Susan Boyle - Cultural Phenom? C/D

Apologies if this discussion has already been started somewhere, but I didn't run into anything searching for her name or for Britain's Got Talent.

24 hours ago I had never heard of her nor given even a second of thought to Britain's Got Talent, but I've since been forwarded her YouTube clip by 14 different people of surprisingly wide-ranging tastes and interests. I deleted the first several e-mails without watching, as is my standard response to mass forwarded e-mails. I finally gave in and watched the 7 minute clip about her and goddamn if she didn't win me over despite my inborn cynicism. I think it was her feisty personality, in spite of everything, that won me over moreso than the voice.

I just find the whole thing quite interesting, as I don't think she'd get anywhere near that kind of reaction from an American audience if she appeared on one of our talent shows. But she still has managed to capture a large chunk of our imagination in a short time. The cynics are already in, an article in today's Chicago Tribune called into question Simon's reaction, insinuating that his and that of all the judge's just HAD to be fake.

For now, I say classic. If only for brightening up an otherwise crappy day for me yesterday.

yes it was quite nice. she did have a good voice, assuming she can learn to act she could do fine in stage musicals.

I think the judges reactions were faked, it was staged. But there's no denying the fact her voice is great and that people genuinely have been touched by it. My parents watched it all day on youtube yesterday.

"We three and this whole crowd behind us weren't expecting much when you walked out... y'know... because... uh......."

She didn't sound all that great to me, but it may have been my crappy computer speakers I suppose.

xpost
Is her voice that outstanding? I mean, obviously it's good for an amateur but I don't think anyone would be raving about it if it wasn't for her backstory.

she sounded good, but it made me uneasy the way all those shows do. i mean, they basically humiliated her even in the process of ostensibly celebrating her. "wow, you pathetic dozy cow, you can sing! we thought we were just going to laugh at you, but now we can laugh with you too. and congratulate ourselves for our suddenly warmed hearts."

good for her, but .... bleccch.

Oh I was definitely uncomfortable with the blatant insults they tossed at her, but those made me want to root for her even more.

^^^^ ditto (xp). her having a beautiful voice just gave ppl license to tell her that she's ugly. also kinda lol but mostly sad how we've gotten to where ppl think there's some kind of natural causal link between beauty and, like, talent.

i'm sure the beauty-talent causal link is v v v old

Her talent is very, very deniable. She is better than average for an amateur at best. I think people want to be part of the alleged victory, that's it.

Should I know who Susan Boyle is?

not like yt vids are embeddable

o wow how very badly staged.

I had avoided this until now, but just watched. So obviously staged and the whole thing fills me with endless rage. simon cowell should have his nuts cut off and shoved down his throat.

though obviously susan boyle herself is a sweetheart

Can't believe a back-story on Britain's Got Talent is staged tbh.

I think only the reactions were staged, I'm not cynical enough to believe the entire fucking thing was staged. Maybe that disqualifies me from posting on ILX though so pretend I never said it if you want.

I'm sure Ms Boyle is genuine enough, but the whole point of these shows is that everything else that happens is staged as fuck.

It's not even surprising or controversial, it's HOW THE SHOW WORKS.

I think thats understood. My particular fascination with this is how many Americans are latching on to the story, considering this isn't aired here and because normally they can't be bothered to give two shits about anything not happening outside of American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.

"not happening on"

I saw a headline today that said "Idol contestant saved" or something like that, and I thought it meant "saved from certain death" by rockslide or drunk driving accident or something...but no, it just meant "saved from elimination on the show". This is news? No wonder print news circulation is down blah blah blah

Ah right. I haven't watched the vid all the way thru but surely the American angle is it fits right in with those uplifting rainbow bullshit platitude emails that circulate so freely, plus she's a god-botherer. Plus you guys seem to really love Les Miz.

That's bizarre, it's not even a big story in the UK!

So she's the new Daniel Hannan?

why would americans need to youtube british talent show clips when they have lil kim on dancing with the stars?! i spent an hr last night youtubing that

^^^ So fucking impressed at her dancing with a ball and chain shackled to her ankle.

That's bizarre, it's not even a big story in the UK!

It is, in the sort of way that fascinates people at my work (breakfast telly, tabloids, probably several OK/Chat/Take a Break type mags when they get hold of her). Totally staged, touched by the hand of Cowell (hence American interest, obv, with American Idol connections - doesn't Piers Morgan do America's Got Talent as well?), and totally distasteful (OMG woman with mild learning disability/47 year old virgin/average middle-aged style-free woman from council estate in the Central Belt CAN ACTUALLY SING A BIT). Like an even less savvy Paul Potts. Easily manipulated to raise profile of ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN DO STUFF.

The audience and panel reactions to her walking on were horrible. She is obviously now being set up for some makeover which will see her with new eyebrows, big highlighted hair and an entire wardrobe of cruise-ship clothes.

Let's not be overly harsh on her voice; she is not the second-coming to singing but she is very, very good. A little training and she could easily be the mother in "A Light At The Piazza".

I doubt this is all going to end well for her

but yeah the staging of the event is puke-worthy. she has a nice voice, could easily do well in stage musicals and whatnot. the backhanded insults to her and this weird "ugly people have TALENT?" storyline is disgusting.

As Mrs V pointed out to me, they did almost the same shit last year with some dude with really bad teeth or something.

Yeah, I was really uncomfortable with the way the judges talked as well - not "oh, you were fantastic," like a normal, polite person would say, but "oh, you were fantastic, and here we were ready to laugh at, mock, and humiliate you!" As if being mean is somehow okay if people don't PROVE that they deserve decency. I guess that's half the point of the show, though, so it's the whole premise I don't like.

Very impressed by how fast I got sick of this lady after initially liking her very much. New land-speed record.

As if being mean is somehow okay if people don't PROVE that they deserve decency.

ya rly - half expected Simon to bust out with a South Park "I think we all learned something here tonight" speech

I thought Simon came off pretty well, and it's the other two judges who should be ashamed of themselves for a number of reasons.

We're calling him "Simon"? What's wrong with Cowell?

I'm on first-name basis with him; we're bros.

As Mrs V pointed out to me, they did almost the same shit last year with some dude with really bad teeth or something.

Aye, as I said, a less savvy Paul Potts. I don't think they were quite so bad to him though, the pre-mouth-opening-voice-coming-out thing wasn't OMG UGLY BLOKE CAN DO A POOR MAN'S PAVAROTTI OMGWTF, was it? It's the whole astonishment that a basically unattractive person can sing that's distasteful - if she'd come out looking like Katharine Jenkins/Elaine Paige/Cheryl Cole* and sung like Katharine Jenkins/Elaine Paige/Cheryl Cole*, no-one would have batted an eyelid.

* pick your own non-plain once-not-famous professional-singer/talent-show-winner of choice here, obv

^ hyphens are great, aren't they?

t's the whole astonishment that a basically unattractive person can sing that's distasteful - if she'd come out looking like Katharine Jenkins/Elaine Paige/Cheryl Cole* and sung like Katharine Jenkins/Elaine Paige/Cheryl Cole*, no-one would have batted an eyelid.

we've been over this!

but yeah, you're right, the fact that she was a woman seemed to give them license to be more explicitly omg this chick is butt who knew she could sing¿¿¿¿ that potts guy was like lovable nerd and susan boyle is lol ugly lady can sing wth

The one thing that threw me from the clip - who are wingus and dingus backstage, saying "bet ye didnae expect THAT didja?". I mean it implies the thing was a bit of a setup, as has been said above. Or at least they banked on the audience going "ew lol hee hee" and then being "suprised".

At first I thought they were dubbing a voice on her, heh.

Actually - hahahah - wouldnt it be hilarious if it WAS a dubbed voice and the whole thing was some shitty social experiment?

wingus and dingus are british telly nice guys Ant and Dec, whose role is to go LOLWTF as the voice of the Great British Public, and act as an anti-panel viewpoint. So, yeah, stooges to add to the "OMGWTF" view in the world where we all agree with Cowell, Morgan, and some talentfree d-list whose only claim to fame was shagging a c-list celeb, who probably did more for his public standing as a result than she did for her own.

Oh yeah Ive heard of those twits :)

The whole angle in what's been in the papers over here (gleaned from having to listen to people at work rather than actually choosing to voluntarily read the likes of the Daily Mail, though I've read some stuff on the internet now that it's become a thing) is focussing on the minor mental and learning disabilities/never had a boyfriend angle, like this somehow precludes you from having a singing voice. The fact it's gone overseas is just extra WTF icing on the cake, like they needed to beat "OMG a guy who sells mobile phones can do a passable version of Nessun Dorma".

