Swift Has Year's Top Album; Music Sales up 2.1 %

Susan Boyle put up a strong challenge, but Taylor Swift ended 2009 with the year's best-selling album.

British Internet talent star Susan Boyle taken to clinic

British internet singing star Susan Boyle has been admitted to a private clinic after being beaten into second place in the final of the popular "Britain's Got Talent" television contest, British media reported.

Dowdy and unglamorous, Boyle seemed an unlikely star when she first appeared on the show in April, only to stun the judges and win popular acclaim with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables."

Boyle, 48, had been heavily backed to beat nine other finalists on Saturday after clips of her earlier appearance were downloaded nearly 200 million times and she was hailed the world over as a superstar.

But according to the Sun newspaper, she suffered an "emotional breakdown" at her hotel in London on Sunday.

A police spokesman confirmed that officers had been called to a London hotel "to doctors attending a woman under the mental health act."

"She was taken voluntarily by ambulance to a clinic. At the request of doctors, police accompanied the ambulance," the spokesman added.

Despite expectations that Boyle would make a fortune from her talent and almost instant fame, there has been concern among show organizers about her ability to cope with pressure.

Boyle, who was starved of oxygen at birth leading to minor brain damage, has been pursued by the world's press since early April and, according to show judge Piers Morgan, broke down in tears repeatedly during the run-up to the final.

Nearly four million people phoned in to choose a winner, and street dance troupe Diversity won 24.9 percent of the vote ahead of Boyle's 20.2 percent.

Diversity won 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and will appear at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen.

Boyle's financial future had been seen as secure despite coming second, as Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell and his Syco music label were widely expected to sign her up for an album. There has also been talk of a Hollywood movie about her story.

Media quoted the TV show's makers as saying Boyle was "exhausted and emotionally drained."

"She has been seen by her private GP, who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery," one newspaper quoted their statement as saying.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE55017W20090601

Susan Boyle to sing in Britain's Got Talent final

Global Internet sensation Susan Boyle competes in the final of "Britain's Got Talent" on Saturday amid signs she is struggling to cope with her sudden rise to stardom and constant media intrusion.

The 48-year-old unemployed church volunteer from Scotland, who once joked she had never been kissed and has been described by newspapers as "frumpy" and a "hairy angel," threatened to pull out of the popular television contest this week.

"She's been in tears repeatedly," Piers Morgan, one of the show's judges, told "Inside Edition" in an interview aired in the United States earlier this week.

In his blog, Morgan wrote: "Let me tell you now, there is a downside to fame. People start criticizing you, sniping at you, trying to trip you up, belittle you, harass you.

"I am calling today for everyone to just give her a break."

Boyle's performance of the song "I Dreamed a Dream" last month in the first round of Britain's Got Talent has been downloaded more than 150 million times on the Internet and turned her into a major celebrity.

Film crews camped outside her home in the small town in rural Scotland where she lives alone with her cat, tabloid reporters have followed her every move and she is front page news almost every day in Britain.

Boyle appeared on U.S. chat shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Larry King and is a media sensation from Chile to China.

UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS

While her voice has the power to reduce judges on the show to tears, Boyle's success has also raised the awkward question of why people were so surprised that she had such a talent.

With her unkempt hair and apparent indifference to what she wore, Boyle was the very antithesis of what many viewers thought a celebrity should be.

She had to overcome derisive sniggers in the audience before she first performed, and Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell apologized on air for underestimating her.

A fan site dedicated to Boyle is titled "Never judge a book by its cover."

Boyle is up against nine other acts in Saturday's final, and is the bookmakers' overwhelming favorite to win.

A victory is likely to secure her a major recording contract and even more media attention, although her financial status should already be secure.

How Boyle copes with the trappings of fame is uncertain.

Morgan said in his blog that Boyle had learning difficulties after being deprived of oxygen at birth, and was nicknamed "Simple Susan" at school.

