In a just world, a savvy promoter will do the obvious thing and produce an album with Susan Boyle and Paul Potts singing duets.
I saw this a few days ago. I’m not one for reality shows, but it was nice to see her put the audience in their place.
This story seems to keep getting repeated–an ordinary person who takes them all by surprise by exhibiting great talent. Wasn’t this the show that had that terrific opera singer last year?
.
It’s a great story though, so they can do this every year as far as I’m concerned.
Pol Pot – sorry, Paul Potts – won in 2007. Last year’s winner was George Sampson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Sv2U4g8ws
–
I’m not big on realty/talent TV, but BGT is very watchable, particularly the nationwide auditions. Susan Boyle got a lot of local and national spoiler press coverage before the show even aired over here, but she is indeed pretty dámņ awesome to see, and “Ðámņ you StarWolf” for beating me to the book/cover soundbite.
–
It was interesting to see the number of young people in the audience, perhaps more inclined to judge by appearance and less inclined to like show tunes, who were blown away by her talent.
–
It’s also fun to watch the judges, Simon Cowell really does have pound/dollar signs flash up in his eyes when some acts come on, Amanda Holden goes soppy weepy for literally anything involving a small child and that leaves Piers Morgan as the one actually judging impartially, which is ironic in it’s own way when an ex-tabloid editor gets to own the high ground!
–
My personal favourite of the 2008 finalists was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGUN-WCYxk – there’s actually a moment at about 1:07 into the clip where you can see Simon Cowell thinking “This is great, but how the &&&& do I make money off of it?”
–
Cheers.
It looks to me like Simon’s just enjoying the show. Why would you presume to know what he’s thinking? That’s awfully cynical and unfair.
Fair comment, though I think you did come close to causing a calamitous reality implosion by suggesting anyone was being overly judgemental of Simon Cowell… 🙂
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I’ll change my position to “a moment at about 1:07 into the clip where you can possibly see Simon Cowell thinking”
–
Mmm… I may need to adjust the context factor on that soundbite too… 🙂
–
Cheers
In fact, it was — Paul Potts, who Simon Cowell got to sign with his company. Expect the same thing to happen here.
I heard they were negotiating within a day of the performance.
If the contract they sign is anything like the one they sign for Idol, they automatically work for Cowell’s company, and he’ll get a piece of anything she makes. Swan from Phantom of the Paradise had a less restrictive deal, from what I understand.
But I understand she’s already naively admitted to the press they were talking record deal like the next day, but she’s smart enough to say she’s taking baby steps.
That was rather nice.
*finishes mopping tears from face*
Really. Quite lovely. Well done.
Thanks for that, Peter. She’s incredible!
That’s not an easy song to do, either, and she totally nailed it. I could listen to her sing for hours.
Simon says:
“I knew we were in for something special.”
What a lying sack o’ šhìŧ. He took one look at her, and thought to himself “I wouldn’t go to bed with her, so this is gonna suck.”
To be fair, even the other judges and offstage hosts were mocking Simon, saying “what a load of tosh!”
Simon Cowell was just trying to be funny there. He didn’t expect what he got. I thought that was a great moment.
i saw one of the other clips of her earlier – just stunning.
and Alan – as to Simon – personally he’s always struck me as ANYONE he sees perform has to prove themselves and he holds a high standard. Never seemed to have a “she’s hot so she must be good” attitude so why assume he’d have the oppisite?
Yeah. And I don’t know if it’s in this particular video, but in the one I first watched I really enjoyed watching Simon Cowell obviously enjoying the performance.
Because both Idol and BGT have their share of camp acts during the audition phase, who make it to the stage solely because of the rich verdant soil they provide for growing ripe, healthy insult comedy. Until she started singing, there was no reason to believe there would be any other purpose to have her on. Ha.
Obviously she could never play Fantine, but she’d be perfect to play Madame Thenardier.
PAD
I was thinking the same thing.
