April 11, 2009

 

Susan Boyle blows the judges away!


47 Year old Susan Boyle wows the judges with her performance in the auditions for Britain's Got Talent on April 11, 2009, singing "Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Miserables.

Simon Cowell described Susan Boyle's performance as "extraordinary." Susan Boyle, from West Lothian in Scotland, appeared on the television show "Britain's Got Talent" at the weekend.

Before appearing on stage to sing "I Dreamed a Dream", Boyle told the show's hosts that she lived with her cat Pebbles and had never been married or kissed, adding that it was "not an advert."

"I'm trying to be a professional singer... I'm going to make that audience rock."

Before singing she told Cowell, also a judge on "American Idol," that she wanted to be like singer and stage star Elaine Page. A skeptical audience laughed. However, as soon as she began singing the crowd leapt to their feet...

 

Appropriately, "I Dreamed A Dream," sung by Susan Boyle, hints at the possibility of a better life...

 

Many times Truth and Beauty shows in surprising ad harmonic ways...

 

 

 

Susan Boyle on 'Britain's Got Talent'

April 11, 2009

from DailyMotion Website

 

 

Here are the Lyrics:

Thanks to NewHotdox

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.

And still
I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

 

 

The Music

 

"I Dreamed a Dream"

by Susan Boyle, Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman and Petula Clark

 

 

Download


 

 

 

 

 



 What if Susan Boyle Couldn't Sing?
by Dennis Palumbo
April 16, 2009

from HuffingtonPost Website

Like millions of viewers, I was thrilled and moved when 47-year-old Susan Boyle wowed the judges and audience on Britain's Got Talent with her superb singing.

 

As everyone knows by now, the unmarried, "never been kissed" woman from a small village was greeted by both the audience and the talent show's judges with derision when she first took the stage. Looking matronly in her somewhat frumpy dress and unkempt hair, her appearance initially elicited smug, condescending and even cruel smirks, smiles and chuckles.

 

What could this "un-cool," plain-spoken woman have to offer? What right did she have to share the stage with all those young, pretty, talented people?

Then Susan opened her mouth and sang.

 

And her voice was so powerful, so achingly beautiful, so full of yearning, that even the usually heartless Simon Cowell was blown away. As were the other judges, and the audience, all of whom gave Susan a standing ovation. And now, online and elsewhere, Susan's voice, and the story of her triumph on that stage, are known throughout the world.

There's even news of a record contract, and the odds-makers who track these things believe she's the current favorite to win the competition. More tellingly, everyone is talking and blogging about her "inner beauty," and how Susan reminds us that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, etc.

I'm happy for her. She appears to be a solid, decent person for whom, God knows, some good luck is long overdue.

But I can't help wondering,

  • What would have been the reaction if Susan Boyle couldn't sing?

  • What would the judges and the audience have thought, and said, had her voice been a creaky rasp, or an out-of-tune shriek?

  • Would she still possess that "inner beauty?"

  • Would we still acknowledge that the derisive treatment she received before performing was callous, insensitive and cruel?

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?

Personally, I'm gratified that her voice inspires so many, and reminds us of our tendency to judge and criticize based on shallow externals of beauty. What I mean is, I'm glad for her.

But I have no doubt that, had she performed poorly, Simon Cowell would be rolling his eyes still. And the audience would have hooted and booed with the relish of Roman spectators at the Colosseum.

 

And that Susan Boyle's appearance on the show would still be on YouTube, but as an object of derision and ridicule.

So let's not be too quick to congratulate ourselves for taking her so fully to our hearts. We should've done that anyway, as we should all those we encounter who fall outside the standards of youth and beauty as promulgated by fashion magazines, gossip sites, and hit TV shows.

We should've done that anyway, before Susan Boyle sang a single note.