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No theatrics, just a spotlight and Susan Boyle’s soaring voice
Thursday, 2 July 2009
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The lights in the Odyssey dimmed and a voiceover announced “over 19 million people watched the grand final”, and although the Odyssey holds nowhere near that capacity, the noise from the crowd would suggest otherwise.
A montage of clips from the show further excited the audience, and winning dance troupe Diversity exploded onto the stage with a hip-hop-inspired performance complete with a Michael Jackson tribute.
Dance group Flawless also paid homage to the King of Pop, and were joined onstage by George Sampson in a special cameo, which sent the audience into hysteria.
Stephen Mulhern announced the arrival of Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle by describing her as: “The most Googled person on the planet!”
Boyle sang before the crowd in a floor-length silver gown, and wiped away any former no-show controversy by dazzling the audience with renditions of her audition song, I Dreamed A Dream (from Les Miserables), and semi-final track Memory (from Cats).
Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure of her sudden rise to fame she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years, rather than a Scot plucked from obscurity a few months ago.
No theatrics were required, a simple spotlight shone on Boyle as she stretched her arms out to her adoring audience, who gave her a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of her performance.
Summing up the thoughts of the thousands in attendance in the Odyssey, Mulhern exclaimed: “Britain’s Got Talent, and Britain’s got Susan Boyle!”
EMMA-LOUISE GIBSON
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22 Comments
Thank you for your refreshingly positive article about Susan Boyle. I, like many others, follow her every performance and read whatever news I can. I agree with Grace R: "I can't explain it and other fans say it too, but Susan has something special and has captivated our attention like no one else." I can't wait to buy her CD's and see her perform here in the USA!
Posted by Louise S. | 03.07.09, 23:09 GMT
Couldn't you have found a nicer picture of Susan? There are hundreds od good pictures floating around out there! You printed a relatively nice article and ran an unflattering photo. Why?
Posted by Sue Johnson | 03.07.09, 20:11 GMT
Thank you for posting my comments. We finally got a slightly better quality video but still no good ones from Belfast. Yes, it does sound as if Susan's fans there did a bit of cheering. :)
If any of your readers have any good videos of her Belfast performance and would want to share them on YouTube, her fans from "this side of the water" would be ever so grateful! :) Britain definitely has talent... Britain has Susan Boyle! (Hopefully someday you will share her with America! :)
Posted by Misti in Seattle | 03.07.09, 19:32 GMT
Thank you very much, Ms. Gibson. Great article. And ditto all the previous comments here; we do love Susan, don't we. I was especially interested to read Kathleen's comment about Dr. Oliver Sacks' description of the way some music affects one's emotional center. Susan is my Bach.
Posted by CaliforniaFan | 03.07.09, 17:23 GMT
Diversity is fantastic and so is Flawless.in fact all the BGT show is marvellous....Susan Boyle is all this and a little bit more special!!!!!
Posted by Beth | 03.07.09, 14:12 GMT
What a beautiful article about Susan! Thank you! Here in America we are trying very hard to find good, factual, positive information.
Your facility is beautiful! And even though it does not hold 19 million :) I count myself as one of them via YouTube, even though unfortunately I have so far been unable to find any good videos from her Belfast performance.
Susan is gorgeous! Yes, like a veteran, stretching out her arms and "being herself" -- I feel included. Cheering from the USA!
Posted by Misti in Seattle | 03.07.09, 13:49 GMT
Greetings from New York City! Thank you, Emma-Louise Gibson, for an uplifting review of Susan Boyle. True, Boyle needs no glitz, no bell + whistles. Here's a singer who can really sing! I too am awaiting her first album to purchase. And I'm looking forward to her possible debut on American Idol (which I never watch) but I'll watch it if Susan Boyle is featured. Great article!
Posted by Moussette | 03.07.09, 08:50 GMT
Thank you Emma Louise for the appropriately positive article on our dear Susan. We fans love her so much that we'll read anyting and everything we can find on her and it is really nice not to have to brace ourselves for the underhanded comments we ususlly find in articles such as these. Thanks for the truth which, unfortunately, is a refreshing change in journalism today.
Posted by Sherry | 03.07.09, 08:46 GMT
I am glad to see these positive reviews on Susan Boyle. I think she has a beautiful voice and am glad the negative press has not discouraged her from wanting to share it with us. Live long and prosper and find something to be joyful about everyday!