One of my favorite Les Mis songs, and – as of the moment I first saw it – perhaps my favorite performance of it.
I think she’d do a bang up job on “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
I saw this last night on ABC World News Tonight, but it was nice seeing it again. Thanks for posting it, Peter.
Fantastic…absolutely brilliant…I think I’ve been watching too much Doctor Who and BBC in general. But this was brilliant. It’s nice to see things like this, even if it doesn’t necessarily relate to your particular field of interest, it gives the underdogs hope.
I’d like to hear a full concert by her once she’s built up her repertoire.
But “amazed”? Not really. It’s very apropos that SKYLARK OF SPACE is advertised on this page as, way back in high school, it taught me very effectively the folly of (mis)judging a book by its cover.
I had seen the headlines about this but didn’t bother to check it out since I hate American Idol, DWTS…all reality shows really. But since PAD told me to I clicked thru and let me just say THANKS! That was awesome.
That was both surprising and AMAZING. And I don’t even like that type of music.
I’m going to be a bit pedantic here and say I wasn’t “amazed,” but I was certainly impressed.
The sad thing is that if this woman had looked like Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey, I know this video wouldn’t be making the viral rounds the way it has. Because she’s considered, to be polite, plain, I guess the general public doesn’t expect as much from her.
This is kind of the same thing that was seen years ago with the C+C Music Factory song “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” when the female singer Martha Wash, a rather stout woman, was replaced in the video by the far more traditionally attractive Zelma Davis. It’s also reminiscent in my mind of the recent Olympic ceremony in China where the Chinese government had a more traditionally cute little girl lip sync a song that was actually sang by one they considered more homely.
Mark Evenier has a link on his website to a column by Dennis Palumbo who makes a similar point to Rich’s. Here is the pertinent observation:
“The unspoken message of this whole episode is that, since Susan Boyle has a wonderful talent, we were wrong to judge her based on her looks and demeanor. Meaning what? That if she couldn’t sing so well, we were correct to judge her on that basis? That demeaning someone whose looks don’t match our impossible, media-reinforced standards of beauty is perfectly okay, unless some mitigating circumstance makes us re-think our opinion?
Susan Boyle can certainly sing but I think the reaction says much more about us than her talent.
I think the argument doesn’t track. If she was homely and couldn’t sing, she wouldn’t be news, any more than the countless weird looking people trying out for “American Idol” and couldn’t sing were news. Any more than, for that matter, all the gorgeous people who shows up on “American Idol” and couldn’t sing were news.
.
What makes her news is the contrast between her frumpy, dowdy appearance and the pure beauty of her singing voice. Is it unfair that society dictates her appearance to be displeasing? Sure. But it’s just as arbitrary as society dictating that her voice is beautiful. We respond to different stimuli, and that’s the way that goes. Personally I far prefer a person who’s kind of frumpy looking over someone who has had twenty plastic surgeries and diets herself into a coma.
.
Furthermore, what makes it appealing as a news story is the always popular notion of an underdog triumphing over derision. It’s why the best moment in the film “Shine” is when a discombobulated David sits down at the piano in the pub, draws a few snickers, and then floors everyone with his scorching performance of “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
.
The reason it’s an unspoken message is because that’s not the message. The message is, It’s great when people rise above expectations and blow away their doubters…in a non-artillery sense.
.
PAD
I’m not going to disagree with PAD’s point that this is an underdog makes good story. She certainly is an underdog, and she certainly made good. What I’m simply pointing out is that it’s totally illogical for people to look at her and expect less simply because of her looks.
PAD says, “s it unfair that society dictates her appearance to be displeasing? Sure. But it’s just as arbitrary as society dictating that her voice is beautiful. We respond to different stimuli, and that’s the way that goes.” He’s absolutely correct in that as well. But where our responses to stimuli let us down is when we assume because of our response to one stimuli our responses to others will be similar. If I love the taste of a fine wine, for example, I’m not going to expect it taste bad simply because it’s served in a red plastic cup.
