What should Susan Boyle sing next?

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 May 09 - 01:18 AM

The whole thing is about manipulation. To think otherwise is being totally naive.

I'll leave this thread well alone now, the same as most others have. SRS, I wonder why you have such an obsession? An answer is not required, though a moment's self-reflection might be helpful to you.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: NormanD
Date: 11 May 09 - 01:32 AM

Apologies - the last post above, "Guest", was from me - the cookie had vanished. I didn't wnt the post to be seen as an anonymous one.
Norman

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 11 May 09 - 01:39 AM

- and the "Guest" post above that was from me.

SRS & Ron,
If you want to continue the fight then why not take it to P.M.?

DC

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Van
Date: 11 May 09 - 06:26 AM

Perhaps something by the Razorheads - Black socks get you laid - maybe. Just being rude about her appearance and her lack of experience in a certain area. Totally unbefiting of a catter so I'll get me coat.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 09 - 04:02 PM

I sent a PM to one of the clones asking to have the messages that did all of the arguing from Ron removed and many of the negative remarks after that. I don't know if the cleanup will happen--though an assault on a perfectly good thread is offensive enough, it doesn't necessarily constitute personal attack, which is what is normally deleted. However, because of the nature of this thread it is likely that a lot of non-Mudcatters will be reading this material, as a follow-up to their very natural interest in Susan Boyle. To find a music site that discusses it is a good thing.

I wish the argumentative posts will go away. If not, I hope that anyone who is just coming to this thread will ignore the nonsense that occurred below. If you are here to talk about the subject of the thread, please contribute. If you're a guest, give yourself a name and use it each time you post or your message will be deleted.

Susan will be interviewed on the Oprah program today.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 09 - 05:41 PM

Oprah is on right now, with Simon Cowell as a guest talking with Oprah about the "it" factor that winners of these contests possess, but our local Dallas affiliate has decided to break away from the program in order to play a low and high speed police chase. I'm sure Susan will most likely be the last guest, so maybe they'll catch the burglary suspect before that episode. Otherwise, they replay the program on a sister station later this evening.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 09 - 06:02 PM

Didn't see her--so either she was on first (I forgot to turn on the program for a few minutes) or she was on during the extended time when they were away with the police chase. I don't know if any bits of Oprah can be shown on YouTube, to share it with viewers on the other side of the pond if she does turn up on the program.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Emma B
Date: 11 May 09 - 06:07 PM

I have absolutely no doubt that Simon Cowell's highly paid publicist will keep this kettle boiling as long as it can be milked - if you will excuse the mixed metaphor.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 09 - 11:59 PM

I was out mowing the yard and missed the beginning of the program when it replayed. So if Susan was interviewed, it was in the first few minutes. C'est la vie.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 12 May 09 - 02:37 AM

Open the mag to about page seven to see what Susan is really like.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 12 May 09 - 05:45 AM

Very amusing, Georgiansilver - though it's about as genuine as the BGT clip that started the whole Boyle circus...

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Emma B
Date: 12 May 09 - 09:10 AM

'Simon Cowell appears on "The Oprah WInfrey Show" (WFSB, Channel 30, 4 p.m.), with glimpses at performers in his worldwide talent searches, cheif among them Susan Boyle in Scotland, who is most recently being used to hype the upcoming season of "America's Got Talent." '

TV Eye - what's on television
May 11th

Although Simon Cowell was a guest Susan Boyle did not appear in person but via a link - with subtitles!

A representative of Britain's Got Talent said

"None of the acts are allowed to go (overseas) for any events until the show is over"

She was also allegedly invited to attend the prestigious White House Correspondent's Dinner in Washington on Saturday night but none of the acts on the show are able to attend events until after the contest has ended as part of their contract with Britain's Got Talent.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 10:40 AM

Georgian, that is not only an unpleasant web site, it's the kind that is probably a source for computer viruses. You shouldn't be visiting those or your computer might come down with a disease.

Still harping on the "genuine" talent of Ms. Boyle, Sinister? That's why you post with your own name, then, right? To give a genuine conversation?

Thanks for the blurb about the program, Emma. I suppose if she wasn't going to perform then they decided not to keep her to the last thing in the program. Subtitles? Really? They think the Scots accent is too much for American ears? I found a description of her segment at the Oprah web site. They have organized the site so you don't do much scrolling. Click through the next couple of pages from this page and you'll find more about the interview with Susan.

On the second page

Susan, the youngest of nine, says she started singing when she was 12 years old. Music, she says, helped her cope with a learning disability. "I was kind of a slow learner at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and so boosting my confidence."

Susan says her biggest supporter was her mom, who died in 2007. "After that, there was a wee period where I didn't sing," she says.

To help cope with the loss, Susan says she auditioned for Britain's Got Talent. "I am very slowly getting over it," she says. "One of the reasons I applied for the TV show was to try to see if I could perform in front of an audience."

