"Surely, the crucial thing is she didn't succeed in spite of her image. She was put on the TV precisely because of her image."

Yes, fully agree, Greg. The logistics of this prog, and others like it, are to ensure a good revenue flow through viewers and further advertising / sponsorship / franchising. Any way of generating interest is money in the till. Every show like this will have an outsider who does well, in spite of....

Susan Boyle has made it to the front page of today's Daily Mirror. She is obviously good copy. In the final outcome, however it's judged (by the panel, or viewers' telephone votes, I don't know the details of this) she will have won, whether she formally comes first or not.

That's entertainment.

I think I'd like to re-visit this thread in, say, six months time and ask how many of us here have gone out & bought her first released piece of music? Or gone to see her live?

There's a lot of gushing now, but a few months down the line I bet tastes will be different.