Let’s just say, several. Perhaps too many. But I can’t help it! Team Susan all the way!
As my homie E-Fresh who just moved to South Korea told me — you know something’s an international phenomenon when people are gathering around computers in South Korea to watch. That’s the same story in Trinidad where I’m from, all over the United States, and around the world. Millions have watched Susan Boyle defy expectations and make television history. As she admitted in her first interview on Scottish TV, it’s left Susan absolutely gobsmacked.
Susan Boyle’s tale would inspire just about anyone, but I know women for whom it means even more. It actually irked me quite a bit to hear the comments the judges unabashedly blurted out to her. “When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said, ‘I want to be like Elaine Paige’, everyone was laughing at you,” said Piers Morgan. Well gee thanks, Mr. Morgan. What a mindlessly rude thing to say, right?
The standard response to Susan Boyle thus far has been tearful surprise that a regular-looking single woman in her 40’s 1. has the voice of an angel, and 2. has proven the world and it’s embarrassing assumptions wrong. As a bella with many strong, opinionated, beautiful relatives who have happily chosen to live their lives much as Susan Boyle has – single, childless, helping to care for their parents as they grow older — I call BS on these saccharine, self-congratulatory responses to Susan’s success.
Cosign with The Guardian and Jezebel — the reaction to Susan Boyle’s talent reveals far more about modern society’s judgmental nature. The haters at the NY Post agreed, but then went on to question the veracity of the polished reality TV show clip itself:
“…it seems cynical, churlish even, to speculate about the machinations behind this phenomenon. But it remains true that this clip, and Boyle’s rendition, would not be so compelling without the contradictions: the beautiful voice possessed by this defiantly unglamorous woman, who can somehow fully inhabit and interpret a love song without ever having been in love.”
I agree. It does seem cynical and churlish.
I’d like to believe that somehow the we’ll all learn a thing or two from Susan Boyle, to not judge books by their covers. But I know better. So instead, I sincerely hope she enjoys real success, and I hope she doesn’t let the fame machine change her too much. Like she told the Times Online in a charming interview:
“Maybe I’ll consider a makeover later on,” she laughs. “For now I’m happy the way I am — short and plump. I would not go in for Botox or anything like that. I’m content with the way I look. What’s wrong with looking like Susan Boyle? What’s the matter with that?”
Absolutely nothing! Susan’s an inspiration to real, regular women everywhere. This 1999 cover of Cry Me a River that Susan did for a long forgotten charity CD proves she’s more than a one-trick pony. I know this won’t be the last we hear of her, not by a long shot. Next stop Oprah!
Are you a fan of Susan Boyle, bellas? How many times have you watched the video?
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