I do want to make it clear that I’m not faulting PAD or anyone else for helping this video make the rounds. Quite the opposite–I think it’s necessary to make folks aware of our false expectations if we’re ever going to rise above them.
But where our responses to stimuli let us down is when we assume because of our response to one stimuli our responses to others will be similar. If I love the taste of a fine wine, for example, I’m not going to expect it taste bad simply because it’s served in a red plastic cup.
.
Yes, but the difference is this: If a waiter hands you a plastic cup and says, “Try this,” you’re going to have some degree of trepidation. If on the other hand, a waiter opens a bottle of fine wine and pours it into a glass and says, “Try this,” you will have no trepidation at all.
.
PAD
Yes, but the difference is this: If a waiter hands you a plastic cup and says, “Try this,” you’re going to have some degree of trepidation. If on the other hand, a waiter opens a bottle of fine wine and pours it into a glass and says, “Try this,” you will have no trepidation at all.
Then I guess what it boils down to is how much you trust the waiter. If I’ve been to this particular restaurant (Chez Metaphor?) many times and know that this particular waiter knows my tastes, be it fine crystal or Dixie cup, I’ll give it a shot.
Yes, I teared up. The “Holy šhìŧ!” look of Cowell and the audience was priceless. Plus, she looks like my grandma a bit.
Right now they are trying to decide when to give her the makeover. If they get her dolled up now, she loses her “frump-chic”. But once she wins (oh, you doubt this?), she’s gonna have people lining up to do her over. And even then they’re going to have to ride that line carefully – kind of like how America Fererra isn’t all THAT “ugly” on Ugly Betty. Just enough to remind folks that she’s “just like you”. Her frumpiness is now her gimmick, like Mel Tillis’ stutter and Jim Nabors’ corn pone accent. Like Frank Fontaine and the aforementioned pair, Susan is the latest in the “They can SING???” line of performers.
If I understand the audition process, she won’t be seen on the show for some weeks now, before the proper competition starts. I’m sure they’ll start having little interviews and the like with her to keep people watching – this has become a one-woman show, and I think everyone knows it. I’m reminded of Quiz Show – “I don’t care how you get him back on the show – call it a bonus round, anything!”
She was on the CBS Early Show this morning – she’s a certified celebrity already.
There’s a small bit of potential “preparedness” here – Cowell is the producer of the show, and I assume has more than some small hand in selecting the people who get to the TV stage. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have foreknowledge of her before she walked on the stage. His face drop was impressive, but I’m not sure at least he (and maybe the two off-stage presenters) didn’t know what was coming. No slight to her talent, just possibly less “real” than it seems.
I don’t know if “America’s Got Talent” is coming back, but if it is, and they don’t have her do a “guest performance”, they’re daft as loons.
She wasn’t the only person on the show, you know. I’m dying to find a clip of the leggy burlesque clown Betty Delight’s act – anybody got one?
The auditions are just that, open “cattle call” auditions, so WYSI(allegedly)WYG as far as judge’s reactions go. IIRC correctly, they whittle it down to around 50 acts, then to 10 or 12 for the final.
–
She does seem like a strong candidate for winner, but it was just the first audition show and Britain does have a lot of talent, favourites have definitely fallen before, so count ye not those chickens just yet. The link for the 2009 show is http://talent.itv.com/ for those who wish to keep tracking it.
–
Cheers.
I think Simon’s comment about expecting something extraordinary was true but two-edged.
Knowing the show format it was easy to guess that when Susan, looking like she did and stating the song she wanted to sing it was going to be either blow you away fantastic (which it was) or so awful as to drive the audience out of the auditorium.
There could be no middle ground.
What th…? A singing contest? I was expecting the final issue of Planetary or something….
.
😉
I think we can safely assume that the final issue of Planetary before 2010 would rank higher than ‘amazing’ 🙂
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BTW apparently Susan Boyle is now being referred to as “the hairy angel”…
–
Sigh. (SFX: Grown man banging head against desktop…)
–
Cheers.
