Susan keeps singing, raves keep coming

[depakid]

Susan Boyle signs autographs for fans outside her home in Scotland.
-----------

On CNN's "Larry King Live," she showed she's no one-trick pony.

During a taping of the show Friday, she nailed a verse of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" after King asked her to sing. "Amazing. That was just absolutely stunning," said "Britain's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan, who was also a guest. "To sing that with no musical backing is unbelievable.

<snip>

Boyle, who did a repeat performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" via satellite on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" Thursday night, told King she was aware of the snickers her appearance prompted at the audition. "That doesn't bother me because I knew I had to get on with my act ... ," said Boyle, again speaking by satellite. "I wasn't sure how I would be received, so I just thought I'd give it a whirl."

<snip>

Morgan, too, acknowledged the laughter, including his own. "I sort of feel like apologizing to Susan," he said. "I'm sorry, because we did not give you anything like the respect we should have done when you first came out."

He said the judges had been through a long day with "lots of terrible auditions."

"And then you came out and we thought you were going to be a bit of a joke act, to be honest with you," he said. "And then I can remember ... that second when you had begun to sing, and I had never heard a more surprising, extraordinary voice coming out of somebody so unexpected."

To win the show, which would give her the chance to sing in front of Queen Elizabeth II, Boyle must survive a live semifinal next month and then a final performance if she gets through that. "She's the most odds-on favorite ever on 'Britain's Got Talent' at this stage of the competition," Morgan said. "But Susan knows there are two big hurdles left. Anything can happen in a live show."

There's already been talk of a recording contract and world tours for Boyle. But she said she's staying focused on the competition for now.

She said she has no plans to get a makeover or alter her wardrobe -- "Why should I? Why should I change?" -- but did predict one big lifestyle change. "I won't be lonely," she said. "I certainly won't be lonely anymore."

More: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/17/susan.boyle.lkl/?iref=mpstoryview

[katanalori]

1. OMG crying....again

"I won't be lonely," she said. "I certainly won't be lonely anymore."

[malaise]

2. I just love how the kids lined up for autographs

Losing her mother must have been unbelievably painful.

[Blue Diadem]

3. tears here too.

My gosh that woman can sing. I hope all her dreams come true.

[aquart]

5. Me, too.

[depakid]

7. seriously- but they're the very best kinds of tears

Haven't watched CNN in the states for many years, but I'll have Larry King on tonight.

[MedleyMisty]

9. That got to me too

I just want to meet her and hug her.

[D-Lee]

39. Here's the link to the song sung on Larry King

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/17/susan.boyle.lkl/?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCVideo

[GoesTo11]

49. Thanks!

[xchrom]

4. what wonderful woman -- just Fabulous. nt

[Historic NY]

6. Susan, you are not lonely the world is with you now.

[Bobbieo]

8. Susan is remarkable. Has she ever had voice training? She seems

like such a natural - so poised. Why would she have to undertake a "Makeover"? She is loved the way she is right now.

[cynthia]

13. the report says that she did have voice lessons as a young woman

but that she never did anything with her training.

[northernlights]

44. yes she has had voice training, plus

she said in an interview she came from a musical family. She sings in church and in karaoke, giving her practice at performance.

I studied voice for a number of years, and she absolutely has a trained voice. Natural talent is no substitute for training, ever. Natural talent leaves you with many, many gaps in your singing that training fixes.

Signs of her training that I've picked up from listening to just 3 performances (on the show, the cd from 10 years ago, and live on a morning show yesterday):

* even intonation and resonance throughout
* keeps her mouth and lips in the proper shape to maximize resonance
* keeps her tongue in basin shape at the bottom of her mouth throughout to maximize resonance (no easy trick, I might add)
* good diction throughout, with clear starting and *ending* consonants on *every* syllable of every word
* open vowels on *every* syllable of every word
* dead-on pitch with every entrance (unlike the scooping and swooping of the untrained and/or unsure)
* maintains pitch, tonality and even vibrato across sustained notes
* good portamento singing, esp. throughout the torch song cd. This gives a true, seamless legato line, requires keeping the sound "in the masque" through the transition, without every dropping out or scooping or swooping. It's something that the untrained don't even know exists, let alone how to do. It's not done naturally -- you have to know how to do it and focus on doing it.
* when she sang I Dreamed a Dream "off the cuff" live on the morning program, her interpretation was similar, but not identical. She was free to modify the rubato and get a slightly different feel, yet remained true to her underlying sense of it. It was, again, lovely.

[rollingrock]

10. Nothing special

her voice is good, but pretty blandish in a Celine Dion kinda way.

don't know what the fuss is all about.

[nolabear]

12. The fuss is all about

the beauty that turns us on our collective ears, when we smugly think we know what has value and what doesn't.

[Missy Vixen]

16. I'd love to hear you sing

When's your next live TV appearance in front of 11 million people?

This must be REALLY good for you.

