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April 17, 2009Why Do We Love Susan Boyle?
If you haven't seen the viral video of Susan Boyle yet, take a few minutes to watch it.
It's worth it.
When Boyle appears on the American-Idolish Britain's Got Talent, she admits that she's never been kissed, tells the audience she's 47, and then shakes her hips playfully. The crowd snickers, the judges raise their eyebrows. Within moments of her performance, the crowd rises to their feet to cheer her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," from Les Miserables. Here are the lyrics from the classic piece:
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
Several news outlets have referred to her as the church volunteer, and we know a little bit more from Mary Jordan's Washington Post article:
She always wanted to sing in front of a large audience, but mostly she just sings in church. On Easter Sunday, the day after her television debut, Boyle - dubbed "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell" in one headline - received a standing ovation when she went to Mass.
"We let out a wee bit of a cheer for her. We are quite proud of her," Boyle's parish priest, the Rev. Ryszard Holuka, said in a telephone interview. He added that Boyle is a "quiet soul."
"At gatherings and anniversary parties, she'd stand up and give a song," he said. "She never flaunted her voice; this is the first time it's been publicly recognized."
As Jordan writes, "Many have said it was a poor reflection on both the live audience and others watching that they were surprised when a 'frumpy woman' turned out to have the 'voice of an angel.' "
Here are some other reactions to Boyle's performance from across the Web:
In our pop-minded culture so slavishly obsessed with packaging - the right face, the right clothes, the right attitudes, the right Facebook posts - the unpackaged artistic power of the unstyled, un-hip, un-kissed Ms. Boyle let me feel, for the duration of one blazing showstopping ballad, the meaning of human grace. She pierced my defenses. She reordered the measure of beauty. And I had no idea until tears sprang how desperately I need that corrective from time to time.
It offers a picture of our age's ?bercynical critics surprised by joy. It gives a glimpse of the creative capacity latent in who knows how many lives. And perhaps therefore it gives us a glimpse of the embodied glories that await us, the grace that waits just around the corner of our hopes and fears.
What a weight off our shoulders it is to not mock her. What a pleasure it is to see someone do well. How happy we feel, to feel happy for someone else, as the audience leaps to its feet and the judges unanimously praise her. She stands before us all, vulnerable and strong, joyful and clearly moved, and then we stand with her.
Sadie at Jezebel, "Susan Boyle Has Come To Save Us From Our Shallowness!"
To attempt this sort of show, but not to buy into the accepted mold, was an act of impunity that seemed to disregard of all the rules of the game, and made one fear that here was another deluded, oblivious person being exploited for laughs. Our joy was as much relief as surprise. And that joy is very real.
Susan Boyle appears to be totally sincere, unpretentious, and joyful. Her countenance - even while singing a very sad song - was constantly ebullient. She was also modest. Most contestants on these shows have a skewed sense of self-importance. Susan Boyle had the opposite - humility where she deserved pride. And it's reassuring to know that people like that still exist.
She's become a YouTube sensation, but why do we love her so much? She walks out on stage, and you expect to cringe when she fails and eventually laugh at her naivete. But you end up laughing in relief as she stuns the crowd - even Simon Cowell.
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Comments
Susan Boyle? She's every woman, fighting that extra 15-20 pounds, standing in the grocery check-out line, assaulted by magazine covers of size O women and the rich and famous. But she has a dream, a passion to share with the world, if she only has a chance.
And she did, and we loved it! (Please don't mess her up, world...don't tweeze her brows, tell her what not-to-wear, give her lipo. We need Susan, just as she is.)
Posted By: nancie carmichael | April 17, 2009 6:56 PM
Susan's performance touched my soul, and I'm still not exactly sure why. But, in hearing her, you know that she is for real, genuine. i could go on and on, but just let me say: Susan, Stay who and what you are-a beautiful soul. Thank you
Posted By: susan sallee | April 17, 2009 8:17 PM
I cannot even attempt to analyze what Susan Boyle's performance meant for me, all I can do is cry whenever I hear it. We love you, Susan.
Posted By: Marianne | April 17, 2009 8:41 PM
Interesting that she chose such a courageous song, which is probably a reflection of much that she has suffered in life from "the tigers" who "come at night... and tear your hope apart, and turn your dream to shame." Growing up with a learning disability, she was made fun of. But her mother believed in her, and I think that's the real take-home message of this story. Not to mention the fact that she put off her "dream" for years in order to care for that same aging mother. Blessed are the pure in heart.
Posted By: Susan Cushman | April 17, 2009 10:54 PM
I started Susan Boyle Fan Club. I want everyone to vote for Susan. I want to see more of her. I want to see her transforming into a beautiful singing diva. We know she can do it.
www.SusanBoyleFanClub.com
Posted By: John | April 18, 2009 12:56 PM
I listened to Susan sing several times and evey time I got goose bumps and tears came to my eyes. A true example of beauty from within. I did not realize she grew up with a learning disability. To end the last sentence in the comment above, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God". You were sent from Heaven with the voice of an angel and we love you Susan Boyle.
