Susan Boyle

Recently, a show from across the pond has been making headlines in the American news. American Idol spin-off show Britain's Got Talent got a great shock when one of their contestants came on the stage. Forty-seven year old Susan Boyle took the stage looking old, disheveled, and quite frankly, unattractive. The judges joined the crowd in giggling at this woman, in horror of what was about to come out of her as her performance. Crowd and judges alike got a big shock when Susan Boyle began to sing. As it turned out, she had a stunning voice.

While this is a "cute" story, a sort of Cinderella tale, it is really unnecessary for it to be such a hit in the mainstream American media. One youtube clip alone from her performance received over 49 million hits. Obviously, it was not all Americans looking at the video, but its not even just youtube that has been taken over by Boyle's performance. News of her appearance on Britain's Got Talent reached the nighly news in the U.S. in no time. Also, shows such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood were instantly obsessed with Boyle's new fame. Entertainment Tonight's website featured about a half-dozen articles related to Susan Boyle.

The question here really is not why this is such a big deal. Everyone knows why but most people are too politically correct to bring it up. The way that she looks compared to the way that she sings is what makes her so unbelievable. It's truly pathetic. If Susan were in her twenties, 5-5, 115 pounds with a pretty face, she would have been no big deal. She would have been no exception to the norm of these kinds of shows. This is sending the wrong message, and now we are seeing that this phenomenon is not isolated to the United States. This show is aired in a different country with different viewers, and yet we all thought the same thing when we saw her. I'll be the first to admit that I thought it was funny the first time that I saw it. It was shocking to see a woman like Susan Boyle get up on stage. But after I thought about it, I realized that it was not her looks or her singing that were really shocking to me, but rather her confidence in herself. She went up there wiht people laughing at her and none of them believed in her. But she believed in herself and proved them all wrong.

Once again, the question arises, why is this news?