Let's not be overly harsh on her voice; she is not the second-coming to singing but she is very, very good. A little training and she could easily be the mother in "A Light At The Piazza".

absolutely- if she did that in a local production and you were in the audience you'd be very impressed.

really tho, that was the most obvious staging i've ever seen on one of these shows. she was pretty much given a script.

thanks ilx, now i am even more uncomfortable with it

Hey, it's not just us, when articles like this exist:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1168890/Middle-aged--8216-hairy-angel-8217-wipes-smile-Britain-8217-s-Got-Talent-judges-faces.html

(article preceding her appearance on the show, btw)

oh btw

That was quite bad. I don't want to do that again

If I saw her in a small town local production, I would think that we in South Succotash were lucky to have her. If I saw her at a dinner theater, I would judge her by the quality of the soup. If I saw her in a professional production, I would be annoyed (that someone had forced me to see an inferior touring production of Sweeny Todd or some shit). She has a very nice voice and cannot sing particularly well.

She has a very nice voice and cannot sing particularly well.

That's where the training comes in, as I said above.

she sounded good, but it made me uneasy the way all those shows do. i mean, they basically humiliated her even in the process of ostensibly celebrating her. "wow, you pathetic dozy cow, you can sing! we thought we were just going to laugh at you, but now we can laugh with you too. and congratulate ourselves for our suddenly warmed hearts."

good for her, but .... bleccch.

This. So spot on. Let's all pat ourselves on the shoulder for looking past her fugly face and admire her beautiful voice (which isn't that "unique"). She's still right to go with it and have fun. But by god does it make me uncomfortable.

I think the point, while valid, is slightly (massive emphasis on "slightly") overstated, particularly after years of producers parading sacrificial lamb contestants in front of the judges/audience for cheap lolz; if you're going by typical reality show narrative, Susan Boyle would be a delusional misfit convinced against all demonstrable odds that she has talent. In this case, the producers found a misfit with more than ample proof that she has talent and decided to run with it since it goes against how they normally program; this isn't that much different than super-nerdy Clay Aiken opening his mouth and belting like a Broadway pro or Anoop Desai walking in looking like he got lost on his way to a lecture and singing like Teddy Pendergrass.

Having said that, the judges (particularly that woman) could have found a much more tactful, less cruel way of saying "haha producers, you got us".

nah, dan- on the british version they've been doing this regularly for the past two/three years- there was no surprises for the judges, the presenters, i'd say half the audience were well ready for her.

for a start, i doubt very much that each contestant going up there gets to sing for four minutes (and plan for that with music cues etc)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8004712.stm

see that is way way better than what she did on "Britain's Got Talent"

It's better, but given that the most obvious in her singing (to me) is its inconsistency, the clip is way too short to say it's much better. She reminds me of Eva Cassidy, another really good local singer who achieved stardom through backstory.

the most obvious FLAW, that should have been.

My particular fascination with this is how many Americans are latching on to the story

A co-worker just asked me if I'd heard of her.

A co-worker just asked me if I'd heard of her.

Same here, just now, and a different coworker yesterday.

When I'm at the gym in the morning and the tvs are on dumbass shows like Today, GMA and whatever CBS' stupid show is called, all they have been showing the last two days are this lady and stuff on the guy who got saved from the pirates. Oh, and Julie Chen making a total fool oout of herself.

Shocking how people are prepared to prostitute themselves for 5 minutes of fame.

i remember you used to pick on me like that......

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/04/article-1135510-033258D3000005DC-113_468x376.jpg

They basically managed to turn hermoment into being about themselves, they are fucking vultures.

This fucking show picks over the bones of the mentally ill and naive, anyone who is deluded enough to think they can sing etc is given enough rope to humilitate themselves for our entertainment and people with genuine talent are turned into sob stories to make us feel better about humiliating the 1st lot.

blame the people who watch it, if no-one watched the program it wouldn't be made.

oh I do.

hooray, you win

I'm worried about the backlash, because if the X Factor is anything to go by people will focus it on her rather than the judges/producers. I'm thinking of last year when one of the sob stories turned out to be faked, and you had that Peter Kay programme taking the piss out of rubbish singers getting to the finals because their gran died or something, and the public decided quite suddenly that they were bored of manipulative sob stories now. And rather than blaming the producers they focused all of their hate on Daniel (the man with the dead wife who also had kind of a mediocre voice but got through because Cheryl Cole cried at him). He barely brought up his wife once the finals came around, and any manipulation during the auditions seemed to come from the editing and the judges' reactions to him, but he was the human face in front of it all and so he was the one who everyone hated. To make things worse, the judges and the show seemed to side with the public and told him week after week that he just wasn't good enough to be there, even though it was them that bloody well put him there.

