Susan Boyle (20 page)

Piers Morgan also spoke out about Susan again. It seemed that he, too, had benefitted from his association with her. Unlike Amanda, he was already making a name for himself in the States before Susan came along, but he believed she’d transformed his image.

‘What propelled me to worldwide fame is largely Susan Boyle,’ he said in the run-up to the release of Susan’s first album. ‘I have been passionate about my duty of care towards her, and I think that has changed attitudes towards me. But I feel adamant that the maelstrom resulting from this year’s
BGT
finale was hugely overplayed. Susan Boyle will especially become the standard-bearer for the response to the criticism of Simon Cowell and the way he does his business. She’s not some weirdo. Most people in showbusiness are a bit eccentric if you think about it. It doesn’t mean they’re not great talents. When people hear her album, they are going to see that she is phenomenal.’

 

Susan returned home from America for a well-deserved rest, and shortly afterwards plans for her to appear on
The X Factor
were announced. There was a brief health scare, when she was rushed to hospital with flu-like symptoms, but her health was bearing up well on the whole.

Susan was increasingly excited as the launch of the album neared. On her website, she called the album ‘autobiographical’, explaining, ‘Some of the songs I chose because they had been favourites that I have sung for many years. One of the songs, I suppose you would call it a signature tune, “Wild Horses”, has had a great reception and was first played on the radio by Terry Wogan. I have his autobiography at home and it seems very strange that he is now playing my record.’

Her grasp of modern technology continued apace: as well as her own website, on which she posted regular updates about how she was getting on, she also had a Facebook site, which had attracted 1.8 million fans. Although this doesn’t quite rival the site for Michael Jackson, which has over 10 million members, it’s still one of the largest sites on Facebook. Madonna has only managed 1.2 million, and that’s considered an extremely reputable tally, while Whitney Houston has only 214,000.

Michael Bublé became Susan’s newest celebrity admirer. ‘I didn’t understand Susan Boyle,’ he said. ‘I was cynical and critical because I had never seen her in that first show where she’d come up and says, “I want to be a singer,” and the audience looks at her and says, “Oh please!” I got goosebumps. I’m going to go, when this record comes out, and buy twenty copies, because what a beautiful story of an underdog. It gives me faith in the human condition that we still have that kind of feeling that we actually want the good guy to win. It killed me. It really is a beautiful, beautiful story.’

And so the launch came about, as detailed in the first chapter of this book. Susan had done it, and she got the kind of reviews all entertainers crave:

Of course, the reviews couldn’t resist mentioning the possibility of transient fame, but that didn’t take into account one very important aspect of Susan’s renown - she had cracked America. The only other British reality TV star to have made an impression in the US was Leona Lewis, and few British stars of any description had managed to achieve success Stateside. It was this fact, more than anything else, that suggested Susan would enjoy longevity in the music business, for there was no sign at all that the United States was tiring of its new heroine. Even back in Britain, as everyone conceded, there had never been a phenomenon like this.

The singer Seal, another Boyle admirer, thought much the same. ‘It’s good entertainment, but I question sometimes whether it’s the best thing for our industry,’ he said of reality television talent shows. ‘Susan Boyle is an exception. I seriously believe that Susan couldn’t give a stuff about being famous. She sings because it’s in her - she’s a true artist. She sings because it’s her form of expression and if she doesn’t she will become ill. It’s her way of release.’ High praise indeed.

There had been reports of Susan suffering from bad attacks of nerves, but those close to her were adamant that she was learning to cope. ‘She is adjusting very well to the circumstances of her fame,’ said Susan’s voice coach Fred O’Neil. ‘I don’t remember her ever being a nervous performer, but I think that it’s a different set of circumstances and she will cope given time. I feel that she’s very happy in her life, so I’m sure that will come through. She comes and goes whenever she likes at home [in Blackburn] with no problems. She has time to live a normal life and the stresses are off her. She sounds very happy with life.’

Susan was merely getting used to a new and extraordinary set of circumstances and there was bound to be a period of adjustment when she would have to learn to pace herself.

 

In London, there was a great hoo-ha when Simon Cowell celebrated his fiftieth birthday with a huge party. Le tout showbiz was there - with one exception. Apparently the £2 million bash held in a Palladian mansion called Wrotham Park, with a guest list that included Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue, Kate Moss, the
Britain’s Got Talent
judges and others too numerous to mention, was a slightly raunchy affair and Susan would have been out of place. And although she was probably more famous than anyone else there, Susan had not yet begun to take part in the schmooze fest of awards ceremonies and showbusiness parties that accompany life in the music business.

In the wake of her album release, her brother Gerry explained it: ‘Susan is doing really well just now and is just resting up after visiting America,’ he said. ‘She didn’t go to Simon Cowell’s fiftieth birthday party because she didn’t want a lot of attention on her, but she is delighted with her new CD.’

Indeed, Gerry was very keen to talk about the CD. It had been thrilling for the Boyles to watch Susan blossom over the past few months. They had all had their various concerns about her, especially in the wake of their mother’s death, and they were delighted that she was suddenly having such an interesting life. They, of course, had heard her singing from childhood and knew that this was a culmination of a dream Susan had nurtured for nearly fifty years.

