Over five million hits on youtube in the last three days for this incredible singer who popped out of no where in Scotland and ended up on Britain's Got Talent. Link here. Her command, voice and sincerity is heartwarming. Check it out. Pluck her eyebrows and give her a makeover and this woman is going to get very wealthy. What a great story. What a natural talent.
Susan Boyle - 1999 - Cry me a River.
Susan Boyle circa 1984
9 comments:
That IS amazing! First time I've bothered to forward a you-tube link (other than the 'While my guitar gently weeps' on ukulele link!)
Still brought a tear to my eye after having heard it 3 times already. The lyrics of the Andrew LLoyd Webber song make it even more poignant:
dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.
And still
I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...
I had a dream my life would be
So different form this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.
Her voice seems to me to have a quality that is hitting everybody right in the chakras, quite unusual in it's intensity that way. She also seemed to give a very polished and controlled rendition of a quite tough song. Watch when she gets to the part where she starts softly and raises the volume and pitch step by step. This is a blockbuster move, and pretty tough to do. The female host sort of crosses her fingers and hopes right there (they cut to her), I think because she knows very well how difficult it is to even pull off, much less do well. Susan takes what seems like a small breath before the phrase, and I didn't think she would get there (if you are running out of air, the last note dies at the top) but she was in complete command of the moment and had the audience right there with her.
Great story, I bookmarked a (brand new) fan club site so I could follow it longer: http://www.susan-boyle.com/
It still blows my mind as well - the aggregate hit total on YouTube is over 10 million - this thing is going to hit ne'er before marks before it is all over. She strikes a human chord in us all.
she strikes a chord because, along with her considerable talent, she is so humble and unassuming; hard to believe it's taken so long for her artistry to surface.
As is natural in the world of writ the tsunami that is Boyle has brought out the denizens destined for that last circle of Hades, that reserved for the Loyal Order of Douches. Simon
Cowell, in the rarified tradition of
Barnum has put one over on us, she's not a good singer, any 2nd rate has been in the West End could do better, etc, etc.
Well then....let's go to YouTube and pull up the requisite parralels, none other than the esteemed Elaine Paige, the 10th Anniversary vid, and the best, that is Ruthie Henshall, and the originator of the role, Patti Lupone (or even Gunilla Backman). Play them. And with that fresh in your mind, put on the 'Britain's Got Talent'Boyle piece, cover the video with another screen, or walk out of the room, and listen.
Also, Andrew Lloyd Webber never came near this song.
Music by French composer Claude-Michel Schonberg and libretto by Alain Boublil, with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer.
It is a testament to Susan's choice to open the BGT competition as the song is a stunning vehicle and has largely laid low in the 'Cats' vernacular in the last 20 years.
According to her family and friends
it isn't even Susan Boyle's song.
Anonymous one, please declare your self and explain your affinity for showtunes.
Errata: What I meant to say, family and friends say it isn't even Susan's BEST song.
I had this thought a little while ago - there are probably millions of global citizens humming this tune right now in her voice - the woman now here bye owns this song. I read some sniffy west end singers give her a little bashing recently, good voice - not great, not capable of 8 performances a week, etc., etc..
I wouldn't bet against the stout filly...
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