It's happened a few times, as soon as the public feels manipulated they go for the person at the centre of it instead of the people actually doing the manipulating. I think there are a few weeks yet before people start voting for this so there's enough time for people to decide that they don't want to vote for the person the producers want them to. I just really hope they blame the judges and producers for this and not her.

Man bites dog. Nine days wonder. Never seen the video. Books are better entertainment. Good luck to her. She means nothing to me.

My particular fascination with this is how many Americans are latching on to the story

I've received most of my forwards from the English Major, Anglophile types who would, of course, never forward pop culture hype coming from America but when it comes from England, boy, they just know it couldn't be low-culture...

They're the same people who rave about Dr. Who, which I only recently understood to be a soap opera.

a soap opera for teens, actually

with no friends

blame the people who watch it, if no-one watched the program it wouldn't be made.

Uh, dude, you can only watch a show if it's made. Sure if it doesn't get viewers, it gets cancelled. All I'm saying is that everyone is responsible.

everyone is responsible

Tsk. Sloppy thinking. I do not watch and I try to stay as little informed about it as it is possible to be while still remaining exposed to media, yet you assign me some portion of blame for this monstrosity?

Taking the focus off me, you apparently assign some portion of blame for this to dementia patients, Unabomber-type recluses and infants? Hard fate.

Oh come on, dude, I'm using hyperbole. I'll send you a list of all the names. Is that fair enough? (I'm actually halfjoking.) But still seriously I do believe we have to claim some responsibility.

All can say is you have a lot to learn about hyperbole young man, when you can use it, call it by name and do not recognize it when it bites you in the arse.

Man bites dog. Nine days wonder. Never seen the video. Books are better entertainment. Good luck to her. She means nothing to me.

― Aimless, Saturday, April 18, 2009 1:53 PM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Books are better entertainment, but they apparently don't beat commenting on pop culture on the internet.

Hypocrisy is the supreme entertainment.

there are a number of places where it is impossible to read a book, for instance while driving, or during intimate relations. posting to the internet is a handy substitute for such occasions

Having just seen the clip like everyone else in the world (in this case linked to from the AV Club, and accidentally posted on the Stallone thread in place of a clip from the film Cobra), I will say: regardless of the authenticity of the showcase, the woman is genuinely talented & I hope that she enjoys her well-deserved 15 minutes in the limelight & is able to parlay that into some sort of long-term career as an opera singer or what not. I'm a sucker for ugly-duckling stories, so I'd be lying if I said this didn't tug at the heartstrings a bit (as it is no doubt orchestrated to do), but I will also not be paying particular attention to the further unfolding of this particular media phenomenon.

I'm a sucker for ugly-duckling stories

Just about everyone is, which is why the story has legs. The fact that aspects of this story are crass and orchestrated doesn't mean that this lady isn't more deserving of our attention than 90% of what is broadcast on television.

Also, you can not underestimate the American love affair with regional British accents.

But still seriously I do believe we have to claim some responsibility.

Nath, if you're including people who don't watch reality shows in that "we," that's some serious baloney.

it's amusing how fast this went round in the anglo-centred world. (My dad actually mentioned this!)

they basically humiliated her even in the process of ostensibly celebrating her
so true.

after all the hype her voice was a bit of dissapointment though (but this has been mentioned before so i won't start repeating things) But everybody deserves to shine at least once in their life, hopes she enjoys it. :)

Main thing that grabbed me about that clip is what hateful pieces of shit the 2 male judges were. Who the fuck gave that moron Piers Morgan ANY kind of cultutal gatekeeping power, even if it's just on a TV talent show?

I bet whoever edited that clip together is patting himself on the back. 15 millions Youtube hits in 3 days? That's a success story.

I do hope she isn't lip syncing. It totally occurred to me the second time I watched it. As fabricated as it seems, I wish her the best.

The only reality show I ever liked was Robot Wars.

Cultural Phenom?

no. sophisticated marketing & 30 million tards

have you seen it yourself?

pash- i only caught it once a few days back, but i thought cowell was ok, but the other two were uttery shitty.

<3 cowell

I think it's England's great paradox that the same people who, for years, have supplied the world with dry humor, ironic distance, reservation and fortitude etc should now also be the world's best exporter in ersatz emotion like the kind this viral video is meant to produce. It seems like you're going so far in one direction that you break through the wall and wind up at its opposite end.

And I should clarify that I know that many, if not most, of the English probably condemns the media-lead attempts to drive off emotional cliffs - I'm just curious why there's such an audience for it in a country that's usually so emotionally cold.

you cynical bastards -- what happened is exactly what happened: an ugly old woman came out and sang really beautifully and she had this beautiful sense of herself and as she sang, the audience was transformed.