[rollingrock]

17. There's been tons of great singers on American Idol

I just don't get why her voice stands out in any way.

[Missy Vixen]

19. Good try

You're the one who's the supposed expert; again, let's hear you sing, huh? :woohoo:

[rollingrock]

21. No, let's hear you sing

[Norrin Radd]

24. I agree.

[GoesTo11]

50. What makes Mick Jagger's voice stand out?

I actually think she's got better technique.

[stray cat]

27. Sounds just like anyone off the street

:sarcasm: actually she sounds as good as some people think they are - but she actually is.

[northernlights]

48. she has solid technique

and she sings with an understated, quiet elegance that is deeply poignant...totally unlike Celine Dion (who is a "belt it out," totally different voice type than Susan Boyle) and other pop stars, who go for the cheap, easy sentiment every time.

Listen to the cd of her singing "Cry Me a River." Few if any of today's pop stars has the technique or the emotional depth to turn in that kind of seamless performance. Beautiful intonation, to boot.

[dmr]

11. She has the voice of an angel, and I think she looks lovely

just the way she is. I wouldn't want her to change a thing.

[Gregorian]

14. How nice!

I think Susan Boyle has something special. This is the kind of story that thrills me to tears. You know, she's not a beauty. But she is beauty. This is transcendence. This is what makes life worth living.


I am alone. I lived with my cats until they passed away recently. I wonder what I have that transcends life. Isn't that what we're all looking for? Oh how I wish I could find it. And how glad we can be when someone does find it.

[depakid]

20. She has twice the voice and triple the heart of the usual barbie pop stars

nolabear said it well- to which I'd only add that every now and again, someone just right comes along at just the right time and inspires people- and just now, there a lot of people around the world who need jthe sort inspiration and confidence in the face overwhelming odds that Susan hands out effortlessly- like it was candy from her pockets.

[Gregorian]

30. Exactly my thoughts.

I can't say it better. I love this forum. We have a common sense about us. A love. A perspective. You know, it's little things like this that make me feel like a part of something good. Something bigger than each of us.

Well, I'm half awake. I've got to go run outside and say hello to my morning wild turkey. Crazy thing!

[Kaleko]

22. I don't think any of us have what transcends life.

We ARE what transcends things that come and go in time and space. We are that unspeakable beauty of simply being itself. All of us, including you.


As the Bhagavad Gita says:


Worn-out garments are shed by the body,
Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body,
New bodies are donned by the Dweller, like garments.
Not wounded by weapons, not burned by fire,

Not dried by the wind, not wetted by water,
Such is the One.


Not dried, not wetted, not burned, not wounded,

Innermost Essence, everywhere, always,

Being of Beings, changeless, eternal, for ever and ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susan Boyle acts like a mirror for us. In her, we can see how ungainly and insufficient and simultaneously how divinely gifted we are.

[Gregorian]

31. So a vessel.

I can see this. I so appreciate what you have said. We can embrace beauty. I'm not really awake this morning. I'm in a haze. I don't want to sidetrack this wonderful thought you have made. So I'll just go and hold this.

Embrace. Hold. Contain. The reason I'm having a tough time here is that I often embrace anger. I'm angry with the unconscious around me. And I have become ugly.

I'm glad you wrote what you did. I'll admit that it almost brings me to tears.

[Kaleko]

32. Yes, a vessel or a conduit for that unnameable essence...

Even just a glimpse of that is enough to break a hardened shell and let the soft innards spill out.

I'm glad I followed the impulse to respond to you - I almost didn't for fear it would sound too strange. The loss of your cats also resonates in me. I have experienced the passing of two of my closest companions, my husband and another amazing being in the form of a cat in quick succession, and it's not easy to come out of the ruins kinder and softer than before rather than hardened and ugly, as you said. Not easy, but it must be done because that innermost essence is our core and it's sweet beauty has to be honored so it can express itself - at least in our vulnerability.

Thank you for allowing me to feel this affinity with you for a few moments here. :hug:

[MedleyMisty]

38. Wow

I can't imagine losing my husband and having the will to go on living, much less the will to still see the beauty and love in life. I admire and honor you.

[Lorien]

23. I'm so sorry to hear about your cats

I hope that you adopt a couple more some day soon. The economy has left far more homeless than the shelters can handle-and they do curb loneliness a bit. I know exactly how you feel; I'm alone too (still have the cats though). I once had a real passion for art, but I lost my muse years ago and have been searching for it ever since. Transcendence and beauty make life worth living, but so does having other people in our lives, ones that we feel truly connected to. When it's difficult to have either then it becomes very hard to find meaning or hope in much of anything.

[Gregorian]

29. Oh thanks.

Your words reverberate a truth that I understand.

My wonderful cats came to me. We lived in the forest. And I was the first thing they saw after their mother gave birth to them. One kitten got lost in the forest for months. I cried every day. Then one day he sauntered back. It was a brilliant ray of light that day. I spent every minute of every day with them. I didn't work, even. We went on a real estate journey. Ah, I could just spend hours telling the stories.

