Unless you’ve been trapped under a house like the Wicked Witch of the West, you’ve heard of and seen Susan Boyle. I have been absolutely fascinated both by her and by the public’s reaction to her.
I first heard about her from my mom, who usually does live under that house in Oz, though she’s no Wicked Witch. I mean, my mother, bless her heart, is usually the last one to hear the news, because she’s engaged in more important things than checking a steady stream of NYTimes, Twitter, and Youtube feeds. Bless her heart.
Anyway, Mom teared up during the Susan Boyle spot on the local news. So did I.
Then I read a bunch of commentary on it. The Huffington Post alone has seventeen thousand posts about Susan Boyle, and one of my favorites was MAMAPOP’s take World Shocked at Susan Boyle’s Ability to Sing Despite Her Being Less Than Attractive.
I haven’t read all the sites that are apparently saying things like “good thing she can sing otherwise she’d still be worthless” because I don’t read sites like that, basically.
But I do read The New York Times, and today Tom Bergeron of Dancing With the Stars (which I don’t watch; I get my fill of reality TV with American Idol) has some advice for Susan Boyle.
Why? Because the love and admiration she’s getting now isn’t as genuine as the love her cat has for her, and her cat just wants to get fed.
And also? Because millions of people are counting on her now, especially for the profit she can generate for them, and “what happens if she lets them down”?
Bergeron makes some good points — that fame is fickle and The Entertainment Industry is full of Big Fat Jerks. I don’t know anything about the entertainment industry except that it produces people like Britney Spears, so I’m pretty sure this is an accurate assessment on his part.
But the idea that Susan Boyle should give up before she has even truly begun is so hopelessly condescending, patronizing, ageist, lookist, and dream-killing.
Why should Susan Boyle run away? Should Adam Lambert run away?
What about the people who are counting on Susan Boyle, not for the money she can make them, but for the gift of believing in something special for just a few minutes?
Is Bergeron insinuating that Susan Boyle is simply too weak, too sheltered, too naive, too pathetic, to be allowed to face the risk of failure? We all face the risk of failure. I said on Twitter that facing the risk of failure is what makes us adults, but really, it’s giving in to fear and refusing to risk humiliation and criticism for our dreams that changes us from confident, courageous, color-outside-the-lines children into mincing, mature, above-all-that-striving adults.
Who are we to tell Susan Boyle what to do? Shouldn’t she follow her dream, play it out, try her hand? Shouldn’t she get a makeover if that’s what she wants? Shouldn’t she sing what she wants, do what she wants? Why are we acting like she’s a mentally incapacitated twit who couldn’t possibly know her own mind or control her own future?
I wish I had half her guts. Go Susan!!
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And on a completely different note (or perhaps not), why is it okay to be liked/praised/paid for your singing talent, or any other talent and not for your looks? Why is it bad to say someone is ugly and therefore can’t be a model and okay to say that someone can’t sing and therefore can’t be on Broadway? Do we believe that God rewards deserving people with talent so they deserve the acclaim that follows but that looks are completely arbitrary?
So tell me that singers or writers or actors or doctors or engineers all deserve our admiration because they work at it. And all those models and dancers and actresses who profit from their looks don’t diet and exercise and “work at it.”
Why is it okay to be enamored of talent or intelligence or ability — all of which are initially an accident of birth, and so incredibly wrong to be enamored of beauty — which is also initially an accident of birth?
Jane
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Susan Boyle has a great voice. And she’s also kind of homely. But the part that makes her voice so surprising is actually how she carries herself on stage when she’s not singing. See, if someone is awkward and embarrassing then they are are likely to be also deluded about talent they might have. That’s the kind of person who is often showcased in the first couple of episodes of American Idol every season.
Susan is a surprise because she doesn’t seem self-aware. If she was, then wouldn’t she walk and talk more normally?
I loved MamaPop’s piece on her, but my one disagreement would be about the self-aware thing. I’m okay with being impressed. Not because she’s ugly (which she’s not) but because her social ability doesn’t in any way match her vocal ability. I’m pretty sure if I saw a beautiful person who was so socially awkward I would still be stunned by a gorgeous voice.
Jane Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Good points on social ability v. vocal ability. I liked how Mamapop termed it “her performance of femininity” was not up to par for her performance of music.
I think she was maybe a bit nervous, and she is a bit awkward, but I didn’t find her completely unself-aware, and she seemed to have a good sense of humor and to be pretty level-headed.
Of course, it would help to see more than a 5 minute clip.