Listen to her -- it was beautiful.

wtf at my mam narrating this story to me like it was some important cultural event?

But did it really need that false setup and overwrought reaction? The story itself is strong enough to not need every emotion tweaked to eleven.

this was v. disappointing btw, simon cowell looks like he's in the angelus on rte

even had a gawker mention now.

time for a boyle v grifter poll imo.

which is the more culturally phenomenal/relevant?

yeah, this was better when they did it with an uglier guy with a better voice u guys ;_;

Do you really think she is that homely? She has such a sweet face!

lolcats more culturally relevant, because of more staying power

uh-oh

SPENGLER
Why the West is Boyle'd
By Spengler

The West still has no idea what kind of trouble it's in.

Singer Susan Boyle, our latest instant celebrity, reminds me of any number of singers I conducted in amateur renditions of the easier Schubert or Haydn masses, or the sort of matron who sings "Katti-Shaw" or "Buttercup" in the local Gilbert and Sullivan production. Musical talent springs up like grass, and engaging voices are a dollar a dozen. That Boyle has come to embody the triumph of ordinary people over obscurity, complete with invitations to appear on Oprah and Larry King, is disheartening. The popular audience in the West likes to validate its own mediocrity, and crowns stars-for-a-day.

"In a time of economic strife and stress, she came out of nowhere to make us smile and maybe even shed a congratulatory tear or two for someone who had finally fulfilled a life-long dream. Hey, we all have our dreams, right?" gushed Steve Rosen at the Kansas City Star newspaper on April 17, in a variation of a theme that has appeared in numberless versions in the media.

Meanwhile, in China, 60 million children are learning Western classical music under the gimlet gaze of strict teachers. East Asian singers, particularly Koreans, are working their way up the ranks of provincial opera companies, and every one of them sings better than Boyle. Who do you think is going to run the world 20 years from now? As the Italians say, we're bolliti, "boiled". Now we can spell it with a "y". I hate to always be the one to say this, but the hope is fatuous. No, you can't.

ok lol

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/gimlet-225b.jpg

gimlet: the tastiest of gazes

(Srsly though, how is comparing someone who never made it but got a lucky break to a legion of people going through a specific type of singing factory even halfway comparable? He'd have a better argument if he was comparing American music education to Korean music education and even then there's still a giant pile of "lol racist" to wade through.)

guys u have to read the whole thing... every sentence is killer material

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KD21Ad01.html

xp dan u have to get on the spengler train, dude is a trip

There is an undercurrent of self-worship in the aptly-named American Idol and its British knockoff, which lifted Boyle to stardom.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha

Boyle's stardom might prompt a closer look at the little Scottish town of Blackburn in West Lothian whence she hails, and, more generally, the state of the formerly industrial towns of Britain's north. There is life after economic death, but it is not pleasant. Few places in the West are more disheartening. Young people have nothing to look forward to but a weekly Walpurgisnacht.

The local newspapers print thick advertising supplements about clubbing, which seems to be the mainstay of the local economy. On Friday or Saturday night, besotted boys and girls in extreme states of dishabille riot through whole quarters of ruined industrial towns. A good deal of Britain's working class is unemployable at any price, too lazy to move to London to take the jobs waiting tables or driving buses that bring Spaniards or Frenchmen to the British capital.

...

The day is gone when a smile and a shoeshine will get you a shot at the American dream, but a smile and a song still will get you a chance at instant stardom. That is the message of hope that Susan Boyle bears to the beleaguered audience of the Anglo-Saxon world. In fact, her own little corner of Britain is living proof that hope may be entirely in vain. Whole parts of the industrial world never will come back. Nothing can resuscitate the north of Britain from industrial ruin, and portions of the United States appear likely to follow.

Okay that was massively entertaining.

Once the pundits have rolled her around the barn a couple of times, she'll have completed her transition to yesterday's news. Tomorrow a child will get stuck in a well and the next news rush will be on.

That article was a riot!

guys, spengler is always totally amazing, read his archive, more O_O and o_O than u can even imagine

we have a thread, too

nu-spengler is ed anger of the blog ra

When people say things like this are "staged" what does it mean exactly? Does it mean the judges already know at that point that the person is going to sing really well? Or does it mean that the person is some kind of ringer from a talent agency and not really who they say they are? Because if it's merely the former, I don't see it as all that bad -- you're just recreating the effect of the initial surprise of the person's initial audition in front of an audience and "star" judges to convey the effect. If it's the second, yeah that's genuinely manipulative.