It was the performance of Susan's life—and everything changed overnight. Paparazzi now camp outside of the home she's lived in for 48 years, and her mailbox is filling up with fan mail—with a few letters for her cat, Pebbles, mixed in.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 12 May 09 - 10:57 AM

That's why you post with your own name, then, right? To give a genuine conversation?

Is Stilly River Sage your real name then? Whatever, it's very beautiful. Please note, I've just changed my mudcat handle again.

Otherwise, I don't doubt the genuine talent of Ms Boyle, I just fear for the impact of this noxious media circus upon the life of one such as she. Already the cracks are showing...

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 12:34 PM

Homage to a grandfather I never met.

The Golden Goose syndrome will/should/ought to kick in for anyone who is a talent scout, especially someone like Cowell. Protecting a contestant versus protecting an investment is moot if the system (devouring paparazzi, over-zealous fans, etc.) overwhelms the woman with the voice. One would expect that Susan is getting a crash course in media relations.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: NormanD
Date: 12 May 09 - 12:36 PM

I fear also for those who have become so obsessed with her that any criticism or contradiction is treated with anger and vulgar language.

"Stilly, etc" - this whole correspondence says more about you than it does about Ms Boyle.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Don Firth
Date: 12 May 09 - 01:04 PM

Well . . . let's put it this way:

When a number of people express happiness at someone else's good fortune, or eventual recognition of their talent, I'm really amazed, and not just a bit disgusted, at the number of people who seem to feel it necessary to come crawling out from under the carpet, rush into the party, and pee in the punch bowl. Strikes me that there may be a touch of jealousy and spite involved.

The fact is that Ms. Boyle has an excellent singing voice, it's obvious that she enjoys singing, and she seems to be a very nice person. I, for one, am quite happy to see that her genuine talent is being recognized.

And this is a whole separate issue from the ethics of those who may—or may not—be trying to exploit her.

Get a grip, folks!!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Emma B
Date: 12 May 09 - 01:07 PM

Cowell's wretched programme BGT encourages the audience to mimic the stylized, and many would claim rehearsed, mockery of the judges to some contestents and then turns the cameras on them.


Norman D wrote - 'I fear also for those who have become so obsessed with her that any criticism or contradiction is treated with anger'

From a news report at the end of April

'A SCOTS teenager has become the unwitting victim of a global hate campaign ... for making faces at internet singing star Susan Boyle.

She was seen rolling her eyes when the singer told Britiain's Got Talent judges her ambition was to be as successful as West End star Elaine Paige.

A clip of the audition at the SECC, watched almost 100m times on YouTube, has provoked dozens of abusive and threatening posts against the teenager, nicknamed the 1:24 girl because she appears just under one and a half minutes into the footage.

One reads: "Talk about never judging a book by it's cover. Anybody else feel like punching the chick at 1:24 in the face?"

Another calls for her to be "named and shamed", while one fan of the Scots singer threatens to set up a "hate club".

Friends of the teenager have accused the show's producers of unfairly singling her out in the editing of Boyle's performance in front of 3000 people.......

A friend of the teenager said: "She is extremely upset about this hate campaign. Everyone in the venue was in exactly the same boat, booing Susan and heckling her before she had even begun to sing." '

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 03:10 PM

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: NormanD - PM
Date: 12 May 09 - 12:36 PM

I fear also for those who have become so obsessed with her that any criticism or contradiction is treated with anger and vulgar language.

"Stilly, etc" - this whole correspondence says more about you than it does about Ms Boyle.

NormanD, I don't know you from a hole in the wall. You never participate on any other threads where I am active, so you are in no position to make such sweeping statements about someone totally unknown to you who has been following this newly discovered performer with pleasure. Some of us find this contest procedure to be slow-moving after the original broadcast, and we'd like to get our hands on a more well-rounded selection of her work, to see just what she is capable of. What about this offends you? We've speculated at the songs she might do well, and we've discussed the generally shallow nature of the audience voters (that lowest common denominator can be relied upon--there's a saying about never going broke by underestimating the American public--the same might be true here).

Have you read through this thread uncritically and consumed all of the the arguments as if they had equal weight, even when they smacked of trolling by others? If you can't sort out the players and the tone of their discussion, then no wonder you've reached this conclusion. However, your conclusion couldn't be more incorrect. I think the problem here is the "tone of voice" in your head and the spin with which you approached the topic. If we protest the wet blankets who want to rain on this parade, even telling them to get lost, go start their own thread, that makes us pathetic? No, I don't think so.