Her erratic behavior in recent days, including an altercation with reporters, raised concerns among Britain's Got Talent executives about her ability to cope with the pressure of the final, but the ITV channel which airs the competition has confirmed that she will perform.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54R5FR20090530

Boyle Threatened To Bolt "BGT"

The pressure may be getting to sudden singing sensation Susan Boyle.

A British tabloid says she -- boiled over at the hotel where contestants stay from the show that made her famous, "Britain's Got Talent."

As CBS News correspondent Richard Roth put it, "Fame has a price," and Boyle is "learning that part of it's sometimes bad press."

Britain's best-selling Sun newspaper says Boyle lost her cool in an encounter in the hotel's lobby with a pair of strangers -- one that ended in a chat with police.

Details are thin, Roth says, except for the paper's claim that the encounter included Boyle swearing at the strangers.

But on The Early Show Thursday, one of Boyle's biggest backers, "BGT"Judge Piers Morgan, said he's "feeling more supportive" of Boyle "today than I was before, because I feel really sorry for Susan.

"From what I hear," he told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "she's been in tears the last two days. She even threatened to leave the show yesterday at one stage, because of the sheer amount of pressure on her.

"And you have to remember with Susan, she's a 48-year-old lady from a tiny village in Scotland who has never been exposed to anything like this kind of attention. And I think she's really feeling the heat.

"The hotel she's in is crawling in tourists, crawling in the media. I think maybe she overreacted. I don't know what happened. She denies, apparently, some of the things that have been reported.

"But either way, I know she's feeling a lot of pressure, and I think that most people watching this show and hearing about this will feel natural sympathy toward her. And I just hope it all calms down for the final. Because, on Saturday, she sings for the competition" -- for all the marbles.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/28/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main5045334.shtml

Britain's Got Talent Semi-Finals

The semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent kicked off over the bank holiday weekend as the public decided which acts they wanted to see in the finale on Saturday.

It came as no surprise that Scottish favourite Susan Boyle sailed into the next round as she wowed the judges again with her rendition of the Andrew Llyod Webber hit Memory from musical Cats.

Almost 14 million people tuned in to watch the 46 year old church worker cruise into the finale along with the judges choice, Essex dance collective Diversity.

A modest Boyle, who is still odds on favourite to win the talent show said of her victory: “It was totally unexpected – but I’m feeling pretty good about the result…The audience reaction was stunning, I still cannot believe it.”

Boyle, nicknamed the ‘hairy angel’ by the tabloid press said of performing in the final: “I’m really looking forward to giving an improved act. I’m going to do the best I can.”

We cant wait to see what Su-Bo has in store...

Last night also saw dance troupe Flawless become the third act to make the final as the collective stayed true to their name delivering a perfect performance.

Public schoolboy come rugby player/singer Shaun Smith also made the cut as the judges chose him to join Susan Boyle, Flawless, and Diversity after his version of the U2 hit Without You blew the judges away.

Amanda Holden told the 17 year old: “You were absolutely brilliant. Susan Boyle has big competition…”

We guess we will just have to see as eight more acts battle it out tonight for a place in the converted final. Keep it MTV News for more Britain's Got Talent reports…

http://www.mtv.co.uk/events/britains-got-talent/news/121816-susan-boyle-britains-got-talent

Singer Boyle reaches Talent final

Scottish singer Susan Boyle has secured a place in the final of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, after performing live on television for the first time.

The 48-year-old from West Lothian became a worldwide sensation after her audition performance of I Dreamed A Dream was screened last month.

Sunday evening's show was the first of five nightly ITV1 shows until Saturday.

Also through to the final were Dance group Diversity, with 10-year-old Natalie Okri voted out by the judges.

When Ms Boyle heard the result of the public vote - after her rendition of Memory from the musical, Cats - she gave a victory dance for the studio audience.

When the show's hosts, Ant and Dec, asked her how she had coped with the pressure, she said: "What pressure, I really enjoyed myself, I enjoyed every second. I'd do it again!"

