Susan Boyle

I have to say I was disappointed. It seems every performance I’ve seen in the last while is exactly the same. They keep placing Susan on a platform like a statue. She keeps making the SAME physical movements with her arms and head when she sings this song. It just has to be scripted.

While I was watching I was looking very carefully at the setting around her. She could have easily started her song up on the platform, but then taken a handheld mike and stepped down off the platform (only 2 steps) and moved toward the audience and motioned to them. That would show her interacting with them in a very personal way. That’s what seems to be missing for me lately. Susan is not interacting in a personal and unique way with each new audience she sings to. She keeps doing exactly the same movements in front of a stationary mike.

Susan, I just want to see you break free. Motion to your audience. Lean out and draw them in. Bend your body and show some of your own unique liveliness in your performances. If your so-called professionals are telling you to keep doing it like this, tell them it’s just plain WRONG! That’s just not you! We want to see the real you out there.

I can certainly understand why “I Dreamed A Dream” is being sung over and over again. Everyone just wants to see Susan perform this winning song in real life. I just wish she would do something unique with each performance she gives, and make it her own. That’s what seems to be missing for me.

I just watched Susan’s performance on BGT again. I needed to refresh myself after just seeing this performance here. I very quickly saw what I have been missing. To begin with, she was holding a hand-held mike. She also moved around a bit on the stage. She motioned to her audience with her free hand while singing. She also showed emotional expression on her face (no wacky head movements). At the end of her song, she blew a kiss to the audience and they went wild. She also waved to the audience as she left the stage. No plastic face, no fancy “theatrical” clothing, no fancy hairdos, no makeup. Just pure Susan Boyle. I loved it just as much now as the first time I saw it. It’s still making me tear up.

Susan, THAT is what I’ve been missing; the REAL YOU!!!! I want you back. Please just drop the scripted movements with your head and arms. Just be yourself. You are a Catholic. Drop the excessively low front dresses. Please be your modest self in your clothing. Let us again see your sassiness in your eyes; that sparkle that seems to be missing. Keep blowing those kisses to your audiences and wave at them. Just be your REAL SELF!!!!! It’s the person inside you that we all love and miss so much. Please just let that shine through again.

To her crew, LEAVE HER BE!!!!! Stop telling her what to do and what not to do. All that does is cause confusion and inner conflict for Susan. Let her decide what she wants to wear, how she wants to do her hair, how she wants to move on the stage, how she wants to interact with her audience, where she wants to live, etc. Just let her be HERSELF!!!! It’s no wonder she seems to be having some emotional challenges. She’s been losing sight of who she really is. She’s a small town girl with a lot of sparkle and a deep love for her singing. That’s what we all fell in love with last year. That’s what REAL! Just please LEAVE HER BE!!!!

MERCI ELOISE:c’est tout avait mon avis.Mais je n’ecrit pas en Anglais SORRY. suzanne Belgique.

Marg1, after reading your eloquent response, I think we may agree more than we disagree.

I would never want to see Susan become one with those who are “cold, disconnected and very self-centered, focusing only on material things and the facades they put out, etc.” But I don’t worry about that, because I can’t even imagine her letting that happen.

And I absolutely agree with you that “professional” means “to be authentic…show your own unique personality…make eye contact with your audience and…make that personal connection with every single person in the audience.” You’ve precisely and perfectly captured what it is that makes a brilliant performer brilliant — and I agree that Susan has that capability.

I certainly don’t deny that Susan’s gestures and movements are automatic and scripted. But while I, too, hope to see more of the naturalness and personal connection you mention, I’m not willing to pass judgment on her or her team for what she’s doing now.

I do believe that Susan has much to do with the choices (or lack thereof) that she now makes onstage, and am willing to wait it out while she works out her performance skills for herself. To see her “come out on the stage, greet her audience, then connect with them, then sing to them personally” would indeed be wonderful. And perhaps as Susan’s confidence grows–together with her ability to control her nerves–we will one day see that.