‘Both Susan’s and my own personal favourite track is “I Dreamed A Dream” - I know it is corny but that is the song that really introduced her to the world and I think it is really well suited to her voice,’ Gerry said. ‘“Cry Me A River” is another strong song on the album, and she originally recorded it at Heartbeat Studios in Scotland many years ago. “Wild Horses”, which she débuted on American television, is another good choice, as the classic Rolling Stones song shows off her vocal range. I think a lot of people will also love “Silent Night” because it is perfect for Christmas time and the holidays. Susan’s version of “Daydream Believer” is a lot of fun and her version of “Up To The Mountain” is very rousing too. Overall the album is very well produced, but it still gives her the chance to showcase her vocals on tracks like “Amazing Grace”, “How Great Thou Art” and “You’ll See”. I think that the song choice is very good and we are all crossing our fingers that her fans will like it and it will be a hit too.’ Needless to say, it was.

There was more admiration from yet another unlikely quarter, the rapper 50 Cent. ‘Susan Boyle is hot right now,’ he said. ‘I got to get her on a track, for real. We’d make a hit. Everyone is talking about her, the lady from
Britain’s Got Talent
. She’s got an amazing voice, and together we’d get everyone dancing. I’m always looking to do something new and she’s cool, so I’ll ask somebody to let her know. I’d love to take her clubbing, show her around my world. She’d have a great time.’ Was he joking? Who knew?

The
Britain’s Got Talent
judges had certainly been vindicated about their choice. Amanda was delighted with the way the record was selling, but given that she’d seen the reaction to Susan from day one, she had suspected this might be on the cards.

‘It’s incredible, but to be honest I’m not at all surprised,’ she told
Hello!
magazine. ‘She’s phenomenal, and her story has gone worldwide, so of course her album sales would do the same.’ As for the earlier teething problems, Amanda felt the same way as the other judges: ‘You’ve got to remember her audition,’ she explained. ‘She was feisty and strong, and funny and flirty - she’s a really big character. She’s had to deal with a lot in her life, she got through it and she’s a stronger person for it, so we mustn’t underestimate her strengths. I think we will have a chance to catch up with her before Christmas. She’s been all over the world and none of us have been able to pin her down!’

Susan was also on the verge of becoming a wealthy woman. No one knew how much she was earning from it all, but there were estimates of over £5 million. Whatever the truth of it, Susan was finally going to get the peace of mind she craved. Despite all the comments about her single status, she appeared to be more interested in preparing for the future than finding love: ‘Och, there’s no time for that now!’ she told one reporter. ‘I’m far too busy! What a laugh. I dream about security, I dream about one day finding the right person. My advice to those who dare to dream is don’t give up. If I can do it, anyone else can too.’

Simon Cowell was, of course, earning money out of Susan, but he was adamant that he would have walked away from it all had Susan not been able to cope. ‘I said to [her family] at the time, the truth is, if this is too much for her or if she doesn’t want to do it, we’ll rip the contract up,’ he said. ‘No-one is going to be forced into doing anything. We were going to make a lot of money, and we have, but I would have walked away from that, I would.’

Simon had also been criticized for making more money out of Susan than she was, though that’s not entirely fair, for like it or not, that is the way the music industry works. The artist is paid a percentage of record sales, thought in Susan’s case to be about 15 per cent, because it’s the record company that’s taking the risk. Susan was certainly not being treated unfairly. Indeed, the money she was set to earn would have been life-changing in itself, even without her new career.

 

In the run-up to Christmas, Susan returned home, having decided that she would after all keep Blackburn as her base. As her global fame continued to spread and she travelled more and more, she needed a base where she felt entirely at home, near the friends and family who were helping her cope. Her new-found status continued to provoke changes: Susan was forced to beef up security at her home, although she continued to be as friendly as ever to fans and reporters. She willingly posed for photographs, signed autographs and waved cheerily to passers-by - there was no sign whatsoever of any diva-like behaviour. There was also no sign of a return of the tensions that beset her during the competition. Now she appeared to be taking it all in her stride.

Plans for the television special,
I Dreamed A Dream: The Susan Boyle Story
, were progressing, with yet another of Susan’s dreams about to come true. This was kept from her until the last minute, but it had been arranged that she would finally sing a duet with her great idol, Elaine Paige. The two of them performed Elaine’s hit ‘I Know Him So Well’, an experience that Susan clearly found overwhelming: ‘I never thought I would see myself standing on the same stage with such an icon from West End theatre, let alone singing with her,’ she said.

Elaine was as warm as ever: ‘It was a pleasure to finally sing with Susan; she was a delight to work with and I think we did more than justice to one of my favourite songs,’ she said.

The duet went down a treat in the United States. One of the many fan sites that had been set up in the wake of the audition was
www.susan-boyle.co.uk
, and a typical posting from a US fan was as follows: ‘Everyone here is
so
excited and thrilled about Susan’s duet with Elaine and wanting more!’ said Misti in Seattle. ‘In fact we are very happy for Elaine as most of us had not even heard of her before and now she is also going to have a wonderful career here in the USA, as well as her British one. She was so sweet to Susan at the beginning when others were making fun of her and she has been so gracious about being the “guest” and giving Susan her “star” time. They both just sparkle together and sound wonderful. I am so hoping they do an album together and bet they will as the producers will not let
this
money maker slide through their hands.’

Would Susan be responsible for giving Elaine Paige’s career a boost in the United States? What a turnaround that would be.

Susan couldn’t resist having a little fun while filming the show. She also performed ‘Who I Was Born To Be’, but alarmed production staff when she did a little dance during a piano solo, possibly as a way of releasing the tension she was feeling. The programme was, naturally, presented by Piers Morgan, and there was a highly emotional moment when he presented her with a gold disc and Susan broke down in tears. ‘It feels bloody fantastic,’ she said. ‘I think my mum would be proud. She was quite a lady, y’know.’