Emma, I have wondered about the women who were captured in the audience when segment was edited. The kid with the mascara probably got the worst of it, and the one when she mentioned Elaine Paige comes in second. In those glimpses their uncharitable attitudes were etched in stone, digitally speaking. There is another woman, near the end, who is happy and crying. But did she also sneer early on? It wasn't captured if she did. The point is, these micro expressions were frozen in time at that point in the film, yet when you see the audience swiftly respond to Susan, clearly all them them were swept along and one presumes that these women received that same "wake up call" that Amanda spoke of. They probably cheered just as loudly as the rest. It would be a shame if this happy discovery of a wonderful singer ends up with a few audience members being victimized for something many of them did.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 12 May 09 - 03:19 PM

Unbelievable and very scary. A witch-hunt because of bizarre hysterics over a few justifiably natural raised eyebrows.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Don Firth
Date: 12 May 09 - 04:22 PM

". . . a few justifiably natural raised eyebrows."

Because some folks thought because Ms. Boyle is "funny looking," she should be treated with contempt?

Unfortunately, this does seem to be a human trait. One of the less admirable ones.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: NormanD
Date: 12 May 09 - 04:25 PM

SRS - or whatever pseuodonym you wish to hide behind - you never seem to participate in any of the threads that I'm active in, so perhaps that makes us even. I know you as much as I know Ms Boyle. That is, not at all. Which is about the same as you know Ms Boyle. You have your opinions, and I have mine.

I merely make an observation that your loyal following of a tv talent show competition winner (one round so far) is quite an obsessive one. I'm not especially concerned at what lies behind this - that's a matter for you to consider when you next look in the mirror. I just find it all quite strange.

You seem to have had quite a few run-ins with "detractors" - R. Davies here, and D. Easby on the other closed-down thread. As noted above, there is quite a lot of anger being displayed here. If you want to address some at me, then that's up to you. I'd prefer you didn't, but if it makes you feel better, then enjoy yourself!

My whole aim in joining this discussion in the first place (and you will find that I have not expressed any ill will towards Ms Boyle) is to comment on the whole fraudulent nature of this "reality" show, and how some people are cynically used to make rich people even richer. And, I repeat - going back to the thread title - Ms Boyle will sing whatever she is told to sing by the Cowell money-making machine.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 12 May 09 - 04:30 PM

Yes justifiable - irrespective of appearances.

If I were to announce to the members of Mudcat that I want to be the next June Tabor say, I imagine that it would generate a few raised eybrows. And I see nothing monstrous in that.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 05:58 PM

I merely make an observation that your loyal following of a tv talent show competition winner (one round so far) is quite an obsessive one.

A pop psychologist in the making.

You seem to have had quite a few run-ins with "detractors" . . . If you want to address some at me, then that's up to you. I'd prefer you didn't, but if it makes you feel better, then enjoy yourself!

You seem to be the one looking for an argument.

Look at how you phrased your post--what's the payout for you, hmmm? Troll-in-training? Did you want to talk about the thread subject, or are you going to continue to psychoanalyze me, and suggest that those of us who appreciate this woman and want to talk about it are somehow mentally weak or musically deficient?

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 10:54 PM

I suspect this Australian news network could only sample the program, but they talk a little about how they used subtitles on the Susan interview that I missed. Ms. Boyle certainly looks happy. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 09 - 11:07 PM

Ah ha! There is a fan site (I suppose this was inevitable) that has links including this, a little bit of that interview.

I'm not going to fool much with that site, I have the strong suspicion that it isn't one that Susan has any input in. It's there to gush. (I'm sure some of the folks who have commented in this thread won't understand this seeming contradiction.) The address is http://www.susan-boyle.com/. They do have a photo of "Pebbles" on their home page. She is a beautiful kitty. sniffle We lost one of ours in January.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,carol
Date: 16 May 09 - 11:24 PM

one of whitney houston's songs

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,Carol
Date: 21 May 09 - 02:39 AM

Hi ,
I suggest Susan Boyle should sing gospel or Mariah Carey's "Hero"
Carol

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 May 09 - 10:20 AM

It's coming up this weekend, and I imagine the performance will hit YouTube a few seconds after the sequence ends.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 May 09 - 12:45 AM

Okay. To reprise the original performance (now with close to 59,000,000 hits on this link alone). She sings again this weekend. A lot of people have patiently waited for more from Susan--whether she wins or loses this contest, she is a winner for many people who love her performance, with or without the personal story it is embedded within.

Good luck, Susan! I look forward to your first commercial CD!

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 23 May 09 - 04:31 AM

She's made it into the Simpsons.

Simpsons reference

That's true celebrity status.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 09 - 12:33 PM

If you make it onto The Simpsons, you have arrived! :)

Information about the program tonight. They say the performance will be posted (well, duh!) soon after the program.