Famous fans

The 40 acts to reach the semi-finals were revealed during Saturday's night's Britain's Got Talent show.

In each of the semi-finals, two acts will be picked by the public and the judges to make it through to the grand final on 30 May.

They are competing for the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show and win a £100,000 cheque.

Ms Boyle's first appearance on the television talent show received more than 58 million hits on the internet site, YouTube.

That earned her a number of famous fans, including rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and actress Demi Moore. She has also been interviewed on American television shows Oprah and Larry King.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8066512.stm

Susan Boyle at 22: Early Performance Revealed!

If there was ever any question, she's always had talent. In a 25-year-old video that recently surfaced, a fresh-faced Susan Boyle – just 22 at the time – takes the stage at a local Scottish club looking trim and youthful.

In the clip from Scotland's Daily Record, the Britain's Got Talent star sings "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar and Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were" in the Motherwell FC's Fir Park Social Club singing contest. Boyle, now 47, had been a late addition to the local singing team, Coventry Tam O'Shanter, after someone had dropped out.

"I can remember that she was a shy young girl, but also very attractive back then – she turned a few heads when she came into the club," school caretaker Gerry McGuinness, 61, told the Daily Record of her appearance, 10 years before she would take singing lessons. He was there for the performance and dug up an old tape after seeing Boyle on TV more recently.

"Even back then, I don't think anyone expected too much from her because she was so shy, but when she began singing people took notice," he said. “It's great Susan is finally getting some recognition. She is a great singer and it seems right that at some point she would get the credit she deserved."

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20276302,00.html

Ryan Seacrest wants to see Susan Boyle on 'American Idol'

Will Susan Boyle get a golden ticket to Hollywood?

Rumors have swirled that the sensational contestant on Simon Cowell's show "Britain's Got Talent" could travel across the Atlantic to appear on his hit U.S. show "American Idol."

Cowell has not ruled out the idea, and host Ryan Seacrest is pushing for it to happen.

Seacrest called the idea "genius" in a recent tweet posted on his Twitter page and wrote, "I'm gonna shoot email to producers now."

A source told Britain's Daily Mirror that the Scottish songbird will likely appear on the show - if not before the current series ends in mid-May, then next season.

"If she is not on Idol before this series ends in May, she will probably end up there next year as the BGT winner. It would give the show a ratings boost,” the source told the Mirror.

And more people are speaking out about Boyle's makeover - she's morphing a bit each day from the frizzy-haired spinster who first won hearts with her powerful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream."

She has added tailored trousers and fitted jackets to her wardrobe, dyed her hair, tweezed her eyebrows and begun to wear bright lipstick.

"Britain's Got Talent" hosts Ant and Dec told the Mirror, they're not so sure it's a good move.

"I don't know about her makeover – she wants to look and feel good and that's her prerogative. But she doesn't have to do it 'cos the whole world fell in love with Susan as she was," Dec said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/americanidol/2009/04/28/2009-04-28_ryan_seacrest_wants_to_see_susan_boyle_on_american_idol.html

Simon Cowell: Susan Boyle has to sing better to win 'Britain's Got Talent'

It's going to take more than YouTube success for Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle to take the top prize on the reality show "Britain's Got Talent," says judge Simon Cowell.

Tens of millions have watched her inspiring performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" on the video upload site, but the tough-talking Cowell says victory is not yet in the bag for the 47-year-old Boyle.

"She has four weeks to prepare for the biggest night of her life, which is, she's got to sing better than she sang before," Cowell said in an interview with Access Hollywood.

And what's more, Cowell says the intense focus on Boyle's personal life - and excessive portrayals of her as a frumpy spinster living alone with her cat - could actually hurt her chances in the show's finals.

"It could all go horribly wrong now because there's so many other distractions," he said. It wouldn't be the first time Boyle met with rejection before a TV audience.

Boyle auditioned for the British show "My Kind of People" in 1995, reports the Daily Mail - but was booted from the show and ridiculed by the show's host Michael Barrymore for her disheveled appearance after she sang "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar."

