Susan Boyle (8 page)

Her previous shyness only served to highlight how far Susan had come. If it was still there - and it was - she was hiding it well: for all the strain of being under constant surveillance, there were still plenty of cheery waves to photographers, journalists, passers-by and well-wishers. Perhaps twenty-five years previously Susan had hoped that someone would see her performance at Motherwell FC’s Fir Park Social Club and make her a star: she’d certainly had to wait a long time to be recognized since then. Nor was the wait over, for Susan had still not been allowed to sing publicly since her first audition, and many surrounding her feared that if she wasn’t allowed to do something soon she’d miss her chance.

Susan proved more patient and sensible, though, biding her time, and eventually Cowell relented and gave an interview in which he admitted how extraordinary the SuBo phenomenon was: ‘It’s early days, but Susan could become the biggest star I’ve ever discovered,’ he told the
Daily Record
. ‘She’s got a real shot this year of doing something phenomenal for herself, probably more than she realizes. I think every record label in the world would want to sign Susan right now. She is in a fantastic position.’ She just had to be patient.

Cowell had been in the music business for a long time, but even he was taken aback by the scale of Susan’s popularity. ‘I have never seen anything like it in my life,’ he said. ‘Susan is the biggest entertainment story this year. It has dominated the news for weeks and never gone off the radar. It’s the biggest phenomenon I’ve ever seen out of any of my shows. I’ve never seen anything travel so quickly, particularly what happened on the internet. She’s got the world at her feet right now - but there’s no need to panic. I read about her family saying they want to capitalize on this, and right now I think that would be a huge mistake. The offers she is getting from people won’t go away. There’s going to be as much support for Susan in one year’s time or two years’ time. I had a very similar situation with Paul Potts, where people were asking should he capitalize on his fame, but I said, “No, this is just part of the process.” He went on with the rest of the competition, he was treated fairly, he won and sold five million records.’

It was sound advice from a man who had been there, done that and got the T-shirt. Simon was able to keep an eye on the bigger picture, so much so that he could envisage a future that even Susan couldn’t imagine for herself.

‘Susan is representing Scotland in a huge talent competition,’ he said. ‘Dropping out would be like Scotland being in the World Cup and saying just before the final, “You know what? I don’t think we’ll enter.” Broadway and Hollywood are possibilities for Susan, but it’s one step at a time at the moment. We have to take it a week at a time, and if she achieves what I think she can, then it’s going to be an incredible end for her in
Britain’s Got Talent
. That opportunity shouldn’t be taken away from her now.’

Simon Cowell is not a man known for apologizing, but he did now: ‘I would love to sit her down for five minutes and say, “Susan, you proved a point, you turned us around in five seconds, I apologize we ever doubted you,”’ he went on. ‘“We are supporting you, we want you to do well and we’re going to be there for you.” The second Susan walked on, I think the audience smelled blood. I think they thought it was probably going to last about five seconds because she looked nervous, she had a funny walk and she was finding it difficult to answer my questions. And there was no doubt we all thought this was probably going to be an audition that lasts about five seconds. Then of course she started singing. I don’t think we’ve ever been shut up so quickly in our lives. The way she affected the audience was astonishing. One minute they were about to boo her, and the next she’s got them in the palm of her hand. Right now she is one of the most famous people in the world. If nothing else happens, she has acceptance and, for whatever reason, I don’t think she had that before.’

Cowell was spot on. Susan’s music had always been her salvation, and now it was leading her into a whole different world of opportunity. The young Susan on the video, with so much to look forward to, had lived a difficult life, but her talent had endured, and now it was bringing her acceptance. Whatever life had in store for her, she would always have that astonishing audition and the respect she’d garnered that day.

In the meantime,
Britain’s Got Talent
continued to motor on. Cowell has a genius for publicity - something no one can doubt - and when a promising contestant didn’t have a suitable back story, he managed to pull one out of a hat by creating an on-air feud.

The latest contestant to get through to the semi-final was Sue Son, a violinist from London, but for Sue, things hadn’t quite gone according to plan. She’d come on the show as one half of a classical duo called Addicted, with her friend Janine Khalil. In a stroke of Mephistophelean brilliance, Simon suggested that Sue split from Janine and strike out on her own, which Sue, of course, did. Jealousy and accusations of betrayal followed - and all on national television. Initially Janine said that she would have done the same, but then she appeared to change her mind.

‘I thought everything was fine,’ said Sue somewhat naively. ‘Later she admitted she was devastated. She didn’t want me to do the show. I thought she would be a true friend and support me but she’s been ignoring my calls and has blocked me on Facebook. She even called my mum the other day in Korea at 3a.m., telling her I’d betrayed her. I can’t believe she would do that - contacting my mum at three in the morning talking about how I’d betrayed her. It’s awful.’ But it certainly made good TV.

Meanwhile it was suggested that Susan should become the face of a cosmetics company - she’d certainly made a dramatic change in her appearance - or make an appearance on
I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!
, also presented by Ant and Dec. In truth, for a woman like Susan, there could hardly have been a less suitable show, but no one seemed to have realized that yet.

The next contestant to get through was Jamie Pugh. He had a very sad story to tell as his wife had died of cancer ten years earlier. But to his great credit he didn’t make a song and dance about it, confining himself to talking about his nerves instead.