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Fran
Date: 24 May 09 - 05:25 PM

She is through to the finals, she sang 'Memories'. a shaky start but then it got better. Susan Boyle Semi Finals

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 24 May 09 - 05:41 PM

Boy(le), that WAS quickly posted! I just saw the end of her performance and the voting only a few minutes ago!
Slightly rushed, I thought, always one jump ahead of the music, not entirely happy with the long notes, but great voice! Wondering if she'll be too busy to come to our local Festival (about 10 miles from where she lives!)
TB

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 May 09 - 07:03 PM

Yeah, the first few notes were just a bit uncertain, but she finished it off very nicely.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 09 - 09:27 PM

I think this was probably more nerve wracking than the first time--no expectations last time, and then all of the expectations leading up to this one. That was a really rocky beginning, but once she gets the hang of all of this she'll start out fine in each. It would be nice to hear the entire song, not the expurgated version of each of these.

Did she move on to the second round? (One guesses so, but if not, it means she can get on with the rest of her life's work sooner.)

We can certainly say that we named that tune, didn't we?

SRS

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Mallee
Date: 24 May 09 - 09:34 PM

Memories. I am Psychic

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 09 - 10:41 PM

Memory is the name, actually. I misnamed it when I spoke to Betty Buckley in the grocery store one day and she corrected me. I won't forget that one again!

If Susan reads through the thread she'll find lots of great suggestions for her first 15 CDs. :)

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,Hollyflewin
Date: 24 May 09 - 10:54 PM

Dream the Impossible Dream - from Man of LaMancha
Don't Cry for me Argentina - from Evita (another Andrew Loyd Webber)
The Music of the Night - from Phantom (another Andrew Loyd Webber)

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 May 09 - 12:01 AM

I had a piano version of The Impossible Dream when I was a kid, and I played it way too often. Now I think I'm allergic to it.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: BK Lick
Date: 25 May 09 - 02:15 AM

Huffington Post story

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:30 AM

It makes a fella feel like the average guy actually has a chance in the world, or girl.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Don Firth
Date: 25 May 09 - 04:29 PM

"The singer, who lives alone with her cat Pebbles in one of Scotland's poorest regions, said before Sunday's performance that she wouldn't transform her appearance. 'I just want people to see me for who I am, and do my best at singing the song, that's what I am focusing on,' she said."

As Ford Prefect (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) might say, "That lady knows where her towel is!!"

Don Firth

P. S. Coincidentally, this (May 25th) is "Towel Day."

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 26 May 09 - 01:19 PM

My #1 pick, in which I expect she would be sensational, would be the Gershwins' "My Cousin In Milwaukee" (from Pardon My English, 1932) (has some opportunity for acting, including a wiggle or two).

Others: Gershwin: "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (from Rosalie, 1929 - good contrast between a cutesy intro and bluesy main theme)

Coward: "If Love Were All" from Bitter Sweet (1929) and "Later Than Spring (from Sail Away, 1961)

Rodgers and Hart: "Where's That Rainbow", "It Never Entered My Mind", "I Think I'm Back In Love Again"

Rodgers and Hammerstein: "Everybody's Got a Home But Me" from Pipe Dream (1956?)

Porter: "From This Moment On" from Out of This World (1950) or "I Hate Men" form Kiss Me Kate (1948?)

Moross-LaTouche: "Goona-Goona" from The Golden Apple (1954)

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,pattyClink
Date: 26 May 09 - 02:15 PM

Ooooh, that "Memory" rendition came off badly, unlistenable until the final chorus.   Oh dear oh dear, more of that won't do.

The Ethel Merman song "Everything's Coming Up Roses" would be in order, and a bit of coaching on covering her 'break', and perhaps a drink or two to take the edge off...

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Lox
Date: 26 May 09 - 02:37 PM

I think she's utterly overrated.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: greg stephens
Date: 26 May 09 - 02:39 PM

Susan Boyle's triumph was part of the initial publicity for this year's series. I fear she is a little past her sell-by date now. The smart money's on her being pipped at the post by Flawless.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 09 - 07:15 PM

Lox and Greg, you're being very cynical, under the circumstances. The pressure on this second performance must have been tremendous with all of the buildup. Yes, hard to listen to that nervousness, but I won't count Susan out. And even if the competition goes elsewhere for a winner, she'll be recording under more ideal conditions and we can hear more like Cry Me A River when things calm down.

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: Emma B
Date: 26 May 09 - 07:31 PM

SRS, I'm sorry but 'under the circumstances' of this wretched, money raking, exploitative programme it's impossible to be anything other than cynical

Subject: RE: What should Susan Boyle sing next?
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 26 May 09 - 09:51 PM

For those not familiar with the Gershwin Brothers' "My Cousin In Milwaukee", here's a link to a performance by Ella Fitzgerald:

http://www.rhapsody.com/ella-fitzgerald/sings-the-gershwin-song-book/my-cousin-in-milwaukee/lyrics.html