The footage was never aired on television, but the Mail obtained it from the daughter of another contestant who filmed the auditions with a personal camcorder. Fast forward nearly 15 years - and Boyle is having better luck.

Cowell said if she does win "Britain's Got Talent," she may also appear on its American counterpart. "I think I would say to anybody who won the British show that we guarantee them now a spot on the American show," he said.

"And I think that's a great incentive for the British winner now. So if it is Susan, yes." Despite his caution, Cowell was hopeful that Boyle's sudden fame would help garner big ratings for the American version of the reality competition.

"I am seriously thinking now that we should hold maybe two more open auditions off the back of Susan Boyle since the awareness is that much higher," he told Access Hollywood. And fellow judge Piers Morgan says the U.S. could very well have its own "Susan Boyle" once "America's Got Talent" hits the airwaves.

"There's one guy who hunts chickens. And in fact, if all he did was come on stage and say, ‘My talent is I catch 6,000 chickens a night,' he probably would have won the show. But his talent is he then sings like Garth Brooks," Morgan said.

"It is one of those moments when half the audience are in tears."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2009/04/27/2009-04-27_susan_boyle_doesnt_have_britains_got_talent_win_in_the_bag_yet_says_simon_cowell.html

Simon Cowell to Susan Boyle: "Get yourself together"

Television's Simon Cowell said on Friday he was embarrassed at his initial reaction to British singing sensation Susan Boyle, but warned that just because she is a hit with fans, she is not a winner yet.

Cowell, the creator and a judge on "Britain's Got Talent," said he was fed up with stories about the hair, eyebrows and cats of the never-married 47-year-old Boyle, and he urged her to focus now on winning the television talent competition.

"She has got four weeks to prepare for the biggest night of her life, and she has got to sing better than she sang before with all those expectations on her. But it could all go horribly wrong for her because there are so many other distractions," Cowell told TV reporters in Los Angeles.

"Get yourself together sweetheart for the big one -- the semi-final. Shut the door, choose the right song and come back as who you are, not who you want to be," he said.

Boyle, a spinster who lives alone with her cat, became one of the world's hottest celebrities last week after surprising judges with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" on the popular talent show. Her performance has been watched over 50 million times on YouTube.

"We were all guilty on the panel of judging her before she sang, and we got it utterly wrong. You watch it back and it is embarrassing," said Cowell, who is well-known as the acid-tongued judge on TV talent contest "American Idol."

"Britain's Got Talent" is open to anyone regardless of age or performing skills. It has 40 versions worldwide and the fourth season of the U.S. version, "America's Got Talent," kicks off on NBC on June 23.

"I am seriously thinking now we should hold two more open auditions (of "America's Got Talent") off the back of Susan Boyle. You don't have to be a singer who is 47 and never been kissed, but just someone who says 'I think I am talented, and I don't think people are going to judge me because of the way I look'," he said.

Recording executive Cowell, who has an option to sign Boyle if she wins the British talent show, shuttles weekly between Los Angeles and London as the judge on "American Idol" and "Britain's Got Talent."

But he dismissed suggestions that his life was stressful. "It's only stress when it doesn't work," he said. "I don't feel under any stress whatsoever when something like the Susan Boyle thing emerges. It is honestly the best feeling in the world."

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE53O04720090425

Scottish singing sensation gets dye job, makeover

What's next, a fake tan?

Britain is buzzing over singing sensation Susan Boyle's mini-makeover, with some worrying that her new look may cost her some support in the "Britain's Got Talent" competition that catapulted her to international stardom.

Boyle, 47, became an instant YouTube and Internet celebrity after appearing on the British TV show with gray frizzy hair, bushy eyebrows and a jowly face above a remarkably unflattering dress. The contrast between Boyle's un-adorned looks and her angelic singing voice endeared her to viewers the world over.