In either case, I agree that Boyle's voice just isn't that impressive. I mean there are just droves of ATTRACTIVE people with far better voices who never see any kind of professional success.

I'd bet good money that she was given assistance with her song choice.

When people say things like this are "staged" what does it mean exactly? Does it mean the judges already know at that point that the person is going to sing really well? Or does it mean that the person is some kind of ringer from a talent agency and not really who they say they are? Because if it's merely the former, I don't see it as all that bad -- you're just recreating the effect of the initial surprise of the person's initial audition in front of an audience and "star" judges to convey the effect.

The former. I imagine what happens is that they go through acts to see who has the best backstory, obv. Cowell would be involved in that.

Of course, Ant and Dec have something of a track record of "staging"

Spengler otm about everything ever.

I think it's England's great paradox that the same people who, for years, have supplied the world with dry humor, ironic distance, reservation and fortitude etc should now also be the world's best exporter in ersatz emotion like the kind this viral video is meant to produce.

yeah totally right on that dude. England have only ever supplied the world with those things. and black people have huge penises. through the looking glass here!!

The Englishwoman Boyle is insufficiently ironic

Amazingly Boyle did not offer a cup of tea or fish and chips with her act. It's ironic even.

most depressing webpage of the month
http://www.youtube.com/browse?s=mp&t=m

No-one posted this yet?

Hello.

I watched the first 'show of the season' with our Alice (she's nine, but for the duration of the show, she's a 30 year old expert judge with ten years experience in vocal coaching, presentation, and so on), and we both reckoned it was the best show they'd done. Susan Boyle being only part of it.

Following week, we're in NY, opening the paper to find her face on the front page (OK, so we may not have needed to open the paper to see that. Or was it folded inwards? Anyway..)

This became on on-going saga without any actual new news (once again, the media became the message/news story)

To the point where on taking a taxi homeward bound to Newark, the radio had it SBoyle had been offered $1mil to make a pormo by a SCal enterprise. (This didn't make the eng news, because it's not actually a news story but a fanciful bit of 'self-pub' for the SCal enterprise.

So, now she's max-stressed because she's been forced into hiding and not allowed to capitalise on her immediate potential, and not allowed to appear anywhere except for BGT in 5 weeks (now 4, presum), and now been set up for a fight with some little girl in a tutu singing teh opera.

My money's on the dance troupe(s).

Oh, and apparently there is a "Susan Boyle" CD, made in 1995 or so, worth loads on e-bay now.

mostly dud.
so now we'll see this new trend of non attractive amateur singers in american idol and stuff?
i suspect the whole story was planned to increase the buzz about the show,(great success..) which suffer from less and less viewers as years go by.

SBoyle had been offered $1mil to make a pormo by a SCal enterprise

OK this was a typo but thank fuck it was the right typo

or, indeed, thank 'not fuck'.

I just thought I'd point out that the banner in that YT clip a few posts upthread appears to read "My Kind of Pee." That is all.

P.S. "Susan Butt"

some little girl in a tutu singing teh opera

since when is "My Fair Lady" opera

since they announced the Jade Goody musical

I didn't see that show, I was in New York you know...

think somebody accurately predicted this upthread- there'll be one of these 'amazing transformations' every show until the finals.

"A pizza delivery man overcame crippling stage fright to wow 'Britain's Got Talent' judges with a song from 'Les Miserables' on Saturday night's show"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8059927.stm

"Shooting stars never stopp even when they reach the topppp"

Blimey, do they really turn episodes of the Simpsons and South Park round that quickly?

South Park always, Simpsons have gotten quicker since the movie finished i think.

Hmm, I wonder if she'll make it through round 2?

It's a live show.

It would be very cool indeed if she went out onstage and went "I'm off now, cheers!"

not very likely

This was mildly amusing:

http://www.kontraband.co.uk/videos/17550/Britains-Got-Talent-2009/

I remember reading they can make a South Park episode in under a week.

So, a mildly competent sing, a straight through to the final, and a small girl cries as a dance troupe gets the second place.

Is it a foregone that SB will win? The public gets what the public gets.

New Gareth Gates type, and another dance troupe to ensure we will never work out which dance troupe is best because the 'dance troupe' vote will split.

Apparently, the Media are to blame. According to the media, that is.

Have they said sorry yet? Or are they stepping down at the next election?

i still think how she's supposed to be so inspiring and not just a really good singer is horrible.

