" SUSAN BOYLE - I dreamed a dream "

Susan Margaret Boyle (born 15 June 1961) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention on 11 April 2009, when she appeared as a contestant on Britain's Got Talent, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables.

Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful voice and her plain appearance on stage. The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her with the standing ovation she received after her performance led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle— from the show, various interviews, and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times, an online record. Despite the sustained media interest, she later finished in second place in the final of the show, behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, will be released on 23 November 2009, and has become Amazon's best-selling album in pre-sales. Its first single is a cover of the Jagger/Richards song "Wild Horses." The album is also expected to include "You'll See," "I Dreamed a Dream," "Memory," and "Cry Me a River."

Early life
Susan Boyle was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, to Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist, who were both immigrants from County Donegal, Ireland. She was the youngest of four brothers and six sisters.

Born when her mother was 47, Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during the difficult birth and was later diagnosed as having learning difficulties. Boyle says she was bullied as a child, and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.

After leaving school with few qualifications. she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook in the kitchen of West Lothian College for six months, and took part in government training programs. She visited the theatre to listen to professional singers, and performed at a number of local venues.

Early singing
Boyle took singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil. She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe. Prior to Britain's Got Talent, her main experience had come from singing in church and karaoke at pubs in her village. She had also auditioned several times for My Kind of People. She also has long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.

Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances. In 1995 her audition for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People at the Olympia Shopping Centre in East Kilbride was filmed. The amateur video shows Barrymore was apparently more interested in mocking her.

In 1999 she recorded a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed. An early review in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..." The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the New York Post said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony." Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.

In 1999, Boyle used all her savings to pay for a professional demo tape, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo tape consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song", and was uploaded to the Internet after her audition.

After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks, and that she almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent. O'Neil persuaded her to audition despite her believing "...she was too old and that it was a young person's game". Boyle said that her mother's death motivated her to go on Britain's Got Talent and seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother. Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since then.

Personal life
Boyle still lives in the family home, a four-bedroom council house, with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles.
Her father died in the 1990s, and her siblings had left home. As she never married, Boyle cared for her ageing mother until she died in 2007 at the age of 91, which meant that she never had any time for herself. A neighbour reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter "wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone."

Boyle remains active as a volunteer at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Blackburn, Scotland, visiting elderly members of the congregation in their homes.

Britain's Got Talent
Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
In August, 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow, Scotland. When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a musical theatre singer "as successful as" Elaine Paige. Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009. Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.

“ I know what they were thinking, but why should it matter as long as I can sing? It's not a beauty contest. ”
– Susan Boyle, The Sunday Times
This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube. Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction. Boyle is aware that the audience on Britain's Got Talent was initially hostile to her because of her appearance, but she has refused to change her image. Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle, and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream". Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, as "heart-touching, thrilling and uplifting".

She was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals. She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats. In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final. She was the clear favourite to win the final, but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.

Post Talent
Hospital stay and BGT tour
“ I didn't pick up on any unduly troubling signs. She was nervous, yes, but no more nervous than Paul Potts had been before his live final two years previously. She understood the significance of the night.

Then, during the final show, at the crucial point when the dance group Diversity won, I looked over at her face and thought: 'Christ, she doesn't know how to deal with not winning.'
”
– Simon Cowell, Daily Mail
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct. The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London, TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well. Cowell has offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.

Boyle left the clinic five days after her admission and said she would participate in the BGT tour. However, she refused to show up for rehearsals and the Daily Telegraph reported that Boyle wanted to perform only a small number of the scheduled 23 UK tour venues to "conserve her voice for her debut album."

Album and U.S. concert tour
Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, will be released on 23 November 2009.The album will include covers of "Wild Horses" (scheduled to be her first single) and "You'll See" as well as the songs "I Dreamed a Dream", "Memory" and "Cry Me a River". The album became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales, shortly after it became available. Boyle will give a U.S. concert tour in November as a lead-up to the album release.

Media impact
Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame: The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours. On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg. The same video was judged so popular on Reddit that it was put on the site's main page. Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different websites was reached within nine days. The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet".

Many newspapers around the world (including China, Brazil and the Middle East carried articles on Boyle's performance. British tabloid The Sun gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the first series' winner. In the U.S., several commentators also drew parallels between Boyle's performance and that of Paul Potts. ABC News hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".