But on Friday, Boyle appeared on the cover of The Sun tabloid sporting freshly dyed and styled brown locks and newly shaped eyebrows.

While no one could accuse Boyle of turning into a WAG — as the highly stylized Wives and Girlfriends of England's wealthy athletes are called — the difference was shocking.

"Compared to what she had, it's a 200 percent improvement," said Toni Jones, assistant fashion editor of The Sun. "But our readers think this is as far as she should go. We want her to stay one of us, not get hair extensions and a fake tan."

Jones praised Boyle for getting a 35-pound ($51) hair cut at a local salon near her home in Scotland rather than trekking to London for a 200-pound ($295) cut at a celebrity salon.

But Max Clifford, Britain's most prominent publicist, called the makeover a major risk because it could jeopardize the phenomenal connection between Boyle and her worldwide audience.

"Keep her as natural as possible for as long as possible," said Clifford. "It's more about protection than promotion. She's got the voice. She has to make sure that the person people all around the world fell in love with remains the same."

In addition to the new haircut, Boyle has also upgraded her wardrobe. Instead of the plain beige dress she wore on her first TV appearance, she was recently photographed wearing a stylish black leather jacket and what appeared to be a Burberry scarf.

Judges of "Britain's Got Talent" will decide May 23 whether Boyle gets through to the next round. Britain's bookmakers have made her the firm favorite to win the competition.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmSkZdDWivKGBoG0OQBqJadleSHgD97OSTT80

British songbird Susan Boyle gets a semi-makeover

Songbird Susan Boyle has insisted she won't let fame change her and that she has no plans for a makeover

But the surprise star of "Britain's Got Talent" recently stepped out all dolled up outside her home in Scotland.

She traded her shapeless stage dress for a fitted, jersey wrap dress - similar to the signature style of fashion diva Diane Von Furstenburg - and opted for vibrant teal and magenta colors in lieu of her usual muted hues.

Boyle also donned a stylish leather jacket and shiny lepoard print heels.

In a recent interview with CNN, Boyle said, "I wouldn't want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false. I want to receive people as the real me, a real person."

Are these few changes the beginning of something bigger?

Tell us if you think she should stop at these style changes, or go for the full makeover.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2009/04/22/2009-04-22_british_songbird_susan_boyle_gets_a_semimakeover.html

Susan Boyle: The movie

Susan Boyle has been approached about turning her life into a movie, according to reports.

The "Britain's Got Talent" star is an overnight sensation after appearing on the TV contest earlier this month.

She has been inundated with interview requests and approaches from record companies, with industry mogul Simon Cowell said to be considering signing her.

It has now been claimed that a film documenting the unemployed 47-year-old virgin's rise to stardom is also in the pipeline.

US film-maker Darla Rae, who runs Film-It Productions in America, said: "When Susan stepped on to the stage and began to sing, tears welled up in my eyes.

"As I watched her, I felt a connection and realised she would be perfect for one of my films."

Meanwhile, a Cowell source insisted that he is determined to remain in control of the singer's career in music and the big screen.

"Simon can see the business potential in Susan. He's not only seeing album deals in the UK and the States but also movie and merchandising.

"But he would want the movie to be based around the 'Britain's Got Talent' brand rather than Susan's life.

"It would follow her dream of getting on the show and then, of course, she would have to win", explained the source.

http://uk.news.launch.yahoo.com/dyna/article.html?a=/090422/340/ik8kj.html&e=l_news_dm

Susan Boyle: America, what's your problem?

The phenomenal popularity of Britain's Got Talent competitor Susan Boyle, and the furor over the disparity between her angelic voice and her "homely" appearance, has got me thinking, oddly, about David Bowie. I interviewed the Thin White Duke a few years back, asking him such questions as, "Is Mick Jagger a good kisser?" (Answer: "You'd have to ask someone else.") While Bowie was in highly entertaining form, all I could think during the encounter was, "That damn fool has gotten his teeth fixed!" Bowie, you see, was famous for having a set of "gnashers" that looked like an untended graveyard after a nuclear holocaust. Yet here he was, telling tales with a set of teeth that made me wish I had worn dark glasses.

