Susan Boyle sings her heart out. Via ttom_thgwid @ Flickr.
Sometimes, plain, “overweight” women over age 30 can have something of value to offer the world!
As Boyle introduced herself, the cackling audience provided background noise. Then Boyle sang, and she sang beautifully. Cue the standing ovation and stunned praise. The judges were stunned not at themselves for underestimating a talented woman for superficial reasons, but that a woman like her could possess such a lovely, powerful voice. Each reminded her that “everyone was against [her]” (to paraphrase judge Amanda Holden) before eagerly endorsing her. Boyle was cheerful and optimistic through it all, and the combination of backstory + performance + personality has endeared her to people on a global scale.
The tone of the Susan Boyle media frenzy is one of delighted shock – the same delighted shock expressed by the judges and the BGT audience who initially snickered and rolled their eyes at the woman. As Jezebel’s Sadie observed, they’ve “reduced her to a two-dimensional character who reaffirms our belief in the Power of Dreams.” She’s never been kissed, she was mercilessly bullied as a child, she dedicated the past few years to caring for her ailing mother – her underdog story appeals to a public overwhelmed with home foreclosure and job losses and a desire to transcend their circumstances. I have no way of knowing whether Boyle feels exploited by all the attention, but the freak-show element to the reporting makes me uncomfortable.
Yes, it’s true; there are people out there made invisible by their size, their disability, their class, their frizzy hair… who have amazing but untapped talents and abilities. I wonder who else we are missing out on. For every pre-fab “artist” who sought stardom for stardom’s sake and whose talent is the willingness to undergo soul-sucking makeovers, there are dozens of Susan Boyles. I might be more upbeat about Boyle’s newfound fame were I not convinced that the reverse halo effect – wherein people assume that a person with one supposedly negative quality (overweight, ordinary looks, a learning disability, etc.) – has only negative qualities – was one of the hurdles in her way in the first place. We saw it in action when she took the BGT stage.
Many people are claiming that “she showed them!” But what did she show them? I fear most of humanity considers Boyle a charming exception to the “rule” that only the young and conventionally attractive are worthy of entertaining us. Maybe at this point, Boyle is just thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to showcase her singing voice on such a grand scale. I am really happy for her and I hope she’s able to continue doing so.
No doubt it feels good to prove your detractors wrong like that. Have you ever had that chance?
I agree 100%. My first thought to seeing the YouTube clip over at Shakes was along the lines of “those bastards”. I hate that they all wrote her off initially and found her hilarious, hence all the shots to the audience laughing and giving looks to one another. Bah. And I sure as hell am not proud that they later realized what complete douches they were for doing so. They knew it was wrong from the get go (at which point I realize I’m ranting and making Disneyesque sentences).
I am very happy for Susan Boyle. I just wish her new found fame wasn’t the center of the “see, you shouldn’t judge someone by how they look” from people feeling oh so good about themselves simply by giving this woman a chance AFTER the fact.
As for your question
I haven’t had that chance yet. But I’m currently working on it. That…and my run-on sentences.
I love the blog! Thanks for all you harpies do.
I’m still not sure why people expect talent to correlate with appearance. I think it is because of the way our pop stars exist–very video killed the radio star perspective coming here–where they get a lot farther if they are attractive. OBVIOUSLY, there are better singers than Britney Spears (hell, I out-sing her in my shower on a daily basis), but she became famous as part of a huge singing/dancing/not-quite-legal-to-barely-legal package.
This doesn’t necessarily happen in other musical genres. Think of opera. Opera does not require that you are a hottie. However, opera also doesn’t put you on MTV and opera fans are usually only there for the singing and the story. Rock even has more variability in attractiveness than run-of-the-mill pop. Also, the standards are always stricter for women than for men. (What’s up, patriarchy?)
