Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues That's Entertainment A Viral-Worthy Susan Boyle

I promised a thread on this topic. If you have not seen it yet, and apparently 15 million people have, this is probably the most viral-worthy - and longest, viral-worthy - video on YouTube. Britain's Got Talent 2009 - Susan Boyle. I recommend setting aside 10+ minutes to let it download, play it all the way through, then think about what just happened. I don't want to over-hype or spoil your experience. I just want you to experience it. My impressions, and others, will follow much later.

i watched it last night and shared it this morning. sometimes we just need to be reminded of the beauty that lives inside us. this women will hopefully not fizzle out with this video. i hope we hear a lot more of her.

Staggeringly beautiful on so many different levels.

Loved her; didn't think much of the audience or the judges.

The close-ups of the audience before she began to sing showed amazing rudeness. And, the judges? "When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said "I want to be like Elaine Page," the hall was laughing at you." The first judge said he was "reeling from shock." The female singer said "I'm so thrilled because I honestly know that everyone was against you."

Why? Because it's impossible to be talented and less than attractive? Would they have said that if she had sat down with, say, a cello, instead of being a singer?

What kind of human beings make a decision for or against someone - an entire audience, mind you - based on her appearance?

Perhaps they've already forgotten last year's mobile phone salesman.

Talk about cheek!

I thought Susan Boyle was incredible. I thought the same of Janis Joplin, who faced similar challenges. I think Lyle Lovett hangs the moon, and he might be said to have a challenge as well.

But I thought the judges and audience were ugly.

Lyle seems to do quite well overcoming his challenges...Julia Roberts didn't seem to mind him much. What do you think it was about him that she liked...his hair?

I've never met a man who could discuss Lyle Lovett's music without referring to Julia Roberts.

Here's a man with an amazing voice and equally amazing writing skills - and the only comment Snargle makes has to do with a very brief marriage over ten years ago. It's the only thing that some people find interesting about a very good musician.

I would never be able to guess what Roberts thought of him. I have to admit that as a fan, I'm biased - but when Lyle Lovett sings, he becomes one of the handsomest men I've ever heard. I like the way he talks about people and places. I like the respect he shows for his audience. I like the way he showcases other artists. I like the lyrics and music he writes, and I like the way he performs it.

If someone can give me all that, I don't give a damn about his hair.

Which takes me back to the original point. The voice arises from internal organs, not external ones. The face, in general, is not tied to the voice.

When you look for new music to listen to, do we look at pictures of musicians, or do we listen to the music? I have to wonder how many really good musicians we never hear because they look wrong.

Perhaps this is the same transition the audience made when Susan Boyle began to sing?
Yours,
Issodhos

The wife and I watched it last night and we both were almost at the point of "blubbering"

She really is something!
She says in an interview with a local paper that she was starved for oxygen at birth and has struggled her entire life with a learning disability, and she was teased mercilessly because of both her slowness in school and because of her "fuzzy hair and looks".
She says that she still carries a little bit of those scars with her.

But I think she needs to put the past behind her now, this is a new life, and the past only adds strength and courage. If she can walk carefully with these first steps, and if she prays for guidance, she will step out into the sunshine and sparkle.

Sorry if I came off as flip, Julia...I am very much a fan of Lyle Lovett, both for his singing and songwriting abilities. He's a tremendously talented performer, extremely intelligent, well-spoken, and has long been on my short list of individuals I'd love to have as a guest at a dinner party (others include Mark Twain, Steven Jay Gould, Frank Zappa, and Richard Feynman...should be an interesting conversation, no? )

Added: Incidentally, I was listening and enjoying Lovett's songs long before I even knew what he looked like. I'm thankful that we have a radio station (WXPN - Phila.) that is willing to play artists based on merit, not on record company promotion.