As someone from the UK myself (and as someone whose own dental work appears to have been conducted by Mike Tyson's fist) this came as a big disappointment. Britain is a country with a history of producing music stars more talented than toned, or even possessing of the right number of teeth. Look at Elton John, who even in his '70s heyday didn't exactly set female hearts a-flutter (of course, that actually worked out okay for him in the end). Or Van Morrison, who briefly toyed with early svelteness before becoming the shape and size of the moon (yes, Van the Man was raised in Northern Ireland, across the water from England, but you're basically talking about the same diet and dental plan). More recently, the UK has given birth to such female singers as Amy Winehouse, Adele, and Lily Allen, all of whom have enjoyed global acclaim but none of whom spend too much time working on their six-packs (unless said six-packs have "beer" written on them).

Okay, so Susan Boyle is not going to be confused with Miley Cyrus or Christina Aguilera anytime soon. But to me, that's not a source of hilarity (thank you, Jay Leno!) but of national pride. Well, maybe not pride, exactly. But you get my point...

So, what do you think Music Mixers? Are British music stars less conventionally attractive (but maybe a smidge more actually talented) than their American counterparts?

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/04/susan-boyle-wha.html?iid=top25-Susan+Boyle%3A+America%2C+what%27s+your+problem%3F

"Frumpy" singer Susan Boyle leaves some uneasy

A middle aged Scottish spinster with untamed hair and a plain-spoken manner has captivated millions of music lovers and confounded celebrity watchers with her rise to fame after appearing on a British TV talent show.

Susan Boyle, at 47, became one of the world's hottest celebrities virtually overnight after her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" on "Britain's Got Talent" this month.

She has appeared on Larry King Live in the United States and in countless newspaper and internet articles. The clip of her song has been viewed around 50 million times on website YouTube.

But while most people see her story as a fairytale, some say it casts an unflattering light on the public and its preconceived notions about beauty and fame.

They argue that the reason Boyle, who lives alone with her cat, became the instant star she has was because she did not look or behave like a "typical" celebrity.

"Sadly it all Boyles down to image" said Miranda Sawyer in a commentary piece for the Daily Mirror tabloid.

"No woman gets to perform publicly unless she looks like Mariah Carey. If you're a female singer, you are required by showbiz law to appear sexy at all times."

Tanya Gold, writing in the Guardian broadsheet, asked: "Is Susan Boyle ugly? Or are we?

"By raising this Susan up, we will forgive ourselves for grinding every other Susan into the dust. It will be a very partial and poisoned redemption. Because Britain's Got Malice."

Some descriptions of Boyle underlined media prejudices about beauty and age, critics said, with Boyle referred to variously as "frumpy," "dowdy," with "several double chins" and, in Britain's Daily Mail, as a "hairy angel."

There has also been lively debate about what Boyle should do to build on her success -- stay as she is or have a makeover.

APOLOGIES, CONCERNS

A few celebrity watchers have rushed to confess that they, like the "Britain's Got Talent" audience on the night, had expected Boyle to founder because of the way she looked.

"She pierced my defenses," said Lisa Schwarzbaum of U.S. publication Entertainment Weekly. "She reordered the measure of beauty. And I had no idea until tears sprang how desperately I need that corrective from time to time."

Boyle's success bears similarities to Paul Potts, a tenor who appeared on the same show in 2007 and confounded expectations with his rendition of opera aria "Nessun Dorma."

His performance spread quickly via Youtube and Potts went on to record a multi-million-selling album "One Chance."

Music critics wonder whether such instant success is justified, or even helpful.

"How can we expect young people to take the surer path and train for years in drama schools and music conservatoires when there's this short-cut ... approach to stardom on offer?" said the Telegraph's Rupert Christiansen in his blog.

But many experts and members of the public believe that Boyle's story should be seen as good news, not bad.