Someone else who was taking a keen interest in the show was one of the very few people who might have understood how Susan was feeling - Paul Potts - although even he hadn’t come under such intensive scrutiny. As the very first winner of
Britain’s Got Talent
, Potts was a similarly unlikely artist, with an equally unconventional appearance, although because he was a man it seemed to matter less and cause less comment in the media. Nor did he have to put up with the male equivalent of the ‘virgin spinster’ tag that had been firmly attached to Susan. He had, however, been thrown from a life of quiet obscurity into the media limelight, and more to the point, he had built a lasting career on the back of it.

Potts was quick to offer Susan his support: ‘I think she’s great, I think she’s in with a great chance,’ he said. ‘But there are a number of people who also stand a chance and I’m conscious of the fact that the set-up is slightly different this year. She did week one and has got a lot more pressure on her. I wish her well. I think she’s done really well and she’s coped with the media attention. I don’t know how I would have coped with suddenly finding photographers on my doorstep.’ He was also conscious of the commercial possibilities of working together: ‘I’d be looking at a duet in the future,’ he continued. ‘But it’s early days yet. I wouldn’t want to add any more pressure than she has already. She’s taking every new day as it comes. She has to enjoy it as much as possible and not think about the pressure of her next performance, because that will be different.’

In truth, Susan was thinking of little else apart from her next performance. She had been spotted with a list of songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber in her hand, leading to intense speculation about what she would perform next, a crucial decision if she were to prove she wasn’t a one-trick pony. All this time the stage of
Britain’s Got Talent
was filling up with children, and one night in mid-May there were no fewer than six acts on stage featuring youngsters. They had the benefit of the cuteness factor, and Amanda energetically leaping to her feet to applaud as often as she could, but despite this, none of them created as memorable a moment as Susan had.

The semi-final was drawing near now, putting Susan under even greater pressure, and although there were to be some much publicized quivers, Susan was showing every sign of being able to square up to her new life.

The measure of her celebrity became clear when she was invited to appear on the queen of all chat shows,
The Oprah Winfrey Show
. Susan’s neighbours in Blackburn had become accustomed to seeing television crews camped on her lawn, but this was the big one. The team from
Oprah
duly arrived and set up
chez
Susan, where she started off by giving them a tour of her house - an extremely modest affair in global celebrity standards.

In many ways it was a clever move, for Susan had had little direct contact with the public since becoming an overnight star, and while her appearance on
Oprah
didn’t allow her to sing, it did mean she could comment on all the stories that had been flying around.

Her appearance had required permission from the
Britain’s Got Talent
team, however, and they had specified that Team Oprah must visit Susan rather than Susan flying to them, since they did not want it to look as though Susan was receiving special treatment. Her appearance did go some way towards deflecting criticism that they were allowing Susan to remain in limbo for so long - a globally recognized singer who wasn’t allowed to sing.

The first issue Oprah tackled was the makeover nonsense, which had attracted such criticism from some quarters, as if a woman shouldn’t be allowed to make the best of what she had. Given the jibes she’d endured after her first appearance, Susan wouldn’t be human if she hadn’t wanted to smarten up. ‘That was just to tidy myself up like any other female would have done,’ she explained. ‘Depends what you mean by a makeover. I mean, my best friend actually helps me with my make-up. I mean, that’s hardly a makeover.’

Sounding friendly and modest, Susan explained that she was by no means certain she’d win the competition, and that she wasn’t lonely at all, given that she had millions of new friends. As for her newfound fame, she said, ‘I think change is very hard to get used to at first, but [I’m] really enjoying it, really enjoying every second of it. It’s like a dream come true.’ Given her Scottish accent, Susan was subtitled for the benefit of the American audience, which greeted her appearance rapturously. Although she still hadn’t been there, Susan had admirers aplenty over the pond.

Back in Blighty, Susan was getting ready for her next big appearance. The agonizing wait was very nearly over, and the semi-finals of
Britain’s Got Talent
were on the horizon. The change in the significance of her first and second appearance could not have been more momentous. While the first time round she had everything to play for, now she had everything to lose. And how on earth could she top that first appearance? Would Susan Boyle be able to pull off another electrifying performance?

The moment Susan and the rest of the world had been waiting for had very nearly arrived. She had made it through to the semi-finals of
Britain’s Got Talent
in its very first week, and now they were about to take place. The tension was mounting and the weight of expectation on Susan was very heavy indeed.

Piers Morgan couldn’t resist shoving his oar in, in the run-up to the big day. ‘After Susan auditioned for the show and said she’d never been kissed and never had a boyfriend, I did say that I would break her “kissing duck”,’ he said. ‘That offer still stands. I have not seen her since the auditions. So when we meet again, if Susan asks for a kiss, I’ll do it . . . on TV.’

Of course it would be on TV - where else? In the event, Susan was wise enough to decline his offer, but Piers had a serious point to make, as well. ‘Susan’s popularity is a double-edged sword,’ he continued. ‘If her fans think her winning the show is a foregone conclusion, they may not vote for her. Secondly, Susan must be under more pressure than anyone else. Some 200 million people have seen her sing “I Dreamed A Dream”. How can you top that?’

How indeed? The answer is you couldn’t, but that didn’t necessarily matter. What mattered was that Susan put in an absolutely top-class performance, and to make matters more stressful, this time it was going to be live.

Susan was the first to admit she was feeling the strain: ‘The largest audience I have performed to before this show was around 500 people in a local theatre for the Voluntary Arts Council in West Lothian,’ she told the
Daily Star
. ‘I never even thought I’d get past the judges. I can’t believe I am in the semi-finals and I’ve been overwhelmed by the public reaction to my performance. I will be very nervous but I am just going to go out there and do my best.’