Britain's Got Talent 2009 (1 Viewer)

[Mikah Cerucco]

I'd just like to hear Susan Boyle sing a few more songs. So far, there's the one clip from BGT where the audience is screaming all over her singing, and I've heard a clip of her singing My Heart Will Go On on Larry King. Both via YouTube. I probably won't listen to her if she records a CD, but I do like hearing her sing songs I'm already familiar with.

As for her Never Been Kissed angle, well... I don't go into every interaction assuming the other person is lying, though of course a skepticism is healthy. Maybe a girl where she's from doesn't get as many opportunities as a girl in New York City. A lot goes into that. Maybe her personality is at play too. Maybe she wasn't really into boys. Maybe she spent too much time in the house and not out socializing. Maybe she's gay but doesn't act on it because she's a staunch Catholic. Who knows?

 

[Dave Mack]

Actually she's already admitted that that wasn't true...

Susan Boyle Lied About Never Being Kissed! Scam! at The Insider

"Britain’s Got Talent singer Susan Boyle may not be as naive as she would have us believe. The 47-year-old spinster told viewers of the U.K. TV talent show that she lived alone, had a cat called Pebbles, and had “never been kissed.”

But it wasn’t true.

Boyle, who has competed in countless talent shows, used the line to curry favor with the audience. She told a TV interviewer from U.K. breakfast show GMTV, “That was made as a joke! Never been kissed? I’ve never stopped.” (But if she said that, her appearance wouldn't have had the same impact....)

The blogosphere has lit up at the news..."

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think that's more what the phenomenon is about; it's a reaction to the fact that popular culture equates beauty and youth with talent. The reaction of the British judges played into that reality, but Ms. Boyle's talent overcame it. So for me and many others, the fact that she's not the old spinster she initially seemed to be is irrelevant. I know several middle-aged women and older (including my mother) who wept seeing the Britain's Got Talent clip because it resonates with the feeling of being disposable if your older than 30 or less than anorexic.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

So pop culture is a reflection of the rest of life. Actually, that's neither completely accurate nor completely fair. In all walks of life, the beautiful have an advantage. *shrug* The intelligent have advantages too. Or the 7' 300lb guy who can't shoot a free throw.

Paris Hilton put out a CD and it deservedly tanked. Jessica Simpson's movie career has been less than stellar. Lindsay Lohan can't buy work. And there are thousands of pretty women in NYC and LA who want their screen/stage time and can't get it.

I don't think pop culture equates youth and beauty with talent. I think pop culture considers youth and beauty one aspect of what makes a person interesting, just like the rest of society. But you still have to bring something else to the table. Even if you're Britney Spears.

 

[Dave Mack]

but it's not a reaction actually, it's a VERY calculated capitalization on that fact. That's what's so sad. Make her appear as if she's gonna be a trainwreck and then SURPRISE, she's not. But play up the trainwreck bit for all it's worth.... It's rather insulting. It's basically stating that if you're "ugly" or "frumpy", you are to be made fun of, teased. Because she can sing suddenly makes everyone love her? THAT's shallow!

How is this "inspiring"..? If she had say a physical disability like she only had 3 fingers on her right hand and yet could play the hell out of a classical piece of music with the handicap, fine. THAT would be inspiring. What does someone's "looks" have to do with singing ability anyways? Absolutely nothing. Especially when she's been singing for decades. A new vid just surfaced with her singing at a pub some 22 years ago. She certainly doesn't look like what she did on TV...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/...5875-21301644/

If she had now been gorgeous, this wouldn't even be a story. Would never have made it across the pond as news and there wouldn't be 100 million hits on YouTube. The classy thing to have done is just bring here out, no jokes, no eyerolls, no BS and just let her sing, but no, that wouldn't be good shocking must see TV

Once again, nothing against Ms. Boyle. Just the guys pulling the strings and laughing all the way to the bank...

 

[Dave Mack]

Explain Keanu Reeves career then...

 

[Brandon Conway]

In this case, I'd say her lack of getting work is partly due to her looks - or lack thereof for the time being.

 

[Francois Caron]

The audience's reaction before Boyle's singing may not be necessarily due to her appearance. IIRC from that episode, the judges and audience had already sat through a long series of very bad acts, none of them even coming close to showing any significant amount of talent. Then Susan Boyle shows up, and the audience's immediate reaction was that of "oh no, not another one." Then she sang those first few notes, and everyone did a complete 180. There was finally someone on stage with real talent!