Marc French of Ugly, a "character model" agency, said the media had created an image of what beauty should be, but attitudes were changing.

"There is a media thing that you should look a certain way and be a certain weight, but if it does give people like Boyle a chance, then why not?" he told Reuters.

"Definitely the market is more daring, a little bit more happy to have a change of look, and more open-minded. I think everyone is getting more comfortable in themselves."

As for Boyle, she appears unfazed by the sudden attention.

"Haven't seen YouTube or any of that, but I understand it's quite immense," she told reporters at her home last week when asked about the millions of viewers on the website.

"Just take baby steps at the moment," she added, describing her approach to fame. "Keep my feet on the ground."

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE53J3GI20090420

Unlikely Singer Is YouTube Sensation

She has been watched by more than 20.2 million people (and counting) on YouTube, Twittered about by Demi and Ashton, praised by Patti LuPone, admired by the bloggerati, snapped by the paparazzi, swarmed by camera crews, interrogated by reporters and restyled, sort of, for American television.

But now Susan Boyle, the middle-aged church volunteer whose soaring performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on a British talent show last week turned her into the world’s newest instant celebrity, at youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY, is trying to catch her breath.

“All the attention has been quite an upheaval, and she is quite tired,” Miss Boyle’s brother, John, told reporters on Thursday outside her tiny pebbledash cottage in tiny, previously unexciting Blackburn, Scotland. “I have taken her away to let her have some peace and quiet before the next round.”

“The next round” refers, of course, to “Britain’s Got Talent,” the “X-Factor”-style competition in which the unglamorous, unfashionable Miss Boyle, 47, confounded a multitude of stereotypes by unveiling her gorgeous singing voice last Saturday night. Part of the joy of watching her performance was seeing the obnoxious, smarmy grimaces disappear from the faces of Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan, two of the show’s judges, and seeing the audience shift, in an instant, from tittering condescension to open-mouthed admiration.

Miss Boyle is unmarried (and unkissed, she told the program), has no job, lives with her cat and has until now sung mostly in her local church. But she has become a heroine not only to people dreaming of being catapulted from obscurity to fame but also to those who cheer her triumph over looks-ism and ageism in a world that so values youth and beauty.

Her life has changed irrevocably. The show has provided her with a publicist, whose job is to run interference and field basic questions, like, Is Miss Boyle available for an interview? (No is the answer.) But though the storms are gathering, they will have to gather in a contained manner for at least the next month. “Britain’s Got Talent” is still in its early stages, where the judges pick contestants from regional auditions, and Miss Boyle’s next chance of appearing does not come until May 23, the semifinal round.

Nor, according to the contract that all contestants sign, may Miss Boyle speak to potential managers or begin negotiating, say, a recording deal until the show is finished, said Sara Lee, the publicist.

Miss Boyle’s revelatory performance brings to mind one from the series’s first season, in 2007. That time, Paul Potts, a tubby, dentally challenged, cripplingly shy Welsh cellphone salesman walked onstage and, looking as if he were about to cry, announced that he wanted to “sing opera.”

The judges sighed and smirked. But then Mr. Potts burst forth into a soaring rendition of “Nessun dorma,” the aria from Puccini’s “Turandot,” forcing them into a quick re-evaluation and astonishing the equally skeptical audience. Mr. Potts’s audition clip has now been viewed more than 43 million times on YouTube, at youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA.

He went on to win the competition, sell two million copies of his first album, embark on a worldwide tour and inspire Prime Minister Gordon Brown to declare that he proved that “Britain really does have huge amounts of talent.”

Mr. Potts had had a small amount of training and experience. Miss Boyle’s apparently complete lack of formal training fits more purely into the archetypal talent-competition narrative: Unknown From Nowhere Reveals Extraordinary Gift and Stuns World.