I have a young girl as a student right now who is a professional cheerleader. I can assure you that she works VERY hard to “just be cute” on the sidelines. The amount of dance practice, PR events, exercising, etc on top of school (which the organization requires her to attend) is mind boggling for a girl of her age. It takes discipline, dedication and ninja style time management. However, all artistic endeavors require that kind of discipline – if you want to be good. She might have been blessed with pretty genes, but she has worked hard at maximizing what she was given.
I also agree that Susan is a big girl. She’s not nineteen and naive. She’s a grown woman, whom I’m sure has had her share of heartbreak and disappointment. I applaud her for not letting her age hold her back, but instead eating from the banquet of life. I hope I’m still that gutsy when I’m her age.
Jane Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
After I wrote this, I realized you can’t stop at looks vs. talent/intelligence/ability. What about good naturedness. Some people are born more patient, more hardworking, more tolerant, etc. Too bad we cannot separate those gifts we are given from God and the effort that we put in to develop them. But maybe we shouldn’t be judging each other on any of these characteristics at all. (Though I do, all the time.)
The thing that gets me about this story, which no one seems to hit on, is her age. I was shocked to hear how good she was. And it wasn’t because she is a little homely. It was because she is a little older. Not that I think older people can’t sing. But most people with as much talent as Susan Boyle has have already started a career before they’re 40. She has an amazing voice and I doubt it developed into that since her twenties. Why hasn’t she hit it big already? Why isn’t she already singing professionally? That’s why I was suprised. Anybody else wonder about that?
You missed my larger point. I wasn’t telling her to run away from either her talent or from performing, but rather to be careful about mistaking communal euphoria for deeper, dependable affection. In fact, at the end I state that we all need the kind of courage it took for her to command that stage in the face of the eye-rollers. Show biz needs to be kept in perspective. Life and our gifts need to be embraced.
Best,
Tom
Jane Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Your larger point was very apt, but I think, if her dream is to be a singer, then the hard truth is that she has to go out into the world, face the show biz, be commercial and make money, if she is to be able to share her gift as she stated she would like to, to a wide audience.
I might write in my kitchen, but if I don’t ever take the huge risk of submitting to a publisher (and hopefully being exposed to gritty industry realities), how could I ever say I wanted to be a writer?
I also have wondered about her back story. Where has she been all this time? And who was it that would not have given her a chance with that voice? I cannot imagine anyone who has heard an audition tape with her voice turning her down. So I would like to know what she has been doing the past 20 years…
Jane Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Tara and Becky — yes, that is the real sticking point (why didn’t she make it big already? why wasn’t there some opportunity?). And for me, it’s almost the most exciting thing, that perhaps we have this talent for something, and maybe it just hasn’t been recognized yet?
Hey! Are you saying I’m a Big Fat Jerk or that my fame will be fickle!?! I don’t agree – I’m “all that”!
Jane Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Is that you, Eric?
Wise guy!
I believe that I heard that she was caring for an ailing mother or is that some novel I just read recently? Isn’t that terrible when you can’t differentiate the news from the crazy dream you had yesterday morning from the latest book you read?
I did see a piece where the bartender from the bar/karaoke place that she regularly attends was not at all surprised at her experience. Apparently she goes to this place frequently and sings her heart out and so they knew she was amazing.
The heartwarming aspect to this story for me is to remember: never judge a book by its cover. Kind of relating back to some of the questions you pondered.
I love, love, love your blog though I may not be smart enough to attend this blog.
Thanks for being such a brilliant writer.
Jane Reply:
April 26th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Caring for an ailing mother would be a great addition to the story, wouldn’t it? I’m glad to hear that she’s been singing all along.
And THANK YOU for your compliments. It’s clear to me that anyone with such good taste is plenty smart enough to read this blog.
I just crawled out from under my rock…watched the video. Oh. my. I teared up, too! Woohoo, Susan!!!
There are so many people with gifts/talents that never do the work to realize their ‘full’ potential. I’m not a big fan of reality TV, but I do think those of us spectating get to see a little of the grind that those who choose to ‘grow’ those gifts commercially have to go through to get where they are.
(By the way, I love your writing! You write about subjects that ‘speak’ to me. When you write about your family I often am nodding, laughing or crying in agreement! Thanks, Jane, for having the courage to write and to include us in the conversation.)
Jane Reply:
April 26th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
As far as reality TV goes, I watch Idol, and that’s it — I love the hopes/dreams aspect of it, and I love how the contestants are encouraging of each other; so different from most other reality shows.
(THANK YOU. Nice comments like these just make my day. I don’t think you guys can imagine how much they mean to me!!)
Two words: Tom Petty