Posted By: Lydia Stephenson | April 18, 2009 1:14 PM
I have played Susan's 1999 recording CRY ME A RIVER at least two dozen times. I could listen to her voice forever. This beautiful women has REAL TALENT. The WORLD is BLESSED
she came out and shared her voice with us. Thank you,
Susan.
Posted By: lisa | April 18, 2009 9:15 PM
She is the youngest of nine children. She suffered oxygen deprivation at birth and had learning disabilities. She has loved and cared for others living her life in humble service. I can't help but wonder how many other beauties like her have not come into the world lately because of pragmatism toward family size and "healthy" babies. God bless her.
Posted By: Alicia Nagy | April 19, 2009 2:34 PM
Indeed, a whopping lesson to be slow to judge on the basis of appearances. Although I've heard a report that she doesn't want to change herself physically and although I don't want her to cave to mass-media superficiality, I think it would be perfectly fine for her to use reasonable measures to make herself more physically attractive. Just like her regular practicing has made her a better singer, I think a bit of help with her physical appearance would make her better looking. Would it make her a better person? No. But might it enhance her ability to attract persons to beautiful singing and lyrics, etc., rather than a lot of the trashy, bad singing that's out there? I'd say YES.
Posted By: teresa | April 19, 2009 7:24 PM
I think we're so used to people being exploited for their delusions of grandeur on these shows that her superior talent shocked us. Because really, she is not unattractive, just ordinary looking. The song itself adds to the drama because we know that so much of the entertainment industry has to do with marketing a packaged, sexualized ideal of womanhood and it's so obvious that this woman's dream deserves to be realized. We assume the body has been the barrier.
Her performance exposed how bankrupt our cynicism and entertainment values tend to be. It was a relief to see that bubble burst and to see the judges delight in it as well. Remember the Gong Show? Somehow it seemed less mean-spirited. Perhaps because everyone was in on the joke from the beginning and because the host himself was a clown.
Posted By: Christine A. Scheller | April 20, 2009 8:28 AM
Susan should prove beyond doubt "that you can't judge a book(person) by the cover (outward appearance). How many others have been misjudged and we have been cheated of enjoying their "God-given gift?"
Posted By: Pick | April 20, 2009 1:15 PM
My reaction to Miss Boyle is much like the above commentary. The transforming sweetness of Susan Boyle and her angel voice is an oasis-a ray of light in this dark world.
Posted By: diane smythe | April 20, 2009 4:46 PM
All I can say is "Ditto" to all the above. My heart was touched as I heard her sing. Hard to explain, but her music came from her soul and touched mine.
Posted By: Jean Bultema | April 21, 2009 3:45 PM
Never judge a book by its cover. Too cliche', I know! I dug out my old VHS of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Les Miserables, and the words and music spoke to me again. Thank you, Susan, for singing to us!!
Posted By: Linda Moon | April 21, 2009 6:02 PM
Susan Boyle, ordinary looking, but extraordinary voice!Bravo!
Posted By: lisa | April 22, 2009 10:07 PM
Just imagine if Beverly Sills had those bushy eyebrows or even Celine D. At the beginning, before she sang, she was judged too old and too unattractive to have any talent. How many more are great without knowing?
Posted By: Linda | April 23, 2009 9:51 AM
The triumph of the human spirit against all odds...How the angels in Heaven would have invited her to sing "In excelsis Deo!" as one of those who performed during the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Sing on, Susan!!!
Posted By: emloloy, philippines | April 24, 2009 7:35 AM
Dreams really do come true, Susan just gave an example. I get goose bumps everytime I hear her sing, Good Job.
Posted By: deb | April 25, 2009 2:50 PM
Now she has a $10million contract for two CD's, which she richly deserves. The idea that a ordinary middle-aged woman can sing so beautifully cannot explain why we love her so. I'm not sure either, but I think it may be partly because she's the first singer of quality to hit the airwaves in decades. No offense, but I listened to Elaine Page on the internet, and she is not as good as Susan. We've had a long dry spell in the music world, and Susan is as life-saving as rain after a dust-bowl drought. We thought it would never happen again.
Posted By: Kathleen | June 19, 2009 2:16 PM
One can not help but fall in love with and be moved by Susan Boyle's beauty. Her beauty is one borne out of simplicity. She makes no apology for what she is, a real woman with a song in her heart that she wants to share.
One can not help but love not just her song, but that she wants to share it with us.
I would gladly give her that kiss on the cheek, in gratitude for her simply being who she is.
Posted By: Anonymous | December 29, 2009 5:32 PM