I can't replace them. I see the sweet cats at the local animal shelter. I want to adopt. But either it's too soon, or something. They were the best friends I've ever had. And the most special beings I've ever known. Now I'm starting to sound like one of the freaks on the internet.

Bart and Farnsworth in our huge barn. Just one of the many places we lived.

[Karenina]

33. Such beautiful tuxedos!!!

My condolences to you and best wishes. :hug:

[Gregorian]

42. It's going to be ok. You're very kind.

I guess this thread is all about beauty. I could write a book. On what I've seen that is beautiful. And on how I let all that isn't beautiful hurt me. But I think that is why we need to share. It's that kind of support that brings us together, and that lifts us all.

I wish you the best too.

[Lorien]

37. Bart looks like my late, great kitty Miro

Miro's best friend Peewee passed away in 2003. I had raised Wee since he was two days old and he saw me as his mother and best friend. The three of us were inseparable. When Wee passed I was completely devastated and didn't want another cat, but Miro cried nonstop for his friend for weeks, and finally stopped eating. In desperation I went to a cat show that was being attended by five or six local shelters with dozens of adoptable cats. I ended up bringing home my purebred Maine Coon Oberon who just seemed to say "pick me! I'll be perfect for Miro"! and he was. They became as close or closer than Miro had been with Peewee.



Now that Miro has passed I have new kitties. They aren't "replacements", but they are all special in their own ways. And I can't imagine life without them! You were an excellent kitty dad; any shelter cat out there would be so lucky to have you as their person!

[Gregorian]

41. Lorien, I love your story.

I needed that. Your cats! I love them.

But the whole thing about how I fell in love with them. I mean it. I said that on accident to someone one day. I fell in love with them. And nearly no one I know can see how important it was. Just cats. No, they were very special. Our walks. Farnsworth would cry when we walked sometimes, because of his memories of being lost. I had to comfort him. They loved that barn. Or the time I found salmon in the creek on one of our properties, and they bristled their tails when they saw the thing. I've got hundreds of photos of it all.

But just having someone understand. I'm grieving two years later. But I can see that life does move on. Another special being will be my companion again.

It is hard to share this stuff. It's so personal. But I think we are all pretty much alike. Us humans. :)

[Triana]

15. Oh I hope she doesn't change one whit!

I love that she won't be lonely and it breaks my heart that she ever was, but fame can be really a pain in the keister - although she is handling it well - it can get old after a while and she may end up wishing to be alone again (for a break, that is). I hope she can manage privacy and peace and quiet when she wants it too. She deserves to be HAPPY!

[Karenina]

28. All I can say is that Simon and his band of tigers

had DAMN WELL BETTER look after her. This musical has just begun! ;-)

[depakid]

47. If they don't, their careers will pretty much be over

[ljm2002]

18. I love that Piers asked her out...

...when she appeared on the Larry King show. He looked quite sheepish too -- I think maybe his mum gave him a good talking to!

[Karenina]

40. That's a SCANDAL!!!

He has compromised his impartiality as a judge!!!

[ljm2002]

43. You do have a point there...

...hadn't thought of that. I wonder how they will address that issue?

[Chulanowa]

25. It goes the other way though

I'm not going to knock the woman's talent. She has an amazing voice and just hearing it gives me goosebumps.

But if she were a gorgeous 20-something with perky breasts and a tan, would anyone here give a fuck? Honest question here. Yes, she has amazing talent, but what I'm seeing is a lot of stuff that to me, seems to sound like an audience praising a black speaker for "being so articulate" - "She sure sings well for a homely broad."

I dunno. It just seems to me like a lot of people are still equating looks with talent, but are trying to do so in a praising manner. Maybe I'm just being grouchy.

[mrs_p]

35. good points, but

i think so much of it is that she is 47 and life has kind of passed her by... i (and many others) can relate to that - she's being given a second chance, which so many of us need right now. i can't relate to some 20 year old with perky boobs and a voice who has years and fame ahead of her.

[Karenina]

46. +1

I was a musician for 50 years. I'm SO HAPPY for Susan, wish her ALL GOOD THINGS and am thoroughly enjoying BGT's manipulation of my heartstrings! It's FINE! I needed a good cry!!!

Pardon me while I return to entertaining myself fretting about how this poor sweet soul who has flung herself into the pit of vipers will come out unscathed. ;-)

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

Hunter S. Thompson

[elleng]

36. I appreciate what you've said,

as I cringe at 'how wonderful, the first black *whatever.* How does it feel?'

[ellie]

26. Awww, I am sad that

she is lonely. No one should be lonely.

[Skittles]

34. not my kind of music

but she is definitely my kid of gal

[ThatsMyBarack]

45. Don't go Hollywood on us, Susan!

Thank you. :loveya: