Did anybody get SUSAN BOYLE for Christmas?

[Lance]

Believe-it-or-not, there were some on my gift list who were anticipating they would get a copy from yours truly!

[jbuck919]

Nay, ner none o' her CDs neither.

[Lance]

I figured YOU would jump on that ... er, a ... I mean not getting her CDs ... of course!

Nay, ner none o' her CDs neither.

[Seán]

Ugh, no thanks!

[Lance]

Bbbbut Seán, you don't know what you're missing!

Ugh, no thanks!

[Harold Tucker]

I had already reached my quota of recordings of "Daydream Believer". Sorry, Susan.

[scytheavatar]

Bbbbut Seán, you don't know what you're missing!

Ugh, no thanks!

Please tell us, what are we missing? My impression from her run in Britain's Got Talent is that she's not a bad singer but nothing special either. If not for the fact that she's ugly I doubt anyone would have cared about her.

[Lance]

I suppose there IS quite a lot of sentimentality for most of us in seeing someone who barely stands a chance of having such instant fame. Susan is what she is, and when she started, she gave quite a different impression appearance-wise of what should COULD be. Obviously, with her hair coloured and coiffed, make-up, more refined clothing and jewelry, the transition is quite remarkable. But what she does have is a voice that is expressive and convincing, and rather unique. It just does my heart good to see someone who had such a sheltered life be given a chance to be more - and it certainly helps that she has a natural gift of a voice that, with training, could even be much more than it is. Somehow, "ugly" doesn't fit into my description of any person since each of us is what we are through no fault of our own. The other thing Susan has is plenty of personality. I just hope that she may do more with her voice, have a few more CDs, and possibly get into some classical music ... songs or opera arias. With proper training, we may all be surprised. [After all, Barbra Streisand did it!]

I am reminded of the young Kiri Te Kanawa. If you see really youthful pictures of Kiri (at her wedding for example), she was NOT the beauty then that she became at the height of her career. And I met and talked with Kiri after a recital in Ithaca, New York. She was startlingly drop-dead gorgeous—with a voice to match. Of course, Kiri also had a beautifully trained voice. This is not to compare the voices of Kiri and Susan, but their outward appearance at the beginning of their careers. Kiri, of course, was blessed with more to “work with.”

It seems the Americans have taken Susan Boyle to their hearts more than the Brits, something I don't quite understand.

[Seán]

Bbbbut Seán, you don't know what you're missing!

Ugh, no thanks!

Oh believe you me Lance I know full well what I am not missing. In Ireland we have wall to wall pop, pop, pop assailing our senses on the airwaves, morning, noon and night. I live with a lovely wife and daughter who really like the stuff whilst I on the other hand.....

[Jared]

Oh believe you me Lance I know full well what I am not missing. In Ireland we have wall to wall pop, pop, pop assailing our senses on the airwaves, morning, noon and night. I live with a lovely wife and daughter who really like the stuff whilst I on the other hand.....

I think Sean's righteous indignation is aimed more at the prevailing cult of 15 mins of fame celebrity which the dreadful 'X Factor' has tapped into. Over the past 4 or 5 years, the UK and Ireland have been saturated through just about every media outlet with its dummed down schmulz... with this, I am entirely with him.

I believe the genuine anger and frustration he feels over this is simliar to that whuich I experienced yatsrday, when I chanced upon the beginning of a concert on BBC2 from the 2009 Proms season, only to find that it was a reshowing of the MGM Musical 'spectacular' which graced our TV screens in the summer. I was extremely disappointed to say the least....

No, I personally wish Susan Boyle every success and happiness; she has had a difficult life, and if anyone deserves for something to go well for them, it is her. That said, I for one won't be purchasing any of her albums, and if I read Sean correctly, I don't think he will be doing so, either..

[Ken]

Yep!
























... That is to say, I'm sure somebody out there got Susan Boyle for Christmas!

[Donaldopato]

I gave Susan Boyle to my sister, because she asked for it. She likes Josh Groban too, so what would you expect?

[Wallingford]

BELIEVE ME, Lance.....I could forget entirely about Ms. Boyle this holiday season. As for recorded music, I'd easily have gone for replacement copies of Paul Simon's One Trick Pony, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Hearts And Bones--the LP copies of which I was forced to leave upon moving out of the apartment.