Aw what? That’s just plain rude 🙁
.
So how was the Doctor Who special (no spoilers!)
.
Cheers
By me, very, very good. Best ‘special’ since the Giant Spider Christmas episode a few years back. Spot on characterisation, snappy dialogue, a great companion and an interesting plot. Plus some extremely ominous foreshadowing that makes it look like RTD and DT plan on going out in a blaze of glory… Next Special is October, then a two-parter over Christmas before Moffatt and Smith take over.
–
Belated congrats to Mr Tennant btw, on turning 38 yesterday. (38? God he’s young! The new Doc is really going to make me feel the years!!)
–
Cheers.
Wow! That was amazing! I had heard about this clip and knew watching her that she was going to knock it out of the park, but I still got teary eyed.
Enjoyed watching everyone’s amazement (especially Simon’s) when she started. (And yeah, he was joking at the end)
(I remember watching a year or so ago where a teenager came on and sang opera amazingly well, but then had a crying confession where she was too young to be on the show.)
That one has the before interview and the after interview on it. It looks like it was recorded from someone with a recorder watching the tv screen, but was fun to watch.
>Because she’s considered, to be polite, plain, I guess the general public doesn’t expect as much from her.
Or else they love the way she showed the great experts on the panel and unsympathetic audience. I know that’s what endeared her to me. Well that and the fact that her voice is pretty darn good. 😉
I certainly like the idea of her getting a recording track better than that Asian kid on American Idol getting one.
This is one of the most moving television moments I’ve ever seen. Her voice, her choice of song, the reactions of the judges and the audience… it all comes together to create a perfect moment. Wonderful.
Jim Emerson’s response to the Susan Boyle media phenomenon:
• 
In a just world, a savvy promoter will do the obvious thing and produce an album with Susan Boyle and Paul Potts singing duets.
I saw this a few days ago. I’m not one for reality shows, but it was nice to see her put the audience in their place.
This story seems to keep getting repeated–an ordinary person who takes them all by surprise by exhibiting great talent. Wasn’t this the show that had that terrific opera singer last year?
.
It’s a great story though, so they can do this every year as far as I’m concerned.
Pol Pot – sorry, Paul Potts – won in 2007. Last year’s winner was George Sampson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Sv2U4g8ws
–
I’m not big on realty/talent TV, but BGT is very watchable, particularly the nationwide auditions. Susan Boyle got a lot of local and national spoiler press coverage before the show even aired over here, but she is indeed pretty dámņ awesome to see, and “Ðámņ you StarWolf” for beating me to the book/cover soundbite.
–
It was interesting to see the number of young people in the audience, perhaps more inclined to judge by appearance and less inclined to like show tunes, who were blown away by her talent.
–
It’s also fun to watch the judges, Simon Cowell really does have pound/dollar signs flash up in his eyes when some acts come on, Amanda Holden goes soppy weepy for literally anything involving a small child and that leaves Piers Morgan as the one actually judging impartially, which is ironic in it’s own way when an ex-tabloid editor gets to own the high ground!
–
My personal favourite of the 2008 finalists was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGUN-WCYxk – there’s actually a moment at about 1:07 into the clip where you can see Simon Cowell thinking “This is great, but how the &&&& do I make money off of it?”
–
Cheers.
It looks to me like Simon’s just enjoying the show. Why would you presume to know what he’s thinking? That’s awfully cynical and unfair.
Fair comment, though I think you did come close to causing a calamitous reality implosion by suggesting anyone was being overly judgemental of Simon Cowell… 🙂
–
I’ll change my position to “a moment at about 1:07 into the clip where you can possibly see Simon Cowell thinking”
–
Mmm… I may need to adjust the context factor on that soundbite too… 🙂
–
Cheers
In fact, it was — Paul Potts, who Simon Cowell got to sign with his company. Expect the same thing to happen here.
