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Susan Boyle Was Set Up To Fail
Had she won Britain’s Got Talent, her story wouldn’t be half as compelling, right? Susan Boyle just upped her diva cred exponentially by having to be stashed away in a mental clinic. Her great comeback story writes itself.
That’s the cynical, heartless way of looking at her recent troubles. Right now, I just see a sad woman who fell victim to insta-celebrity and was hounded by the tabloids into a mental breakdown.
The producers of Britain’s Got Talent didn’t help either; they set her up for a fairytale ending, but the story just wouldn’t play out as plotted. Things got dark. Really dark. After her failure to win the crown, Boyle was driven away from the show, grim-faced, clutching her conciliatory bouquet of flowers. Not long afterward, she’d be checked into the Priory, the celebrity rehab center and sometime home to the likes of Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse.
How’s that for a reward?
This is all tremendously sad, but I’m surprised meltdowns like this don’t happen all the time with these “talent” shows.
Britain’s Got Talent sucks because it isn’t about artist development. No one was grooming Susan to become a greater singer or more poised artist. And, more importantly, there was no one there to teach her about the pitfalls of fame.
At least American Idol and X Factor have the benefit of a lengthier process and more mentorship. Contestants on Idol and X Factor have to prove themselves in a series of themed weekly performances, allowing the better singers an opportunity for creative experimentation and self-discovery. Boyle just sang a few Broadway standards, and that prepares her to become a star?
I think the right people won Britain’s Got Talent. There was more originality, artistry, and wit in dance troupe Diversity‘s finale performance than the rest of the show’s performances combined. Check this out – they are simply phenomenal:
Susan Boyle would do well to listen to Tom Bergeron‘s advice and chalk this up to an enlightening, character-building chapter in her life.
And she should move the hell out of Britain. The tabloids are insane over there. The word boundaries doesn’t exist for them.
Diversity’s win is heartening for The Daily Telegraph‘s Sarah Crompton: “The fact that they took nearly 25 per cent of the final vote in a competition watched by a peak of 19 million bodes well for their future. They may not be as obviously marketable as Susan Boyle, but they are, in their own way, something special. People recognize that. They recognize something else too. This is the second year in a row that they have voted for a dancing winner. Yet it is not only Simon Cowell who seems not to think dance is marketable; the cultural powers-that-be also regard dance as the poor relation of the arts.”
However, Michael Jackson reportedly wants Diversity to perform with him at his London shows.
In other news: