It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been following Susan Boyle of "Britain's Got Talent" fame that she's been admitted to a clinic suffering from exhaustion just one day after placing second in the competition that many predicted she would win.
When she appeared on stage a month ago at the audition, there were few among us who didn't quietly snicker to ourselves. We shook our heads and wondered what this dowdy looking woman with the frizzy hair and caterpillar eyebrows could possibly have to offer. We cringed when she announced that she'd never been kissed and we squirmed when she gave a shake of the hips.
And then she started to sing. Once she did so, our preconceived notions were set aside in recognition of true talent. Whether you enjoy listening to her or not is irrelevant since most of us can recognize and appreciate talent even if we don't like it (hello Celine Dion!).
It's now a month later. And Susan Boyle has been the center of a media storm that began with the posting of her audition on YouTube and is only now winding down.
In the days following her audition, her YouTube videos received millions of hits and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they now total well over 100 million views. As of today her performance on the Britain's Got Talent finale is ranked as a featured video, and is the most popular in the Entertainment, News & Politics and the Most Viewed categories.
She's been interviewed by CNN's Larry King and Atika Shubert, Good Morning America, the BBC, Skynews, the Today Show, Oprah and more and made the front page of newspapers around the world. She's had reporters and cameras parked outside her home in the small village of Blackburn, Scotland, around the clock. She's endured more than thirty days of having her every move scrutinized, her physical appearance dissected, and her life analyzed in detail. The pressure must have been unbearably intense.
I think her popularity was a combination of talent and timing. As the world came to grips with the global economic meltdown, we were hungry for a good news story, and Susan Boyle fit the bill. She allowed us to temporarily forget our problems and reminded us that talent can live anywhere. She may not have won the talent show, but I predict good times for Ms. Boyle. Rest up Susan, you have one heck of a journey in front of you and I for one wish you all the best.