Yeah being patronised by the nation must be hugely unpleasant but I think I could deal with it given the opportunity to make millions of pounds with an album of glorified karaoke.

^^^

you'd have to know you were being patronised by the nation in order for it to be really unpleasant.

The fact that you or I could deal with a bit of being patronised isn't really the problem, tho, it's whether Susan Boyle can deal with it. But, y'know, Cowell and Co's all-hilarity all-the-time baiting the mentally ill roadshow probly gonna keep going until they really fuck somebody up.

To elaborate, it's not the patronising stuff that I fear for but the fact that somebody who seems to be a vulnerable adult is being launched into a career in a field not noted for the tender loving care shown to its participants.

you don't trust the priory to cure her of her learning disabilities?

i wonder if her finishing second and being booked in there was someone's idea (and apologies for the phrase) of a 'good story'.

I feel like they're over-compensating because a) they didn't realise at first that she had a learning disability, and b) they got very cold feet when they realised that, for whatever reason, she wasn't going to take direction well. There was a definite sense in the semi and the final that everybody was a bit edgy in case she did something off-script.

somebody who seems to be a vulnerable adult is being launched into a career in a field not noted for the tender loving care shown to its participants

Saw an interview with Oliver Whatshisface (James?) where he said every celebrity he'd ever met was basically nuts

... mind you, he did blame Thatcher for it all

Moving this over from the Lacey thread:

http://www.faithmouse.com/susan_boyle_cat_duet.jpg

How many of Cowell's acts are actually millionaires now?

Simon Cowell, maybe Robson Green. That's it.

Robson Green's is based on repeat fees from North Korea where Soldier Soldier is the top rating TV show tho.

None of Girls Aloud are millionaires?

Don't think Cowell manages them or has them on his label.

Yeah, quick Google confirms he wasn't even on that show.

LOL

Yeah being patronised by the nation must be hugely unpleasant but I think I could deal with it given the opportunity to make millions of pounds with an album of glorified karaoke.

― Tits Bramble (Matt DC)

well the entire "let's have a laugh, o wait nevermind she's actually good so welcome to our exclusive club you are worthy and have overcome your shortcomings" stuff is kinda the sort of thing that got me out of the reality tv business.

you got really burned eh

...TAYLOR HICKS?

http://s3.amazonaws.com/vodpod.com.videos.thumbnail/152290.medium160.jpg

The stupidity of it is that Simon Cowell might be a decent judge of talent, but I wouldn't know from his professional career where he consistently favours mediocre people who he can score a quick buck off, so fuck his opinion really.

that's not really the moneymaker on these shows any more though- the ratings and phonelines are the income streams and the stars are the judges. the rolling procession of 'talent' is nothing more than the theme of each series.

Almost 350 people complained to Ofcom about Britian's Got Talent last week, but fewer than 20 were concerned about the treatment of runner-up Susan Boyle.

Only 16 complaints were received after Saturday's final. Ofcom says most of them were about the winners, Diversity.

Ah, righ...WHAIDAMINIT?

(i.e. the 'complaints' about Diversity were not given any detail in the news story)

In contrast, 331 viewers got in touch after Friday's semi-final. More than half were annoyed that Hollie Steel was allowed a second chance to perform.

Boyle is 'edging closer' to Porno

:/

bummer i thought Susan was starting a porn career.

I'm pleased everyone had the same thought I did when they saw that.

Who the hell is this? Dude, you've been on TV and in the papers for like ever, we know how you look, don't suddenly go all photoshop on us.

http://i48.tinypic.com/15zgh90.jpg

that's from the back cover of her album, btw.

Singer uses flattering picture on album cover. Film at 11.

Hate to admit it, but I really like the single. Surprisin choice for her which manages to avoid the show tune route I thought she'd go for. Not going to buy the album though, enough people doing that already.

I did not expect this:

Ms. Boyle's debut album, "I Dreamed a Dream" (Syco Music/Columbia), released last week, has been a record-breaking success around the world. In the United States it sold 701,000 copies, the biggest first-week sales of any album this year, eclipsing Eminem's "Relapse." It is also the biggest opening sales week for any debut album since Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle" in 1993, and the best first week for a debut by a female artist since SoundScan began tracking record sales in 1991.