Within the week following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show. She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's Early Show, Good Morning America, NBC's Today and on FOX's America's Newsroom. and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Via satellite on Larry King Live, Boyle performed an a cappella verse of "My Heart Will Go On". She was also portrayed in drag by Jay Leno, who joked that they were related through his mother's Scottish heritage.

Social analyses
Judging by appearance
The Huffington Post noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc, by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction. The Herald described Boyle's story as a modern parable and a rebuke to people's tendency to judge others based on their physical appearance. Similarly, Entertainment Weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation.

“ Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example. ”
– Susan Boyle, The Washington Post
The Washington Post believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck". New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing that made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.

'Feminist' view
R.M. Campbell, music critic for The Gathering Note compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, in that " it is] really, really hard to make a career if a woman isn't attractive." In another Huffington Post article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that although people may "weep for the years of wasted talent", Boyle's performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women. Tanya Gold wrote in The Guardian that the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition reflected society's expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectation existing for men. Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated "She's an everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her."

Journalist Charlie Brooker said in the series finale of his BBC Four programme Newswipe: "our backwards, appearance-led culture and a nakedly manipulative set-up VT which made her out to be a comedy loser, Susan Boyle's performance soon became the number one talking point because apparently it's a fucking miracle that women who aren't conventionally attractive are also capable of exhibiting any kind of skill whatsoever."

Modern freak show
Commentators have likened BGT as the modern equivalent of the Victorian freak show: A psychiatrist, Glen Wilson, said that the "deficiencies and shortcomings [of the contestants] are as important as their talent. We enjoy the stress we are putting these people under - will they or will they not survive?"; Mark Borkowski said that BGT has been a fantastic soap opera for the fame-makers (Cowell and Talkback TV). Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, compared the Boyle phenomenon to the Hottentot Venus, saying: "The arguments of Baartman’s managers were little different from the arguments of those in ITV who now seek to justify the display of Susan Boyle. This is an opportunity for wealth and fame, they say... the truth is that Susan Boyle is a vulnerable and exploited middle-aged woman. She is not a star in the making, being given a lucky break thanks to BGT."

'American Dream'
Several media sources have commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. An American entertainment correspondent was quoted in The Scotsman comparing Boyle's story to the American Dream, as representing talent overcoming adversity and poverty. The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they saw as urban deprivation in her home town. Similarly, The Independent's New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that America is a country that will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady".
Cultural references
The American cartoon show South Park made a reference to Susan Boyle in the episode "Fatbeard", which aired on 22 April 2009; the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show aired a comedy sketch showing the "feel good" effect that Susan Boyle's performance has had on people; The Simpsons aired a new commercial for its 20th-anniversary show "Springfield's Got Talent", in which Homer Simpson talks about his dreams to be as successful as Boyle. A European trailer for the video game The Sims 3 includes a character mocked up as Boyle. In June 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a short story called "I Dreamed a Dream" that was based on a combination of Boyle's appearances on Britain's Got Talent and the political difficulties of Gordon Brown.



Susan Boyle (nacida el 1 de abril de 1961)es una cantante y voluntaria de una iglesia católica escocesa que se dio a conocer el 11 de abril de 2009, cuando apareció como concursante en la tercera temporada del programa de televisión británico Britain's Got Talent.

Boyle saltó casi inmediatamente a la fama mundial cuando cantó "I Dreamed a Dream" del musical Los miserables.

Antes de que ella cantara, el público y los jueces parecían expresar escepticismo sobre su apariencia, torpeza y edad. En cambio, su voz fue tan destacada que recibió de inmediato la ovación de la audiencia, atrayendo para sí los votos de los jueces Simon Cowell y Amanda Holden, y el "mayor sí que he dado a nadie" de Piers Morgan.

Biografía Infancia Susan Boyle nació en 1961 en el pequeño pueblo de Blackburn, West Lothian (Escocia), situado entre Glasgow y Edimburgo. Hija de Patrick, un bombero, y Bridget Boyle, una mecanógrafa. Sus padres fueron inmigrantes irlandeses. La más joven de seis hermanos y cuatro hermanas, Susan nació cuando su madre tenía 47 años. Tras un parto difícil, en el que Boyle fue brevemente privada de oxígeno, causándole leves daños en el cerebro, se le diagnosticó dificultades de aprendizaje. Comenzó a cantar cuando tenía 12 años; solía cantar en coros y en conciertos escolares. Es una devota católica que participa en las actividades de su parroquia, entre ellas cantar.

