Here's the link to the video in question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI
This video has gone viral. It's of a 47 year old frumpy homebody that is auditioning for Britain's Got Talent. I've had no less than 4 friends post this video on their Facebook pages. So in the beginning everyone is kind of secretly laughing at her, rolling their proverbial eyes as she says she wants a career like Eileen Paige. Then she sings. And you see all the judges mouths drop open. The crowd goes crazy wild, especially on the high note (which, by the way, is completely unremarkable in this alto song). Everybody on two continents begins posting this video on their Facebook and Myspace pages. Why?
Her singing is good. It's solid. It is not great, and it is not inspired. There are thousands of singers in NYC and London that can sing as well or better than Susan. So why does this video go viral? I think because first of all, the public doesn't really know what good singing can be. But more than that, I think that it's people's expectations that deceive them and make her performance seem better than it is. On the surface, Ms. Boyle is as frumpy as they come, with frizzy hair, a double chin, overgrown eyebrows and bags under her eyes. She is wonderfully naive and hopelessly optimistic as she confidently answers Simon's question of why her singing career hasn't worked out so far, by quipping "I haven't been given the chance before," as the camera pans through an audience that is alternately rolling their eyes and giggling behind their hands.
When she begins to sing, it's obvious to everyone that they have underestimated the disheveled Ms. Boyle. She can actually sing. But here's the problem. Everyone mistakes their amazement at this beautiful voice coming out of this bland, boring housewife with brilliance. It frustrates me how the music-listening public can be so easily fooled. If you, like some of my friends, have espoused her magnificence on your Facebook page, I invite you to take another listen, this time, don't look at the video. Then listen to ANY recorded version of I Dreamed a Dream from any production of Les Mis, and compare and contrast.
And while I'm at it, if you are one of those people that cheer and applaud at high-notes or notes held for a long time regardless of their beauty of tone, would you please just knock it off! Instead, cheer at the end of a song you were moved in a meaningful way by the artist's intelligent treatment of the music. Cheer after the brilliant use of nuance. Cheer if you were moved by the sheer beauty of a note. Stop fucking cheering just because they hit a note loud and high. That's not art, that's trickery, and sadly, sometimes it's not even good trickery that can so easily get an enthusiastic response from today's audiences.
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4 comments:
And let us not forget the obligatory round of applause and cheering for the "key change". I can no longer watch American Idol or the other talent shows without laughing when this occurs. Gerry Diffenbach at the Duplex has ruined the grand moment for me! "Here it comes... KEY CHANGE!"
But what did you think of Paul Potts, the frumpy cell phone salesman who aspired to be an opera singer and ended up winning "Britain's Got Talent" last season?
Yes, I liked Paul Potts. He sings beautifully and with heart. Room for improvement? Yes. But very deserving of his accomplishments and fame.
I'm amazed you pompous asses under emphasize the impact of this unattractive, homely, drably dressed, and older woman. It was just this and her honest, clear answers to Simon that made her singing so wonderful. The fact that she could sing well (certainly better than 99.9% of the rest of us...by the way that means out of 6.7B people on earth that there are still 6.7M that sing better than her or if you want to look at just the US population that means she ranks #300,000...is this a fair estimate?) is in stark contrast to what you see on stage. You compare her to well known professionals yet look at her! She is farthest from a glamorous professional. Is she Elaine Paige, emphatically no. Could she handle a duet with Elaine...very likely. It's the contrast between what you see in her before and after her singing that amazes most of us. Give this woman credit where due. Now, one might think that other decent singers might try the same approach but Susan was the first and none others that follow will be quite the same.
Bravo to Jonathan's comment. I realize that there may be some truth in the previous posts but the contents seems to be more of an analysis of the audience rather than the singer. I have listened to her CD and although I am aware there are some technical enhancements - which happens to all studio productions, there is true talent there.
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