Susan Boyle - The Unlikeliest Superstar

Susan Boyle was the unlikely music sensation of 2009, and bucked the trend of women having to be young and beautiful to make any impression on the entertainment industry in the 21st Century.

A Backlash against Pampered Divas

People like being surprised, and when the matronly Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of British TV talent show Britain's Got Talent (a show which is often shown up to be a contradiction in terms), most people probably expected the opposite of a voice of an angel.

It's curious that the media couldn't get enough of Susan Boyle. Was it almost a guilty reaction against the shallow values which the media itself had always encouraged? A case of a world preparing to mock someone ultimately being made to look foolish?

From a modest background, and living her whole life in the small Scottish town of Blackburn, Susan Boyle is really the backlash against the pretentious divas who populate pop and rock music's higher echelons - young and middle-aged women who have been pampered their whole careers, and, many, who in truth, have nowhere near the singing ability of Ms. Boyle. But, hey, they look good!

When Susan Boyle sang I Dreamed A Dream on Britain's Got Talent, from the brilliant musical Les Misérables, it just seemed an autobiographical song. One just felt that Susan Boyle was living her dream on the Britain's Got Talent stage, and was oblivious to the suppressed looks of disdain before she had even opened her mouth. Having learning difficulties, and being bullied at school, this was all par for the course for Susan. Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden's open-mouthed look of astonishment at the unexpected beauty of Susan Boyle's voice was replicated, no doubt, in living rooms up and down the UK on that night on April 11th, 2009. It was slightly ironic of course, because you felt that attractive Amanda had probably never experienced a look of disdain in her whole life.

From Nowhere to Megastar in Six Months

In just over six months, the then 48-year-old Susan Boyle had gone from nowhere to having the fastest-selling album in the world, when I Dreamed A Dream came out in November 2009. Impresario Simon Cowell has a fearsome reputation, but though he's done pretty well out of Susan Boyle's success, he does come across as someone who cares about her, and understands that he is dealing with a vulnerable person. For anyone coming from obscurity, being thrown into the maelstrom of instant fame is difficult enough. For someone as unprepared as Susan Boyle, who seemed happiest being at home with her cat Pebbles, it was not surprising that she showed signs of strain in her first few months as a megastar.

Susan Boyle's rapid rise was aided by the internet. Movie star Demi Moore was an early fan of Susan Boyle and trumpeted her ability on Twitter. Countless YouTube and Facebook users were obsessed with Susan. The British Press actually seemed to get bored by the name 'Susan Boyle', so began using a truncated version, SuBo. Amazingly, despite the media frenzy, Susan Boyle finished second in Britain's Got Talent, behind dance troupe Diversity.

Still uncomfortable in the public eye until she sings, Susan Boyle is an inspiration for every woman, and man for that matter, who has felt crushed by being judged on looks alone. It's refreshing to know that sometimes talent really is enough.

Sources

Susan Boyle's Official Website

BBC - How Susan Boyle won over the world

The Times - Demi Moore: 'Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle moved me to tears'

Personal Knowledge