So yeah… anyway… my rant basically can be summarized by the fact that people have been brainwashed by pop culture to think that attractive people are more likely to be talented than unattractive people even though such an expectation is completely irrational. It’s another thing to add to the list of attractive person benefits: better pay, more friends, better perceptions of you by strangers, etc.
My surprise wasn’t that Boyle could sing; it was that she had gone 47 years without ever being noticed for it outside of her village. At least here, the “Got Talent” show gives a cash prize rather than a full Idol-type contract and it accepts all kinds of acts done by all sorts of people. I hope she wins.
After a lifetime of being snarked on for her looks–just a guess, but I think a fair one–if she’s getting delighted about positive feedback and celebrity for her talent, I’m not going to deny her that.
Yes, society sucks because it equates youth and hotness with talent, success and worthiness. So on the rare occasions people get the smirks wiped off their faces–yeah, Simon Cowell, I’m talking about YOU, you snotty prick–I want to just do a happy dance without thinking about the larger sociological implications.
I cried when I saw this because of her age and not her appearance. It was such a huge vindication/inspiration for my extremely late bloomer personality.
But I am not about to give Simon Cowell a pat on the back. The man loves his pre-packaged stars, and this is not going to change his mind as much as it will give him a new marketing opportunity.
Do people think singing ability goes down with age or something? It’s not possible that there are no older people who are good singers.
I made my mom (the world’s biggest les mis fan) listen to this without watching it and she had tears in her eyes just from the music. When she saw Susan Boyle, she was annoyed that her talent hadn’t already been recognized years ago. Then she lamented the fact that Ms Boyle was probably going to be another Beth Ditto- one single person different from the societal norm that’s used as an excuse to pretend we have moved past appearance discrimination.
Oh, DangerMouse. Opera doesn’t require hotties, but it ain’t immune (as you say, particularly for women). The Met, which under Peter Gelb is trying to repopularize opera for the masses–and doing a half-decent job–is definitely trying to beautify/sex up the repetoire, and they’re not the only ones: Natalie Dessay and Anna Netrebko are Glamour-Shot out the wazoo, Debra Voight was fired from a London production for being too fat and underwent gastic bypass, and Cindy Sadler has been publicly touting her massive weight loss online. Oh, and Karita Mattila’s nudity in Salome was all anyone would talk about. Never mind that it’s an absurdly difficult role to sing and act.
Why yes, I do follow opera.
@Lyndsay: Yes, the vocal cords dry up and people can’t even talk! Also, their vaginas shrivel and drop off. Only people under 30 are worth talking about.
The Pretty=good narrative comes from the Anabaptist belief that if you are one of God’s elect, that it will have visible outer signs, like prosperity and being “favored” or pretty.
And it is fucked up beyond all belief.
Lyndsay–We still have Aretha, thank goodness. That’s a different generation though. Country singers seem to hang around longer than pop singers. I think a lot of young pop stars now aren’t actually great singers, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are encouraged to retire when the superficial stuff falls apart.
@GeekGirls: Nah, the whole “beauty = good” thing existed WAY before the 16th century (i.e. start of the Anabaptist movement). It’s been pretty much the dominant worldview for all of humankind’s existence.
I know I’ve been more than a bit bothered by the fact that the “she showed them” part of the narrative seems to have given people permission to wax at length about how unattractive she is. For those judges to say to her face that they thought she was ridiculous and pathetic – I don’t care if they’ve retracted those opinions, you don’t say that ish aloud, and certainly not in public. Lady’s got ears, and feelings.
Articles that start off like this on from the LA Times certainly don’t help:
“Less than a week ago, she was just another 47-year-old Scottish virgin.
Now, more than 13 million YouTube views later, Hollywood agents and talk-show bookers are jostling for a few minutes with Susan Boyle, a stocky, beetle-browed woman who would not ordinarily rate a second glance on the street.”
Yes, start the story off about her fuckability, because that is what matters most.
@amanada/notmandy: “Beetle-browed”? What the everlasting fuck?
