Boyle's Makeover

To date, Boyle’s debut performance on the British talent show has received a staggered 120 million views on Youtube and counting. And if that isn’t enough to prove that she is a star, there is the Oprah interview, which pretty much seals the deal.  The frumpy songstress, nicknamed “bushy” by the press and “the hobbit” by Dennis Leary, admits she’s never been kissed, and she may never be if her newfound fame continues to eat away at her sanity as recent events have borne out.

Boyle, who has now been banned from going to karaoke at the Happy Valley Inn by producers who are afraid that media cameras will be taping – threatened to quit the Britain’s Got Talent altogether under the enormous pressure. She has endured a makeover, tough competition from young contestants on the show and brutal media coverage of her looks. Once a media darling, the headlines now detail her meltdowns and count the number of “F-bombs” she may or may not have used after reporters harassed her in a hotel lobby about the judge’s praise of another show contestant. Indeed, Susan Boyle is cracking under the pressure of a relentless, freakish, and gawkerish kind of notoriety, unimaginable to all but the truly self-enamored.

Despite losing the Britain’s Got Talent crown, a cash prize, and a chance to perform in front of the Queen, Boyle has proven already that there is money to be made on her persona, bushy or not.  Sales of the Les Miserables soundtrack, that includes “I Dreamed A Dream,” which Boyle first sang on the show, suddenly spiked on Itunes and Amazon.com, putting in the top 10 on the former and the top 25 on the latter. Ticket sales have tripled at a local production of the play in Vancouver.

While Boyle will no doubt have no problem converting her celebrity into cash flow, the consequences of such sudden stardom may prove too much for a karaoke princess turned pop culture diva. She is now truly a cultural commodity and her story of overnight fame reeks of a Faustian bargain that by definition, goes terribly wrong. Despite whatever fame, fortune and even kisses that lie ahead for the unassuming lady of Happy Valley karaoke nights, she may never see an honest face, hear an honest truth again, or more importantly, feel an honest kiss for the first time .

 

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