"I Dreamed a Dream" is also the biggest-selling debut in British history, according to the Official UK Charts Company, and it reached No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. According to Columbia, it has sold 3 million copies around the world in its opening week.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/susan-boyle-tops-music-charts-with-record-setting-debut/

Susan Boyle special on ITV just now. Piers Morgan is barely letting her speak. "Special duet" coming up soon, I reckon it'll be with Elaine Paige.

you think? :-)

This is quite uncomfortable TV, an interview where they won't let her speak, and a warts-and-all documentary about how she couldn't cope and didn't win.

Hey, look, it's Elaine Paige! Who'da thunk it?

Me!

(answer yr emails btw)

That sounded odd, like Boyle's rushing through her bit too quickly and cutting all the notes short. Also has a slight feel of that bit in the X Factor final when the plucky wee finalist gets to sing with a real proper star.

Targeted advertising in the last break with Ronan Does Christmas For The Mums album, thereby neatly sorting out what to get for the parent who's already bought themself the SuBo album :-)

(answered!)

That can't have been live so it was weird if that was the best take they had. Problem obviously is that Boyle is a mediocre singer, can't do harmonies or anything - Elaine Paige had to cover that bit. Sure Boyle's a decent club singer but, y'know, state the obvious - she hasn't sold all those records cos she's bringing some unique gift to the table.

yeah. as I say, my mum's bought the album, so I'm sure I'll be getting to hear it at some time. I think trying to make her something more than she is isn't going to work at all.

I take it this programme's made by Syco to plug the album on the run up to Christmas?

Wait, what am I talking about, I didn't really answer that. I meant "yeah, she's doing nothing particularly unique other than her story.." then the bit about not having heard the album, etc etc.

I do like "Wild Horses".

I don't know if her success is a thing or tells us anything about anything or about why people buy records or like artists. I don't think it says anything that isn't obvious, really. But I might be a bit depressed/psychotically pissed-off if I was a middling professional musical theatre performer with no chance of ever selling that number of albums despite my obvious technical superiority.

I dunno, nothing but good wishes for Susan Boyle herself.

I've had to listen to the album a couple of times because Mrs T likes it and I wouldn't call her 'mediocre'. Wild Horses is v. good (although Burrito Bros version better natch) and there's a couple of other tracks on there that are well worth a listen (End of the World for instance, and Daydream Believer believe it or not).

You can polish a lot in a studio. That doesn't matter to me as far as a record is concerned but I've never heard her perform live and be better than a talented amateur.

I caught 15 mins of this - I saw the Elaine Page duet - I thought SuBo sounded better than EP.

I switched channels after this:

Cowell: "Was Susan Boyle right to dream the dream?"
(tilts head, closes eyes in deep thought. 5 seconds elapse)

Cowell: (answering his own question) "Yes".

I thought SuBo sounded better than EP.

I thought so.

After this weekend: Duets are Rubbish.

Cowell: "The elevator called me up.
She said you better start making sense.
The stone was bleeding, whirling in the waltz.
I went to see her majesty. The court had no suspense.
She said, "Dream dreams the dreamer."
I said it's not my fault."

At the very least, her initial "I Dreamed A Dream" was better than "talented amateur". Most of what she does vocally is technically more proficient (if blander) than most of the people out there with recording contracts; in her genre, she's more than qualified enough to hang with the likes of Charlotte Church and Andrea Bocelli.

Still not buying her album though.

TMZ reports:

Susan arrived to L.A. earlier today to perform the song "Perfect Day" on the show.

Sources connected to the show tell TMZ ... producers needed permission from the songwriter, Lou Reed -- the former lead singer for The Velvet Underground and famous for "Walk on the Wild Side" -- but at the last minute they were informed that Reed refused permission because he isn't a Boyle fan.

When Boyle found out, she dissolved into tears -- unprepared to change her tune for the show.

We're told Boyle went to LAX this afternoon -- still in tears -- and is catching a flight back to London.

"America's Got Talent" refused to comment.

Pfork chimes in, hilariously:

In the spirit of TMZ: Looks like someone's day wasn't so perfect after all! (Because the song is called "Perfect Day". And, in fact, Boyle had what sounded like a shitty day. That is.)

I hope you're proud of yourself, Lou Reed.

saw subo the other day looked like she was having an OK time

Pope gig was rubbish.

you were there?

Did anyone see that Futurama ep on the new season where Leela has a singing boil on her arse...

... called Susan. Groan. Didn't know til the other day that the voice for Susan "Boil" was done by Craig Ferguson which made it extra hilaro.

you were there?

No, I saw the Susan Boyle bit on the telly. She was all croaky and kept missing her cues and hit a couple of bum notes and generally made a proper arse of Make Me A Channel of Your Peace, which is usually a really nice hymn.