Susan Boyle: Difference between revisions
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and because of her appearance.<ref name="mirror">{{cite news |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/04/12/singing-was-my-escape-from-bullies-115875-21272894/ |title=Britain's Got Talent: Singing sensation Susan Boyle sang to escape the bullies |work=The Daily Mirror |first=Lara |last=Gould |date=2009-04-12 |accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007, at the age of 91. Her performance on ''Britain’s Got Talent'' was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother's death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6078159.ece |title=Secret sadness of Britain's Got Talent star |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |first=Stuart |last=MacDonald |date=2009-04-12 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> She is unmarried and presently unemployed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/showbiz-news/showbiz-news/2009/04/14/britain-s-got-talent-star-susan-boyle-proves-big-hit-on-youtube-86908-21277248/ |title=Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle proves big hit on YouTube |work=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |date=2009-04-14 |accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> |
Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and because of her appearance.<ref name="mirror">{{cite news |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/04/12/singing-was-my-escape-from-bullies-115875-21272894/ |title=Britain's Got Talent: Singing sensation Susan Boyle sang to escape the bullies |work=The Daily Mirror |first=Lara |last=Gould |date=2009-04-12 |accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007, at the age of 91. Her performance on ''Britain’s Got Talent'' was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother's death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6078159.ece |title=Secret sadness of Britain's Got Talent star |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |first=Stuart |last=MacDonald |date=2009-04-12 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> She is unmarried and presently unemployed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/showbiz-news/showbiz-news/2009/04/14/britain-s-got-talent-star-susan-boyle-proves-big-hit-on-youtube-86908-21277248/ |title=Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle proves big hit on YouTube |work=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |date=2009-04-14 |accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> She aspires to ascend to the level of the world renowned career of Elaine Paige and has infamously stated she has never been kissed. |
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==Coverage== |
==Coverage== |
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Revision as of 05:17, 16 April 2009
Susan Boyle |
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Susan Boyle, 47, from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, UK, is a church volunteer and contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent.[1] She surprised the judges and audience with a strong performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round, aired on 11 April 2009. She received a standing ovation from the live audience and elicited the "biggest yes in three seasons" from Piers Morgan and "yes"-votes from both Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden. Simon Cowell is reported to be setting up a contract with Miss Boyle with his SyCo Music company label, a subsidiary of Sony Music.[2]
Personal life
Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and because of her appearance.[3] She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007, at the age of 91. Her performance on Britain’s Got Talent was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother's death.[4] She is unmarried and presently unemployed.[5] She aspires to ascend to the level of the world renowned career of Elaine Paige and has infamously stated she has never been kissed.
Coverage
News media
The majority of British newspapers carried articles on Boyle's performance and subsequent internet coverage, such as an article in The Sun, where she was given the nickname Paula Potts by Colin Robertson in reference to the contest's previous opera singing winner Paul Potts.[6] In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Boyle 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."[3]
International news websites also carried stories on her such as the New York Daily News[7] and Australia's Herald Sun.[8] 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."[9] However, a columnist in The Guardian pointed out the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition, suggesting that our society seems to expect women to be both good-looking and talented, while no such expectations are made about men.[10]
TV shows
Following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show.[11]
Social media
The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours.[12] It received 99 site honours based on views, ratings, and other factors. As of April 16, 2009, the video had been viewed more than ten million times and received over 50,000 comments.[13]
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.[14] The same video was also popular on Reddit, with enough clout to top this site's front page.[15]
Reasons for worldwide reaction
Boyle's sudden fame has drawn several comments on what could explain why this story was so widely-reported.[16] For instance, writing in Scotland's The Herald, Collette Douglas-Home described the story as a "parable of our age" and a rebuke to the common assumptions we make based on people's physical appearance.[17] Similarly, Lisa Schwarzbaum, in an article in Entertainment Weekly, stated that Boyle's performance was particularly moving as it was a victory for sheer talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with surface appearance and presentation.[18] Commenting on the audience's reactions before she started singing, Boyle stated:
Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. ... There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.
— Susan Boyle, The Washington Post[19]
In a more academic and psychological viewpoint, Robert Canfield, professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote that the feeling of personal importance given by Susan Boyle's performance to her audience came from a "moral sensibility" that spoke to the anxieties and preoccupations of those who were watching.[20]
References
- ^ "Talent show singer is online hit". BBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ "'Never Been Kissed' Singer, 47, Wows Cowell". MSNBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ a b Gould, Lara (2009-04-12). "Britain's Got Talent: Singing sensation Susan Boyle sang to escape the bullies". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ MacDonald, Stuart (2009-04-12). "Secret sadness of Britain's Got Talent star". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle proves big hit on YouTube". Daily Record. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Robertson, Colin (2009-04-10). "Paula Potts". The Sun. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Staff (2009-04-14). "Susan Boyle, the most unlikely reality TV star ever, shocks Simon Cowell on 'Britain's Got Talent'". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Staff (2009-04-13). "UK talent show stunned by Scottish virgin Susan Boyle". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Farhanghi, Hoda (2009-04-14). "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell". ABCNews Online. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Tanya Gold It wasn't singer Susan Boyle who was ugly on Britain's Got Talent so much as our reaction to her. The Guardian 16 April 2009
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle's promise to mum". STV.tv. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Khan, Urmee (2009-04-14). "Britain's Got Talent church worker Susan Boyle becomes YouTube hit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ "Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)". YouTube.com. 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Jenocide312 (2009-04-12). "Amazing Perf by 47YO on Britain's Got Talent". Digg.com. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ QueenZ (2009-04-12). "never judge a book by its cover-amazing singer Susan Boyle". Reddit.com. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Moran, Mark E (2009-04-15). "Making Sense of the Powerful Reaction to Susan Boyle". FindingDulcinea. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ Douglas-Home, Collette (2009-04-14). "The beauty that matters is always on the inside". The Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ Lisa Schwarzbaum 'Britain's Got Talent' breakout Susan Boyle: Why we watch...and weep Entertainment Weekly April 14, 2009
- ^ Jordan, Mary (2009-04-16). "The Scot Heard Round the World". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ Canfield, Robert (2009-04-15). "Susan Boyle and the power of the moral imagination". Rcanfield.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
