Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream
On YouTube, all the versions of this video are “Embedding Disabled By Request.” So, to watch the video, please click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
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Commentary:
If you haven’t seen this singing performance by Susan Boyle, please watch it.
In a world of cynicism, this performance is a shining, exceptional moment.
The authenticity of the crowd’s beginning disbelief as it intersects with the genuineness and quality of Boyle’s talent is an amazing, immediate transformation to watch. Anyone quickly understands that there are many untapped feelings crashing together as Susan Boyle’s performance unfolds.
We watch talent shows, particularly singing shows, for this type of rare discovery, a reminder of unyielding and long suffering hope in a world of weighty difficulties.
The story here is not simply that Susan Boyle has a great voice, a truly rare vocal presentation style and moving vibrato. There are many singers who could sing with some comparative quality.
The story here is also that her voice revealed depths of feeling, understanding, and want that contradicted the audience’s (the social world’s) expectations. Her talent is the ability to reveal beauty inside of herself that would not be stereotypically assumed by most people.
10 seconds into her performance, she became an archetype, a lightning rod, a conduit for understanding unmined & untouched emotions and unrealized wants.
The song choice and lyrics were perfect for the chemistry of the event.
Susan Boyle referenced Elaine Page as the type of singer she would like to be. This was an obscure reference to most youthful popular music fans. But the reference immediately revealed Susan’s musical intelligence and aims.
This was a marvelous moment in time.
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The Risks Of Singing
~ by OneMoreOption
Singing is a fool’s volley
It is inherently unreasonable
It can be a lubricious lubricant in a dry and organized environment
It is an uncontrollable red on a green meter
It is the collision of electricity and water
It is something we attempt to reach, but cannot hold
It is at its best and worst: a high wire act
It can be human magic
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On A Personal Note: I understood the mysteries and boundlessness of music and singing much more in my youth. I was encouraged to sing and to respect the emotional environments of music.
Personally, I used singing to signal who I was inside, who I could be for others, and what I knew and felt. It was a revealing art in a starched world. It was a personal ad to hundreds of potential companions before the internet age.
My mother taught me to love music & singing. She taught me to value and appreciate what those arts could do. She gave me a singing voice to be able to express facets of myself that would otherwise not be seen and not be heard.
Susan Boyle finally revealed rarely seen parts of herself at the age of 47. Hopefully, it is never too late.
Or as Susan Boyle said: “I am 47. And that’s just one side of me.”
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Well said!
As I mentioned in the post on my blog, the next time someone is about to pre-judge a person solely on their appearance, this should remind them, as it did the people in that audience, that what lies beneath is far more interesting than what’s on the surface. If you have seen any of Ms. Boyle’s recent U.S. media interviews, she sings a cappella in perfect tune as well.
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OneMoreOption: Thank you for your comment.
I have been completely obsessed with this clip for over a week. It’s ridiculous. You are exactly right that it tapped into something so profound about expectations, judgement, dashed dreams, hope and beauty. I love that Susan Boyle has become a lightening rod. Brava.
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OneMoreOption: Yes.
I’m not sure if this clip says more about our apparent need for an underdog hero, or for our tendency for pre-judgementalism. This might be hard to believe, but I thought she had a lovely annunciated voice the second she started speaking before the show, so I wasn’t surprised. My lack of surprise, though, didn’t stop my emotions from being carried along with the rest of the audience (mostly due to the fancy editting and scoring of the piece). If she was traditionally beautiful, she wouldn’t have gotten “the biggest yes ever” — that’s a fact.
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OneMoreOption: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I don’t know if I agree with your last sentence. Certainly, the unexpected juxtaposition added to the revelations and surprises.
I’ve watched the clip probably at least 12 times now. The segment is so well edited, so concise in telling this “never been kissed” story very effectively.
I think her voice is truly extraordinary, but yes many personality, conversational, and informational things added to the magic of the moment.
But I think her voice stands above all those things. I think she’ll have a big name producer coordinate a quality composed and accompanied album and it will sell remarkably well – warranting “the biggest surprise ever.”
[...] item that stirred these ideas in me is OMO’s article on Susan Boyle, the British singer who is making news due to her spectacular voice and her feisty [...]