Susan Boyle Loses "Britain's Got Talent" to Diversity

She came out of nowhere (well... Blackburn, Scotland, actually). The video of her first audition performance on "Britain's Got Talent" on YouTube, "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables," has garnered over 100 million viewers. Her second performance, "Memory" from the musical "Cats," is approaching half those numbers. She became the center of a media firestorm.

And then she lost.

Yes, Susan Boyle actually lost "Britain's Got Talent." Just like Adam Lambert, who seemed destined to win "American Idol," Susan Boyle lost the public vote on "Britain's Got Talent" and came in as the runner-up. The winner? A dance troupe called Diversity.

But how could that be? She was on a roll, a seemingly unstoppable force. People loved her, the fact that she wasn't a beauty queen diva wannabe, but had the amazing vocal talent to completely captivate a skeptical audience in turn captivated the world. Everybody was talking about her and to her. Larry King, Oprah, Hugh Jackman. Even Demi Moore spoke of her on Twitter.

But she lost. What happened?

Although no doubt a combination of factors, Susan Boyle more than likely lost for two major reasons: Blowback from such intense media saturation (sometimes known as "fatigue" or "brand fatigue") and her recent outbursts that also gained media attention, including a meltdown with two reporters in a hotel lobby.

People tend to grow increasingly tired of hearing about a topic when it is constantly presented to them. They become "fatigued," feeling beset by all the news, articles, entertainment snippets, jokes by comedians, and other methods of bombardment and insinuation into their lives simply by reading a newspaper or magazine or turning on the computer, the radio, and/or the television. And except for the most devoted and those who can somehow filter out the seemingly neverending stream of information about a given topic, said topic becomes annoying or even repugnant. Some begin to feel as if this particular topic is being forced upon them and they feel a need to reject it. Many do so by ignoring the source (turning off the television or changing the channel, for example). Some do so by rejecting the topic through various means -- in Susan Boyle's case, speaking out against the competitor or voting against her.

Added to the incessant media attention Susan Boyle received was the news of the meltdown that occurred this past week when two reporters approached her and reportedly began harassing her. The Sun reported that she yelled, "How f---ing dare you! You can't f---ing talk to me like that!" But it is not known what the men, who were escorted from the hotel by police, said to the "Britain's Got Talent" contestant.

It is reported that it took the police 15 minutes to calm Boyle down.

Boyle is also reported to have made a rude outburst in a hotel bar after seeing a rebroadcast of the judges critique of fellow contestant Shaheen Jafargholi. After the judges told the 12-year-old that he had a chance of winning the competition, she said, "F--- off!" and made a hand gesture toward the television.

After her last performance on "Britain's Got Talent," where she sang "I Dreamed A Dream" a second time to uproarious applause (the audience was standing halfway through her performance), Piers Morgan told her that he wasn't supposed to have a favorite, but she should win "Britain's Got Talent." He told her that she had given "the greatest performance I've seen in 'Britain's Got Talent' history."

Judge Amanda Holden said that Simon Cowell had a tear in his eye, something she had never seen before.

Simon Cowell told Susan Boyle that she had endured a lot in her seven-week journey. "You had every right to walk away from this ... and a lot of people said you shouldn't even be in this competition, that you're not equipped to deal with it. For what? For you to sit at home with your cat and say 'I've missed an opportunity'? I completely disagree with that. Win or lose, you had the guts to come back here tonight and face your critics, and you beat them. And that's the most important thing. Whatever happens, and I've got to know the real Susan Boyle, who is not the person I've seen portrayed in the media, you can walk away from this, win or lose, with your head held high. I absolutely adore you."

But judges' praises and the adoration of Simon Cowell was not enough. In the end, the public had had enough (or perhaps AT&T had supplied Diversity fans with cellphones and power texting tutorials?) and the fallout was less votes for Susan Boyle.

Still, as with Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle stands to make millions, go on to fame and fortune, and sell millions of albums. And just as with Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle certainly understands that coming in second does not mean that you aren't the winner.

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Sources:

"Britain's Got Talent," ITV Television

The Sun

YouTube.com