly. first of all, the audience/judge reactions to her before and after her performance were so craftily edited, it felt contrived and disingenuous, and that's a shame. and the way the interviewers on the early show talked down to her was cringeworthy. she might have off-kilter looks and a brogue, but she's not an idiot.

The whole point of Britain's Got Talent is that it isn't confined to just singing - that's for the X Factor. BGT is a talent show for just about everything. Last year a contestant brought her dog with her as part of her act. A burlesque dancer went through last week. Whilst Susan Boyle isn't the epitome of glamour, her talent isn't a big stretch on a talent show where anyone can try out.

[trackaghost]

Originally Posted by David

What the hell was that song? it sounded like the theme at the Convention of Maudlin Mooncalfs.

Why do these singers on American Idol always sing such dreck? Or am I generalizing (because I don't see the show often)?

Do any of them ever perform any Mozart arias, or Schubert lieder?

I hate so much of that poppy, sappy stuff from Lloyd Weber & all his copycats. Is that the only **** that these wannabe-famous singers work on?

David, honestly I know you like your classical music and think it's so much more superior but did you even watch the clip fully? The woman said she'd like to be like Elaine Paige ie an actress who works in musical theatre. Since that's the case why would she perform a Mozart aria? Singing a song from Les Miserables makes perfect sense however.
And like Carrie said, this is Britain's Got Talent not American Idol but if it were American Idol it would be even more ridiculous for her to sing what you suggest (since Britain's Got Talent has a wider scope of talent they are looking for, for instance it discovered tenor Paul Potts one year) since the whole point of that show is to find someone who excels at singing pop songs.

[DigYourGrave]

Originally Posted by David

What the hell was that song? it sounded like the theme at the Convention of Maudlin Mooncalfs.

Why do these singers on American Idol always sing such dreck? Or am I generalizing (because I don't see the show often)?

Do any of them ever perform any Mozart arias, or Schubert lieder?

I hate so much of that poppy, sappy stuff from Lloyd Weber & all his copycats. Is that the only **** that these wannabe-famous singers work on?

EXACTLY! exactly.

I am **** sick of Andrew Lloyd Weber making a world full of mediocre mezzo sopranos who get a standing ovation for managing a rising scale in one breath. Really boils my blood. Susan Boyle is nothing special. As somebody said, its the "ugly duckling" story that Simon Cowell is gonna eat right up and market for millions.

I'd rather sit in an auditorium with 8 watching Die Fleidermaus than sit in that Britains Got Talent venue with thousands watching this below average "singer".

And that's my rant for today over with.

[David]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

David, honestly I know you like your classical music and think it's so much more superior but did you even watch the clip fully? The woman said she'd like to be like Elaine Paige ie an actress who works in musical theatre. Since that's the case why would she perform a Mozart aria? Singing a song from Les Miserables makes perfect sense however.
And like Carrie said, this is Britain's Got Talent not American Idol but if it were American Idol it would be even more ridiculous for her to sing what you suggest (since Britain's Got Talent has a wider scope of talent they are looking for, for instance it discovered tenor Paul Potts one year) since the whole point of that show is to find someone who excels at singing pop songs.

My. Suggestion. Wasn't. Meant. Literally.
!!!!!!!!

Of course I know that these TV shows aren't going to feature an evening's worth of Mozart & Schubert!!!!!

My post expressed my extreme fatigue with the "rock-operatic" musical style of Lloyd Weber, Elaine Paige, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Tim Rice & so on & so forth -- it's the stuff that these amateur singers on TV shows like this ALWAYS sing. I hate this stuff. Maybe it's better in small doses, but we don't get it in small doses. That was the real message in my original post.

It isn't a question of "pop" vs. "non-pop." I saw a movie the other day -- "Kiss Me, Kate." Cole Porter wrote a batch of pop songs ("From This Moment On," "Wunderbar," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," "Too Darn Hot," "I Hate Men," "Tom, Dick or Harry," "Why Can't You Behave?" etc.), any one of which is wittier, sharper, more tuneful, more self-aware, & ultimately more memorable (not to mention shorter) than the whole of "Les Miz" or "Cats" or "Dogs" or whatever the pop-opera of the year is this year.

As I recall, Paul Potts sang "Time to Say Goodbye" -- more caterwauling dreck of the so-called "classical crossover" market. YUCK!!!!! I don't think these inexperienced singers are best served by this maudlin junk.

But good luck to all the singers on "Britain's Got Talent" & "American Idol"!

[trackaghost]

Come on David, stop being such a snob about it.

[David]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

Come on David, stop being such a snob about it.

All right, already, all right!