I came down a bit more on the “heartbreaking” side, too. They hated her because she came out confident, and how dare an old, ugly woman be confident? They couldn’t wait to mock her mercilessly.
But her voice actually was lovely, and there were cameras, so they had to admit it. To their credit, I think, they did acknowledge that they’d judged her. Amanda Holden even called it a “wake-up call.”
But if she hadn’t been talented, and had just been walking down the street, they wouldn’t have given her any respect at all. Because she wouldn’t deserve it, right? Ugly people with nothing spectacularly special about them don’t deserve to be treated with respect, apparently.
The woman’s not stupid, y’know? Everyone and their mother is rushing to get an interview or write about her. I’m sure she can read; she can certainly hear the rude things people are saying (with a smile) to her face.
It makes me sad to think she’s aware of the fact that her talent doesn’t make her newsworthy; her ordinary looks, “old” age, and all the sad things about her life + talent make her newsworthy.
She looked pretty adorable on the Today Show this morning though.
I found Susan Boyle to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking. There is not a place in society where you are not prejudged because of SOMETHING. Whether you are too young or old, too thin or fat it is all around us (opera included). I posted on my blog about Susan Boyle because she showed courage. I am a singer as well and am over 40 and I refuse to watch these hideous shows because of the complete lack of respect shown to these contestants. I also feel like that has taken over in our society. There was a time not too long ago that anyone who was willing to stand up in public and sing was respected if only because most people are not comfortable doing it. Now thanks to the Simon Cowells of the world not only are you expected to be talented but the half the audience is supposed to want to sleep with you.
I don’t think this response will last but for a few days I’m glad a the tiny bit of enlightenment.
I saw the video yesterday? The day before? (they all run together right now…) But, I watched it because a friend posted it on Facebook and instructed me to watch. So, I did.
I know the crowd was amazed (that bitch with the rolling eyes, I hope your friends are making fun of you right now). They didn’t see it coming.
It breaks my heart that people can’t see how god damn adorable she is. How is she not cute? That SMILE! Oh, and her shoes, I want them. That little stomping thing she did when she got three OKs, or whatever they are, that needs to be bottled and sold. That sassy hip shake. Solid Gold. So, I have to ask again, how is she not cute?
People wonder how this woman can have that voice? I’m more concerned about how Tila Tequila became a celebrity.
Who is deciding the standard level of attraction (and sexy)? Cause, I apparently am not aware of it…
But seriously, her shoes, did anyone get a clear view of them?
I am particularly pleased to see how well she did because well, she reminds me a lot of me. I’m fat and hairy and not conventionally attractive in the least. And without wanting to seem too arrogant, I have an excellent voice. It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with it and be proud of it instead of putting myself down and saying “I’m not that good, really”. I will likely never have the chance to do anything with it though, because I’m, well, fat and hairy and not conventionally attractive, and not willing to change that even the tiniest bit.
Ms Boyle is absolutely one of the most talented vocalists I have ever heard. Have you heard the cover of “Cry Me A River” she did for the charity CD in 1999? It’s here if you want to have a listen. All I could think was – this is amazing. Why has it taken this long for her to get noticed when she produced this sort of quality TEN years ago?!
Thanks for posting this. I had some funny feelings about this whole thing and you’ve fleshed them out and articulated them well.
Ok, I’m super late to this, but I finally watched the video and I have to come down on the side of heart-warming. Susan Boyle walked out on that stage with good humor and confidence, and as nasty as the audience reaction was, I got the sense that SHE knew they were wrong, and that was awesome to watch. (I did cringe when the judges said, “Everyone was laughing at you.” Mean and unnecessary.)
A great performance can transcend conventional ideas about attractiveness, and while we see it more often with men (i.e. Mick Jagger), I think it holds true for women as well. Life is so much more interesting when people with different faces and body types and complexions are allowed to be confident and charismatic and sexy. @aftercancer and Anji, I hope you keep singing!
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