I heard they were negotiating within a day of the performance.
If the contract they sign is anything like the one they sign for Idol, they automatically work for Cowell’s company, and he’ll get a piece of anything she makes. Swan from Phantom of the Paradise had a less restrictive deal, from what I understand.
But I understand she’s already naively admitted to the press they were talking record deal like the next day, but she’s smart enough to say she’s taking baby steps.
That was rather nice.
*finishes mopping tears from face*
Really. Quite lovely. Well done.
Thanks for that, Peter. She’s incredible!
That’s not an easy song to do, either, and she totally nailed it. I could listen to her sing for hours.
Simon says:
“I knew we were in for something special.”
What a lying sack o’ šhìŧ. He took one look at her, and thought to himself “I wouldn’t go to bed with her, so this is gonna suck.”
To be fair, even the other judges and offstage hosts were mocking Simon, saying “what a load of tosh!”
Simon Cowell was just trying to be funny there. He didn’t expect what he got. I thought that was a great moment.
i saw one of the other clips of her earlier – just stunning.
and Alan – as to Simon – personally he’s always struck me as ANYONE he sees perform has to prove themselves and he holds a high standard. Never seemed to have a “she’s hot so she must be good” attitude so why assume he’d have the oppisite?
Yeah. And I don’t know if it’s in this particular video, but in the one I first watched I really enjoyed watching Simon Cowell obviously enjoying the performance.
Because both Idol and BGT have their share of camp acts during the audition phase, who make it to the stage solely because of the rich verdant soil they provide for growing ripe, healthy insult comedy. Until she started singing, there was no reason to believe there would be any other purpose to have her on. Ha.
Obviously she could never play Fantine, but she’d be perfect to play Madame Thenardier.
PAD
I was thinking the same thing.
One of my favorite Les Mis songs, and – as of the moment I first saw it – perhaps my favorite performance of it.
I think she’d do a bang up job on “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
I saw this last night on ABC World News Tonight, but it was nice seeing it again. Thanks for posting it, Peter.
Fantastic…absolutely brilliant…I think I’ve been watching too much Doctor Who and BBC in general. But this was brilliant. It’s nice to see things like this, even if it doesn’t necessarily relate to your particular field of interest, it gives the underdogs hope.
I’d like to hear a full concert by her once she’s built up her repertoire.
But “amazed”? Not really. It’s very apropos that SKYLARK OF SPACE is advertised on this page as, way back in high school, it taught me very effectively the folly of (mis)judging a book by its cover.
I had seen the headlines about this but didn’t bother to check it out since I hate American Idol, DWTS…all reality shows really. But since PAD told me to I clicked thru and let me just say THANKS! That was awesome.
That was both surprising and AMAZING. And I don’t even like that type of music.
I’m going to be a bit pedantic here and say I wasn’t “amazed,” but I was certainly impressed.
The sad thing is that if this woman had looked like Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey, I know this video wouldn’t be making the viral rounds the way it has. Because she’s considered, to be polite, plain, I guess the general public doesn’t expect as much from her.
This is kind of the same thing that was seen years ago with the C+C Music Factory song “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” when the female singer Martha Wash, a rather stout woman, was replaced in the video by the far more traditionally attractive Zelma Davis. It’s also reminiscent in my mind of the recent Olympic ceremony in China where the Chinese government had a more traditionally cute little girl lip sync a song that was actually sang by one they considered more homely.
Mark Evenier has a link on his website to a column by Dennis Palumbo who makes a similar point to Rich’s. Here is the pertinent observation:
“The unspoken message of this whole episode is that, since Susan Boyle has a wonderful talent, we were wrong to judge her based on her looks and demeanor. Meaning what? That if she couldn’t sing so well, we were correct to judge her on that basis? That demeaning someone whose looks don’t match our impossible, media-reinforced standards of beauty is perfectly okay, unless some mitigating circumstance makes us re-think our opinion?
