As I sat down to watch Britain’s Got Talent tonight knowing that it would be Susan Boyle’s first singing appearance since she became a worldwide internet megastar, the cynic in me could not help but take over.
The first thing I thought was, “I bet she goes on last”, as this will all but guarantee her place in the finals (as if it wasn’t guaranteed already). I also thought about how much she would be ‘pimped’ in her video package and by the judges after her performance.
I sat through the show and saw an amazing performance by Dance troupe Diversity, as well as memorable ones from Violinist Sue Son and 10 year old singer Natalie Okri, but the rest of the acts were just cannon fodder to Susan Boyle.
As she stumbled on stage as if she were drunk, Boyle murdered the opening of her song Memories, before recovering and putting in a good effort. Her performance however was nowhere near the standard of what you would see in the West End, and her behaviour was just strange. The woman, who has had over 100 million hits on youtube, and already appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in the States had obviously understood the quirkiness that attracted her to the public, and multiplied it to a ridiculous level to the point where she simply became a caricature of herself.
Everything about Boyle seemed so forced and artificial. No longer was she the strange quirky woman with the amazing voice, she was a Simon Cowell crafted media product with an average voice, who’s place in the finale of the competition all but assures that her and Mr Cowell will achieve worldwide domination with whatever album they produce.