Best Wishes a Canadian admirer. I thoroughly enjoyed watching al the acts on BGT. I don't suppose the BGT show tour will come to Canada?
Posted by Carol Martin-Desaulniers | 03.07.09, 04:15 GMT
Ms. Gibson, I echo everyone's comments regarding your refreshing article about Susan Boyle, devoid of all the unnecessary
demeaning adjectives. From what I've seen on utube, Susan's performances on the BGT tour have been nothing but steller and she just keeps getting better and better. What a pro!
Posted by donniecat | 02.07.09, 23:15 GMT
On PBS tv, I watched a show about Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and writer, who demonstrated that some music travels through the brain to the deep-seated emotional center in some people and creates a strong emotional response that can be seen on an MRI. Dr. Sacks has that response to Bach. That explains to me why I can't watch Susan Boyle sing without having tears stream down my face. Her incredibly beautiful voice and her singing prowess touches me & lots of others.
Posted by Kathleen | 02.07.09, 19:18 GMT
Thank you Emma-Louise Gibson for your wonderful writeup of Susan Boyle and BGT tour. You have captured Susan Boyle in her true light. Susan is a wonderful, sweet, beautiful and talanted lady. I can't explain it and other fans say it too, but Susan has something special and has captivated our attention like no one else. Susan means so much to us fans who watch her every move, we can't stand the negative (uncalled for) lying press. We wait for her CD/DVD. God Bless Susan
Posted by Graysea - Grace R | 02.07.09, 17:23 GMT
I'm so thrilled to find a review on Susan's performance that is so positive and doesn't cut her down for a change! Susan's confidence and stage presence, especially the way she interacts with the audience, has increased thanks to the BGT tour giving her the chance to get more comfortable performing onstage. Susan has blossomed like a beautiful rose and I know that she is finally living her dream and fulfilling her mother's wish. She is my favorite singer in the world and I will be buying all of her CDs.
Posted by Debbie | 02.07.09, 17:17 GMT
Thank you Emma-Louise Gibson for a wonderful non biased & original article about Susan Boyle...an article based on facts & the truth. I was really excited to read this after all the intense bashing she was subjected to by all the trashoids. I have followed Susan Boyle's journey since her audition on BGT, & she is developing into an amazingly gifted & confident performer. She has received standing ovations at every performance she's done & has deserved every last one of them. Thank you very much
Posted by Lorraine | 02.07.09, 08:07 GMT
Greetings from USA. Thanks for helping us "across the pond" to get an idea what it was like, and for posting it so promptly. Watching Ms. Boyle's rapid growth as a performer is captivating, as is her lush voice and sweet and saucy personality. Hers is a triumph of spirit, and I can't wait to see her here.
Posted by Joly | 02.07.09, 06:24 GMT
You have written a nice and accurate article about Ms. Susan Boyle's performance, and an exciting summary of the BGT tour 2009 show at the Odyssey. I am one fan who follows her performances as they are posted on you tube, and could see her development as a professional in the BGT tour 2009. Thank you very much.
Posted by Joe | 02.07.09, 06:00 GMT
Thank you for the nice article about Susan.
Her fans love watching her videos from the tour, and watching her get her spunk and determination back.
We really enjoy reading nice articles about her after what she was put through by the media.
Posted by Marty | 02.07.09, 05:31 GMT
Thankyou Ms Gibson. I've been following the reports of Susan Boyle's performances on this tour, and your is the first that has commented on her confidence on stage. Perhaps you could give your colleagues across the water some lessons on how to write an original article, rather than rehashing old, negative, comments.
Posted by Margie | 02.07.09, 04:38 GMT
Thank you so much for a a much deserved positive and accurate report on Susan Boyle!
Posted by Patty | 02.07.09, 04:07 GMT
Thank you, Emma-Louise Gibson! You get my personal award for journalism in the UK. Not once did I see "troubled," "spinster," "erratic," etc. -- not once! That means you wrote your own original take on the performance and the performer, an incredibly gutsy, tough little lady indeed. And, of course, with that voice, that God-blessed voice. You've restored my faith in Irish journalists: thank you again!
Posted by Ssippi | 02.07.09, 03:44 GMT
22 Comments