The audience's initial reaction wasn't entirely about Boyle's external appearance. They were simply anticipating another bad act. From my perspective, the media and blogosphere are the ones that conjured up all these stories of scams, set-up jobs, false bios, and so on. But how much of the show have you all actually seen? The entire episode? Or just this one clip? Have you seen the string of stinkers the judges and audience were subjected to?

If you all keep pursuing this witch hunt, I'm gonna do a Chris Crocker style video asking you all to "Leave Susan alone!"

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I know you're at least partially joking, but people point to Keanu a lot, but don't really answer the question. There's always an answer. It isn't that he's just "cute". As you know, there are a bunch of "cute" guy actors out there who don't achieve anywhere near his level of success. Keanu is kind of an earth child, and people find it easy to connect with him. He's also probably easy to work with, and diligent about what he does. Is he the most versatile actor out there? Of course not. But this just underlines what I'm saying about bringing more things to the table.

As for...
Susan Boyle singing aged 25: World exclusive video of Britain's Got Talent star performing at family party - mirror.co.uk

Thanks for that. As I've said, I mostly just want to see/hear her sing more. I'm not really into the back story.

 

[Hanson]

I think VFTW boils it this kerfuffle to its elements:
Seriously, People. No One Cares About Susan Boyle | Vote for the Worst



This show is from the same people who being you American Idol. Why do you think that show is run any differently from AI?

 

[Francois Caron]

Oh man, that was a great show!

The Manchester auditions were the most impressive of the lot! There were a lot of great acts! Even the horrible sounding drag queen Dan Khan was entertaining to a certain extent. The knife act by Mike Henderson however was definitely too scary to be pursued any further.

The two stand-out acts had to be the ten year old girl Hollie Steel, and the dance troop Diversity. Both were simply astounding in their respective performances.

The big surprise was DJ Talent who, despite having been buzzed out with FOUR red Xs, still managed to get four Yesses from the judges, and move on to the next round (which is probably where he'll stay).

The best line was by judge Amanda Holden. "OhMyGod!OhMyGod!OhMyGod!OhMyGod!OhMyGod!OhMyGod!"

The Epic Fail of the night? The Amazing Stephen. His hand fell off.

I really love this show!

EDIT: Britain's Got Talent has launched their own YouTube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/BritainsGotTalent09 It's not like they had any other choice at this stage. Clips of the show were already being propagated around the world at breakneck speed, completely out of their control. At least this way, they can regain a bit of control on the quality of the clips released on YouTube.

 

[Holadem]

Talented Ugly Person Baffles World - Borowitz Report



--
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[Marianne]

Listen to this - she sang "Cry Me A River" on a local charity album in 1999.

YouTube - SUSAN BOYLE - "Cry Me A River" [ HD VERSION ]

And singing "Killing Me Softly" on a demo recording that she made to send to record companies (not sure of the date).

 

[Marianne]

BBC America is a joke. Endless reruns of "Crap in the Attic" and various Ramsay shows. If it wasn't for "Top Gear" I wouldn't watch it at all. And now they've taken off the morning BBC World News program. I'm pissed (that is annoyed, not drunk)!

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Thank you for that.

 

[Paul D G]

Yes it is. But I saw today that they will be adding the UK version of The Apprentice starting next week. It's far superior to the US version. The US's is all about Trump and product placement. In the UK it's all about the task. Never a brand name mentioned.

 

[Hanson]

They will not allow any sort of advertising or product placement on the BBC. I remember years ago, Tina Turner had submit an alternate version of Private Dancer with the line, "Deutchmarks or Dollars, American Express will do nicely thank you" changed to "Pound Sterling will do nicely thank you" to clear for BBC radio.

 

[Paul D G]

Thanks, Hanson. I figured as much since the BBC is not a commercial network, but it's good to have confirmation.

Still, it makes the challenges on the show much more interesting as we're not getting the Crest Toothpaste logo shoved in front of our faces for a full hour. The challenges are more along the lines of "here's a laundromat. go out, get business, do the laundry and return it to the customer. whomever makes the most money wins"

 

[Marianne]

I thought I recognized some of the contestants on the ads for the UK version. This series was shown back in August 2008 on CNBC.

CNBC Presents the U.S. Debut of "The Apprentice UK" Beginning Monday, August 25th - CNBC News Releases - CNBC.com

 

[Paul D G]

CNBC only aired the first four episodes or so. Then the stock market tanked and they turned to 24-7 coverage of that. We had to get the rest of the episodes through less appropriate means...

Unless they were aired and the DVR didn't pick them up, but I'm pretty certain CNBC stopped airing them.