Why is the video of the singer Susan Boyle an Internet phenomenon?
“Have you ever heard of a singer named Susan Boyle?” asked my husband. When he replied in the negative, he replied, “You will.” He asked me to come see the video of Susan Boyle singing on Britain’s Got Talent and, as expected, I was stunned.
I was stunned for the same reason the talent show judges were shocked, for the same reason the audience was shocked, for the same reason internet viewers were shocked, and for the same reason why which bloggers were surprised. None of us expected this magnificent voice to come from a (sorry to use the word) scruffy unemployed 47-year-old woman who will soon be 48.
Susan Boyle’s song choice, I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, was brilliant. Her song exemplified her lifelong dream of becoming a professional singer. This choice also showcased her incredible range of voice. I have watched the video 15 times and each time I notice a different nuance. Look closely at Susan’s face just before she begins to sing and you’ll see a fleeting smile, a smile that says “I have something special to share with you.”
His rendition of the song is “grabbing”, to say the least. But I think there is more to this story. I think Susan Boyle exemplifies hope: hope for the person who has lost her job, hope for someone going through a divorce, hope for caregivers facing overwhelming tasks, hope for parents who dream of their children. Daniel Goleman writes about hope in “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.”
Goleman sees hope as a motivator. “From an emotional intelligence perspective,” he writes, “hopefulness means that one will not give in to overwhelming anxiety, a defeatist attitude, or depression in the face of difficult challenges or setbacks.” Susan Boyle said that she applied to the talent show hoping to become a professional singer. While I can’t speak for the judges on the show, I think they sensed hope from Susan’s song.
As the camera pans across the faces of the audience members, you see wonder on their faces and, it seems to me, you also see hope. Judith Viorst writes about hope in “Necessary Losses.” As Viorst points out, people with all sorts of fatal ailments “cling to hope.” We cling to hope when loved ones die, Viorst continues, and when we ourselves are terminally ill. I searched for hope after four loved ones died in the span of nine months. Fortunately, I found hope again. Because I found hope, I cried when I heard Susan Boyle sing.
Bloggers have also cried and I believe that behind these tears there is hope. We all have dreams that we dream. Susan Boyle was living the dream of her like blood. Maybe she sang for all our unrealized dreams, dreams we’ve worked for, waited for, and hoped to come true. I am grateful to Susan Boyle for sharing her voice, her dream, and herself with the world.
Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson