Unless you’ve spent the last week in a tree – and to a point, I can’t blame you – you’ve heard of the Scottish singing sensation, Susan Boyle. Plucked from obscurity on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on April 15th, her You Tube video is now the most watched music clip in the site’s entire history. But there are already some nay-sayers, and they may have a point.
In her NY Post column, Maureen Callahan has expressed her concerns about Ms. Boyle’s sudden rise, and frankly I agree with her reasons. Like American Idol, “Britain’s Got Talent” is run as his personal fiefdom by Simon Cowell, and I wouldn’t trust that man to tell me the time.
Before I have trouble opening my inbox because of the hate-mail this might inspire, let me make it quite clear — I place not one shred of doubt or dissent at the feet of Ms. Boyle. She looks like a wonderful lady, and her voice – unlike so many ‘stars’ – is real, and actually hers.
What I can’t accept is the timing:
This charming but total unknown enters a contest whose ultimate prize is to sing for the Queen. After two or three rounds she is tapped as the winner and sings for Her Majesty, in front of an audience fifty times larger than the show ever gets. The world is enraptured and the demand for CD’s becomes almost a roar; With a recording contract [on Mr. Cowell's label] as part of her prize, the nice lady obliges, releasing her debut just before Christmas, whereby it promptly sells in the millions all over the world.
….and this slick fairy-tale makes Simon Cowell even richer.
The man just lost millions in some Real Estate deals that went sour. Were this a plot, it would replace all that money and make him look like a beneficent hero. And that fake, bonded smile proves that’s just what he likes.
I hope Ms. Boyle becomes a big star. She deserves it. But she does not deserve to be Mr. Cowell’s plaything. And as I see it, that’s exactly the plan.
Am I alone, or would anyone care to agree?
Photo by Mulad
Susan Boyle may not be a very good looking woman but she has an angelic voice.