The Magic of Susan Boyle
My son Matt phoned with instructions to boot up my computer; he had something he wanted me to see. “Just give me the address and I’ll look it up later”, I said. No, he wanted me to experience this while he had me on the phone. Strange, I thought; this should be good.
“Go to www.youtube and put ‘Susan Boyle’ in the search box”.
I did. For the next few minutes I watched and listened and wept. Matt and I celebrated the magic.
I seldom watch a movie more than once and I don’t read the same book twice, but I’ve played and re-played the clip of Susan Boyle on youtube. I find myself leaving my household chores to play it again and pulling it up on the computer when I should be working. I’m trying to figure out why.
Her remarkable performance is the obvious reason. But there’s so much more to it: The contrast of her ordinariness to the sparkle and stardom of the judges, her unexpected wit and sense of humor in the face of sarcasm and doubt, the transformation of her physical appearance and demeanor when she sang, and her surprising talent. When I watched it for the first time all of these conflicting images and messages unfolded in seconds across the landscape of my prejudice and preconception. I had just enough time to feel myself squirm, gearing up to be embarrassed for her before she sang. And then, the magic.
The fairytale quality of the clip is irresistible. Cinderella has nothing on this unemployed 47 year old woman from Scotland who lives with her parents and her cat. She’s been singing since she was 12, she said, and has dreamed of being a ”professional singer”. Well, she will be now.
But I think the quality that captivates me most is her quiet confidence. She has the rare quality of being comfortable in her own shoes–or so it seems. I always loved a line from the movie “Moonstruck” (which I have seen more than once) when in response to a tempting invitation of infidelity, the matriarch of the family refuses “…because I know who I am”. Susan Boyle knows who she is.
As a mental health professional for over 30 years, I have worked with countless people who sought my services because they wanted to feel more secure, more confident. Many, many people feel something is wrong with them because they lack self-confidence (also known as self-esteem). I tell them not to worry, everybody is looking for it. Susan Boyle seems to have it. I hope she does. It’s certainly a part of her magic.
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I liked Susan Boyle’s performance because it made me think of the movie Rudy. It’s the story of the underdog conquering several prejudices at once. Boyle does not fit the mold of the U.S.’s version of royalty. Our royalty are beautiful, in tabloids, wealthy, famous, and sometimes talented actors/singers/performers. Boyle embodies the antithesis of all of the above and crushes the superficial prejudices we have learned to consider “important”. Simply kick-@ss. : )