For the whole article here is the URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-palumbo/what-if-susan-boyle-could_b_187804.html
Susan Boyle can certainly sing but I think the reaction says much more about us than her talent.
I think the argument doesn’t track. If she was homely and couldn’t sing, she wouldn’t be news, any more than the countless weird looking people trying out for “American Idol” and couldn’t sing were news. Any more than, for that matter, all the gorgeous people who shows up on “American Idol” and couldn’t sing were news.
.
What makes her news is the contrast between her frumpy, dowdy appearance and the pure beauty of her singing voice. Is it unfair that society dictates her appearance to be displeasing? Sure. But it’s just as arbitrary as society dictating that her voice is beautiful. We respond to different stimuli, and that’s the way that goes. Personally I far prefer a person who’s kind of frumpy looking over someone who has had twenty plastic surgeries and diets herself into a coma.
.
Furthermore, what makes it appealing as a news story is the always popular notion of an underdog triumphing over derision. It’s why the best moment in the film “Shine” is when a discombobulated David sits down at the piano in the pub, draws a few snickers, and then floors everyone with his scorching performance of “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
.
The reason it’s an unspoken message is because that’s not the message. The message is, It’s great when people rise above expectations and blow away their doubters…in a non-artillery sense.
.
PAD
I’m not going to disagree with PAD’s point that this is an underdog makes good story. She certainly is an underdog, and she certainly made good. What I’m simply pointing out is that it’s totally illogical for people to look at her and expect less simply because of her looks.
PAD says, “s it unfair that society dictates her appearance to be displeasing? Sure. But it’s just as arbitrary as society dictating that her voice is beautiful. We respond to different stimuli, and that’s the way that goes.” He’s absolutely correct in that as well. But where our responses to stimuli let us down is when we assume because of our response to one stimuli our responses to others will be similar. If I love the taste of a fine wine, for example, I’m not going to expect it taste bad simply because it’s served in a red plastic cup.
I do want to make it clear that I’m not faulting PAD or anyone else for helping this video make the rounds. Quite the opposite–I think it’s necessary to make folks aware of our false expectations if we’re ever going to rise above them.
But where our responses to stimuli let us down is when we assume because of our response to one stimuli our responses to others will be similar. If I love the taste of a fine wine, for example, I’m not going to expect it taste bad simply because it’s served in a red plastic cup.
.
Yes, but the difference is this: If a waiter hands you a plastic cup and says, “Try this,” you’re going to have some degree of trepidation. If on the other hand, a waiter opens a bottle of fine wine and pours it into a glass and says, “Try this,” you will have no trepidation at all.
.
PAD
Yes, but the difference is this: If a waiter hands you a plastic cup and says, “Try this,” you’re going to have some degree of trepidation. If on the other hand, a waiter opens a bottle of fine wine and pours it into a glass and says, “Try this,” you will have no trepidation at all.
Then I guess what it boils down to is how much you trust the waiter. If I’ve been to this particular restaurant (Chez Metaphor?) many times and know that this particular waiter knows my tastes, be it fine crystal or Dixie cup, I’ll give it a shot.
Yes, I teared up. The “Holy šhìŧ!” look of Cowell and the audience was priceless. Plus, she looks like my grandma a bit.
Right now they are trying to decide when to give her the makeover. If they get her dolled up now, she loses her “frump-chic”. But once she wins (oh, you doubt this?), she’s gonna have people lining up to do her over. And even then they’re going to have to ride that line carefully – kind of like how America Fererra isn’t all THAT “ugly” on Ugly Betty. Just enough to remind folks that she’s “just like you”. Her frumpiness is now her gimmick, like Mel Tillis’ stutter and Jim Nabors’ corn pone accent. Like Frank Fontaine and the aforementioned pair, Susan is the latest in the “They can SING???” line of performers.