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. The contradictions in the situation seem encapsulated by the fact that the third “Britain’s Got Talent” judge, Amanda Holden — who is lovely, 38, artfully put together and seemingly unable to move her face to register surprise — said that Miss Boyle should resist submitting to a Hollywood-style makeover.

“I won’t let Simon Cowell take her to his dentist, and I certainly won’t let her near his hairdresser,” she told The Daily Mirror. “The minute we turn her into a glamourpuss is when it’s spoilt.”

Miss Boyle certainly seems like a media naïf: she is “lacking in the whole conventional-pop-star-persona thing” is how Talia Manzo of MTV News described it on the music network’s Web site, mtv.com. That is refreshing, too, providing a welcome corrective to the familiar parade of slick self-publicists. She has been giving the briefest of responses to questions about herself, not venturing beyond Michael Phelps-style “I take it in my stride” and “I can only do my best, like everybody else” remarks.

This week, her hair newly curled and her brows newly plucked, she appeared stunned, wooden, nearly monosyllabic and barely able to open her eyes when she was a guest on “The Early Show” on CBS. It was only when she began to sing “I Dreamed a Dream,” a capella, that she looked at the camera, and her personality seemed to flood into her.

In a blog on The Huffington Post, the feminist writer Letty Cottin Pogrebin said that she had e-mailed multiple copies of the original YouTube clip, with the subject line “Ageism Be Damned,” to the people on her “Women’s Issues” e-mail list. Many of the women who saw it, she said, wept as they watched.

“I’d wager that most of our joyful tears were fueled by the moral implicit in Susan’s fairy-tale performance: ‘You can’t tell a book by its cover,’ ” Ms. Pogrebin wrote.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/arts/television/18boyle.html?ref=global-home

Susan Boyle - Britains Got Talent 2009

Susan Boyle, 47 from West Lothian, Scotland, is a contestant on the 3rd series of Britain's Got Talent. She surprised the judges with a strong performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round, aired on 11 April 2009, eliciting the "biggest yes in three seasons" from Piers Morgan and yesses from both Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden.Judges' comments

Piers: Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years on the show. When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said, "I wanna be like Elaine Paige", everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was stunning, an incredible performance. Amazing. I'm reeling from shock.

Amanda: I am so thrilled because I know that everybody was against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical and I think that's the biggest wake up call ever. And I just want to say that it was a complete privilege listening to that.

Simon: Susan Boyle, you can head back to the village, with your head held high, it's three yesses.

Coverage

News media

The majority of British newspapers carried articles on Susan Boyle's performance and subsequent internet coverage, including The Daily Telegraph and The Sun where she was given the nickname Paula Potts in reference to the contest's previous opera singing winner Paul Potts. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Susan confirmed she had a meeting with the Sony BMG record company but said "I can't say much about it. It's early days and I'm taking baby steps."

International news websites also carried stories on her such as the New York Daily News and Australia's Herald Sun. In the ABC News coverage which suggested that Boyle may be "...Britain's newest pop sensation...", the Entertainment section posts the headline The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell. Cowell went on to say after her performance: "She had a great voice and I was really surprised by her."

TV shows

Following on from her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Susan was as a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show.

Social media

On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the number one article for all categories on Digg, with nearly triple the votes ("diggs") of the second most popular.

The same video was also popular on Reddit, with enough clout to top the front page as well.

The most popular YouTube video submission garnered 800,000+ views in the first 24 hours with a five star rating across the board. This was despite embedding of the video being disabled. Also, the submitter was awarded the most subscriptions of the day. In addition, it was awarded 99 additional honours. As of April 15, 2009 at 09:00 EST, just three and a half days after the videos posting it had garnered approx. 5.6 million viewings and over 30,000 comments.

It was reported that celebrity couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher posted their praise of Susan Boyle using the website Twitter, as well as Edward Droste claiming on his Twitter, "Susan Boyle penetrates even the most cynical and jaded people...!"

Personal life

Susan is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn, West Lothian, with her ten year old cat, Pebbles. She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007 at the age of 91.

check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Boyle