Susan Boyle finishes 2nd on 'Britain's Got Talent'

VIDEO
msn
LONDON (AP) --

She dreamed a dream, and it very nearly came true. But Susan Boyle's reality show journey finished Saturday with a second-place finish in the finals of "Britain's Got Talent," an ending that didn't fit the fairy tale.
Instead of the 48-year-old Internet sensation, an exuberant dance troupe called "Diversity" took the 100,000-pound ($159,000) prize and will perform for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show.
Boyle paced around the stage as the hosts named the top three of the ten final acts, and looked almost relieved when her name was called as the runner-up. She recovered in time to graciously praise the dancers.

"The best people won," Boyle said. "They're very entertaining. Lads, I wish you all the best."
Boyle then curtsied several times to the audience, gave them her signature shimmy, and strolled offstage.
It had been a tumultuous week for Boyle, a woman previously unused to the limelight. She lost her cool during a confrontation with two reporters, and the police intervened. One contest judge said Boyle had contemplated pulling out of the competition to soothe her frazzled nerves.
But when she stepped into the spotlight Saturday, Boyle seemed more polished — and animated — than in previous appearances.
She wore a modest, but glamorous, floor-length gown, and chose to go back to the song that rocketed her into the international spotlight: "I Dreamed a Dream," from the musical "Les Miserables."
Her hometown of Blackburn, Scotland — a small, working class village about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Edinburgh — rallied round her, stringing up posters and signs in her support. Friends and neighbors gathered at a local pub to watch the performance.
"I've known her for many years," said 72-year-old neighbor Margaret Yule. "She's a lovely lassie and she will do well whatever happens. Susan is about the singing, and fame and fortune won't change her."
Millions tuned in to the live program and voted by telephone afterward.
Boyle was up against a host of everyman acts determined to find stardom on reality television, including Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12-year-old whose voice has been compared to Michael Jackson's, Hollie Steel, a 10-year-old who turned in a solid performance after a tearful semifinal meltdown, and a grandfather-grandaug hter singing duo.
And then there was "Stavros Flatley," a father-son act who parodied "The Lord of the Dance" by romping around the stage shirtless, in blond wigs and leather pants, combining Greek and Irish dancing and music.
But it was Boyle whom people tuned in to watch.
After her first appearance in April, Boyle became the favorite to win the competition. As she stepped on stage during auditions, her frumpy appearance drew condescending looks from the studio audience and the judges, but her soaring, evocative voice silenced the doubters and turned her into an Internet sensation.
The first moment Boyle sang was one that has been viewed millions of times, the fifth-most watched clip in history on YouTube. It was a moment that went down in reality-show history.
As Boyle hit a high note at the end of the song's first line, judge Simon Cowell's eyebrows rose along with her voice. The audience went mad. And a star was born.
She has since appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show." Demi Moore tweeted about Boyle on her Twitter feed. Boyle dominated Britain's tabloids — but there were signs she was feeling the heat.
Related: Check out the week's CelebriTweets
She acknowledged Saturday that it had been a stressful few weeks, but said onstage that it had been "well worth it."
Cowell said that she'd been given a rough ride, but that she was "a nice, shy person who wants a break."

Susan Boyle threatens to quit

By ninemsn staff
VIDEO: Boyle cruises into final

Singing sensation Susan Boyle has threatened to quit Britain's Got Talent after throwing two tantrums at a London hotel, one of the show's judges says.
Piers Morgan, who has backed Boyle since her first audition, believes the pressures of fame have finally hit home for the 47-year-old singer.
"She's been in tears repeatedly," Morgan told British television.
"And, as of yesterday, she was packing her bags."
The judge said he was "very, very angry" with recent media scrutiny of the singer he described as a "sweet middle-aged lady" who had lived a sheltered life and had health problems.
"I am calling today for everyone to give her a break," he said.
Yesterday Boyle reportedly flew into a rage after seeing Morgan praise 12-year-old contestant Shaheen Jafargholi for his performance.
And later she abused two members of the public who were mocking her, telling them: "How f******* dare you … you can't f****** talk to me like that."
The outbursts prompted one leading psychologist to explain the meltdowns as the fault of an "obsessed global audience holding a magnifying glass over her life".
Morgan said Boyle was even in denial about some of the nasty things that had been reported.
"But either way, I know she's feeling a lot of pressure, and I think that most people watching this show and hearing about this will feel natural sympathy towards her," he said.

'Stay true to who you are'

Grazia
Sarah Reid
Paul Potts became a worldwide sensation when he auditioned for a UK talent show. Now it’s Susan Boyle’s turn. Paul tells Grazia what she can expect with her newfound fame

I flipped a coin to decide whether to audition for Britain’s Got Talent, and never in my wildest dreams did I expect that it would change my life as much as it has.

Walking on stage in 2007, I was a bundle of nerves, but I just sang. To my disbelief I won, and in a heartbeat I went from selling mobile phones to flying around the world and performing for the Queen.

Like millions of others, I watched Susan Boyle sing I Dreamed A Dream, from the musical Les Miserables, on YouTube while I was in New Zealand last week. Seeing the judges smirk before she began reminded me of my own experience on the show. As a child I was taught that first impressions last, but my performance, and now Susan’s, have proven that first impressions aren’t always right. I think that’s a great lesson for people to take away; that many people have good qualities that you don’t immediately see.

I may not look like your typical singer, but I haven’t been pressured to change my image. I had my teeth fixed because I have always been terribly self-conscious about them – in my wedding album there isn’t a single photo of me smiling with an open mouth. But that’s it.

If Susan is pressured to change I would advise her to resist it. The most important thing is to stay true to who you are, because you have to live with yourself when it’s all over.

Good luck to her.

Paul Pott’s second album, Passione, is out now

Trusted voice waits in the wings

Paul Sheehan
Popular ... Susan Boyle. Photo: AP

Writing a column is a constant battle between writing about what is important and what is diverting. The tension between the two is obvious, no more so than this week, when I want to write about tax (important), but have been distracted by a frumpy, unemployed, middle-aged virgin (diverting). What reconciles the chasm between the two, between tax policy and Susan Boyle (the frumpy, unemployed, middle-aged virgin) is the phenomenon known as the wisdom of crowds.

The wisdom of crowds has been supremely evident during the past week since 4000 people in a concert hall in London began shifting in their seats as a frumpy, jowly, middle-aged woman stalked onto the stage and told the judges her dream was to be a professional singer and her role model was Elaine Paige. A ripple of discomfort and incredulity ran through the auditorium, and the judging panel, as the woman, Susan Boyle, nominated her song, I Dream A Dream from Les Miserables.

Earlier, Ms Boyle had been shown on the big screen eating a sandwich backstage, and telling judges she was unemployed, lived alone with her cat, Pebbles, had never been married, in fact, had never been kissed.

She sang in a church choir in a village of West Lothian, near Edinburgh, where she has lived alone in her childhood home since the death of her 91-year-old mother two years ago.

As she was about to sing there was collective hush as if 4000 people were about to watch a slow-motion social train wreck. By the time Ms Boyle had finished her song, the judges had been rendered irrelevant .

The audience was on its feet for a cheering, standing ovation. The rest is internet history. On YouTube, various videos featuring the performance have been viewed more than 34 million times around the world. It's gone global.

I recommend any reader with access to the internet, who has not seen these videos, to visit YouTube, search "Susan Boyle", and click on the video with the largest number of viewers (the wisdom of crowds) because that is the one which shows the whole saga, from backstage sandwich to stunned judges. It will make your day. Continued...

The Sydney Morning Herald