Antecedentes En 1984, contando con 23 años, Susan Boyle se presenta en escena en el Club Social del Estadio Fir Park, sede del Motherwell FC, participando en un concurso de canto entre los lugareños y visitantes del club de Midlands. En esa ocasión interpreta I Don't Know How To Love Him (No sé cómo amarlo), de la obra "Jesucristo Superstar".

Posteriormente en 1995, audiciona en el programa My Kind of People (Mi tipo de gente), un show de talentos, similar al Britain's Got Talent, conducido por el humorista británico Michael Barrymore, interpretando de nuevo I Don't Know How To Love Him. En esa ocasión el conductor del programa no valora la calidad del diamante en bruto que está en su programa en ese momento y muy por el contrario se burla de Susan, aupado por la risa de la audiencia, sin tomar en consideración la calidad interpretativa de la participante.

Julie Febers, que para entonces tenía 18 años y su madre, Elizabeth MacLean, que también audicionaba ese mismo día, han publicado un vídeo inédito grabado con su cámara, dejando para la historia la irrespetuosa actitud del comediante británico hacia uno de sus participantes (ver "Enlaces externos"). En este vídeo se observa la actitud humilde y si se quiere profesional, a pesar de ser amateur, de Susan, que a pesar de las bromas que le jugaba Barrymore, continuaba inmutable en su interpretación.

Britain's Got Talent A los 47 años de edad, aún soltera y desempleada, Boyle realiza una versión de I Dreamed a Dream del musical Los Miserables en la primera ronda de la tercera serie de Britain's Got Talent, que se transmitió el 11 de abril de 2009. Su actuación fue ampliamente divulgada en Internet y entre todos los vídeos goza de más de 100 millones de reproducciones en el sitio web de YouTube; entre ellos el vídeo Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009, tiene ya más de 74 millones de reproducciones. Boyle quedó conmovida y sorprendida por la ovación del público y la acogida de los jurados en su audición, así como la fuerza de su popularidad a partir de ese momento.

El 24 de mayo de 2009 Susan Boyle apareció de nuevo en Britain's Got Talent, interpretando la pieza melódica Memory del musical Cats. La recepción por parte del público y del jurado fue excelente, pues recibió favorables críticas. Venció a sus siete contrincantes a través del concurso de llamadas telefónicas, por lo que pasó directamente a la final.

Final del concurso y comienzo de su carrera musical El 30 de mayo de 2009 Susan Boyle apareció en la final de Britain's Got Talent, donde quedó en segundo lugar. En esta actuación interpretó nuevamente I Dreamed a Dream del musical Los Miserables. Finalmente fue derrotada por un grupo de baile llamado Diversity, compuesto por un grupo de jóvenes estudiantes. Cuando el jurado anunció su derrota, Susan empezó a hacer como si no le importara, bromeando y felicitando a Diversity.

Nada más acabar el programa, empezó a dar muestras extrañas de comportamiento. Al llegar al hotel, el gerente llamó a la policía. Ante su situación psíquica, y amparándose en la Ley de Salud Mental, los médicos decidieron ingresarla en el centro psiquiátrico The Priory, en Londres, con síntomas de «agotamiento y cansancio emocional». Abandonó el mismo a los pocos días, ya más relajada, según palabras de su hermano.

El 4 de julio de 2009, Susan tiene previsto cantar para el Presidente Barack Obama en conmemoración del día de la independencia de los Estados Unidos. Ésta será la segunda vez que recibe una invitación de la Casa Blanca, ya que el pasado 10 de mayo (2009) fue invitada a la cena que la Asociación de Corresponsales celebraba en Washington, y a la que declinó asistir, debido a que las normas impuestas por el programa televisivo impiden participar en eventos fuera del país. Además, cuenta con varias ofertas a ambos lados del Atlántico, entre ellas hacer una gira por EE.UU. con la que podría embolsarse unos 8,9 millones de euros.

Discografía Año Información
2009 I Dreamed a Dream
Primer álbum de estudio
Released: 23 de Novembre 2009
Label: Sony Music
Format: CD, Descarga digital