My Take on Susan Boyle
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009Like many others in this country, my introduction to Susan Boyle came via an email from a friend, entitled “You Gotta See This!” and, attached was the YouTube clip of her singing on the British version of “American Idol.”
I have to admit that when she first stepped on stage, I saw this school marm-looking lady and wondered what was coming - a spoof, perhaps - someone whose talent was so incredibly hideous, she was worth watching for a good laugh, or someone whose looks were going to fool us as she belted out a powerful performance the likes of which we’d never heard. Obviously, it turned out to be the latter, but never, in anyone’s wildest imagination, did we think we’d hear this nightingale of a woman.Â
As with most new sensations, there is a segment of society that feels it’s their duty to do whatever’s in their power to turn a wonderfully positive story into a negative wreck. And so, this woman, who claims she’s never been kissed, has already passed that phase of the relationship as far as the British media is concerned. A charming, bashful, ultra-talented woman was brought to the verge of a breakdown by the constant hounding - and leaking of negative (and untrue) stories that so affected her, she was forced to check into a hospital because of, for lack of a better term, mental stress.
Yet, she faced her critics, as the world’s most famous critic, Simon Cowell, told her on national television, and won. She was the favorite going in, but finished second. Should she have won the contest? That’s a question for someone who’s much better suited to make such judgments, but I agree with both Simon and Nelson Mandela, who said:
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”  Â