If I understand the audition process, she won’t be seen on the show for some weeks now, before the proper competition starts. I’m sure they’ll start having little interviews and the like with her to keep people watching – this has become a one-woman show, and I think everyone knows it. I’m reminded of Quiz Show – “I don’t care how you get him back on the show – call it a bonus round, anything!”
She was on the CBS Early Show this morning – she’s a certified celebrity already.
There’s a small bit of potential “preparedness” here – Cowell is the producer of the show, and I assume has more than some small hand in selecting the people who get to the TV stage. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have foreknowledge of her before she walked on the stage. His face drop was impressive, but I’m not sure at least he (and maybe the two off-stage presenters) didn’t know what was coming. No slight to her talent, just possibly less “real” than it seems.
I don’t know if “America’s Got Talent” is coming back, but if it is, and they don’t have her do a “guest performance”, they’re daft as loons.
She wasn’t the only person on the show, you know. I’m dying to find a clip of the leggy burlesque clown Betty Delight’s act – anybody got one?
http://tinyurl.com/ckqboo – Woo!
The auditions are just that, open “cattle call” auditions, so WYSI(allegedly)WYG as far as judge’s reactions go. IIRC correctly, they whittle it down to around 50 acts, then to 10 or 12 for the final.
–
She does seem like a strong candidate for winner, but it was just the first audition show and Britain does have a lot of talent, favourites have definitely fallen before, so count ye not those chickens just yet. The link for the 2009 show is http://talent.itv.com/ for those who wish to keep tracking it.
–
Cheers.
I think Simon’s comment about expecting something extraordinary was true but two-edged.
Knowing the show format it was easy to guess that when Susan, looking like she did and stating the song she wanted to sing it was going to be either blow you away fantastic (which it was) or so awful as to drive the audience out of the auditorium.
There could be no middle ground.
What th…? A singing contest? I was expecting the final issue of Planetary or something….
.
😉
I think we can safely assume that the final issue of Planetary before 2010 would rank higher than ‘amazing’ 🙂
–
BTW apparently Susan Boyle is now being referred to as “the hairy angel”…
–
Sigh. (SFX: Grown man banging head against desktop…)
–
Cheers.
Aw what? That’s just plain rude 🙁
.
So how was the Doctor Who special (no spoilers!)
.
Cheers
By me, very, very good. Best ‘special’ since the Giant Spider Christmas episode a few years back. Spot on characterisation, snappy dialogue, a great companion and an interesting plot. Plus some extremely ominous foreshadowing that makes it look like RTD and DT plan on going out in a blaze of glory… Next Special is October, then a two-parter over Christmas before Moffatt and Smith take over.
–
Belated congrats to Mr Tennant btw, on turning 38 yesterday. (38? God he’s young! The new Doc is really going to make me feel the years!!)
–
Cheers.
Wow! That was amazing! I had heard about this clip and knew watching her that she was going to knock it out of the park, but I still got teary eyed.
Enjoyed watching everyone’s amazement (especially Simon’s) when she started. (And yeah, he was joking at the end)
(I remember watching a year or so ago where a teenager came on and sang opera amazingly well, but then had a crying confession where she was too young to be on the show.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKhIkeTkm8s&feature=related
That one has the before interview and the after interview on it. It looks like it was recorded from someone with a recorder watching the tv screen, but was fun to watch.
>Because she’s considered, to be polite, plain, I guess the general public doesn’t expect as much from her.
Or else they love the way she showed the great experts on the panel and unsympathetic audience. I know that’s what endeared her to me. Well that and the fact that her voice is pretty darn good. 😉
I certainly like the idea of her getting a recording track better than that Asian kid on American Idol getting one.
This is one of the most moving television moments I’ve ever seen. Her voice, her choice of song, the reactions of the judges and the audience… it all comes together to create a perfect moment. Wonderful.
Jim Emerson’s response to the Susan Boyle media phenomenon:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2009/04/reality_what_a_concept.html#more
This woman is my new hero!!! Amazing!!! Britan really has talent!