I see nothing problematic with her decision to–in her words–”clean up a bit.” There’s nothing wrong with any professional, in the public eye or otherwise, wanting to look their best and to look their age (as opposed to older than their years, which, quite frankly, Susan did at her audition).

To me, that kind of “polish” is something that brings out the shine. It shouldn’t have to imply that the “before” lacked worth, or didn’t measure up. One polishes up an antique table before placing it into the shop window. The table wasn’t any less valuable before the polish; its fine qualities have simply been brought out.

I can say that I was happy to see the heavy-handed make-up of the BGT tour go away. Mostly what I see today is standard make-up for the cameras or stage lights that performers, male or female, need. As far as I can tell from videos and snapshots I’ve seen, Susan wears practically no make-up, if any, in her daily comings and goings. So I see no danger of her becoming “plastic” any time soon–and I’m grateful.

Asking anyone–especially someone whose life has so dramatically altered in the past 12 months–to stay the same is, I think, unfair to that person. It’s like telling her not to grow, not to experiment, not to take risks, not to spread her wings and fly.

It’s easy to believe that what we see right now doesn’t look much like growth or wing-spreading. But I think it is, in some ways that aren’t detectable to us, but also in ways that are.

For one thing–at least to my ears–I now hear a depth of tone, a use of “head voice,” and a range of subtleties that Susan did not yet have when she auditioned. And, while she’s not connecting with the audience as much, she is connecting with the lyrics much more. To me, at least for now, that’s a fair trade-off. Baby steps.

I am appreciating and enjoying this exchange, Marg1! It’s been very thought-provoking.

colette Well i agree she is feeling her way but as for the head movement if you watch the finals of BGT she did the same head movement she is doing now, I feel this is something she wents to do and if it were physical it would happen in the other song she signs. She only does it in IDADno other song and i have watched the video over a hundred times.

Yes, I remember that Susan started that head shake in the BGT final (and then the camera cuts to Holden’s reaction, my interpretation of which is that she’s holding back a smile at it).

I’ve noticed she’s experimented with that head movement in various places in the tune, I think to project anguish or regret — and I, too, think it doesn’t really work for her.

I would imagine that Yvie Burnett, her coach, has made various suggestions to try this or that, and that’s what Susan is doing. I hope that Susan reaches a stage when she can just listen and respond to her own instincts when it comes to stage movement, though.

I still think Susan looked most relaxed in her duet with Elaine Paige. Some of that had to do with the fact that she was holding the mic, but she was also responding to Ms. Paige’s presence and energy.

After reading all of your comments, I have to believe that we all care very much for Susan?s well-being and success in her singing career. We just seem to see some things differently, which may be a good thing.

Eloise, I?m glad to know that you don?t want to see Susan become one of those ?cold, disconnected and very self-centered, focusing only on material things and the facades they put out, etc.?. You state you can?t imagine her letting that happen. I can imagine her letting that happen; not out of her will, but due to her innocence and naivete. Susan has not had a lot of experience with the moguls that make up the entertainment industry. They can be vipers and totally destroy a person without them even seeing it coming. Look at so many actors who went to Hollywood with stars in their eyes and then became so ruined to the point where they committed suicide. These things do definitely happen. I don?t want it to happen to Susan. It?s very important that she remains grounded in her own identity and roots for that very reason. The media has been reporting comments about her emotional instability. I don?t know how much of this is true, but if even a bit of it is true, she may already be suffering from some inner conflict that she really doesn?t need.

I?m glad we agree on what the word ?professional? means. I wasn?t certain we did agree before. I have no doubt that Susan has the capability to ?wow? her audience and make the personal connection with them that I commented on above. We?ve already seen her do that at Rockefeller Square in New York. That was one of my favorite performances to watch. Susan seemed very relaxed and happy. She was clearly enjoying herself. She just ?glowed? from her joy in being there that day. She sang several songs and the audience was very expressively emotional in reaction to her performance. Someone mentioned somewhere that one of her managers took her red scarf away from her due to her fidgeting with it. That was ridiculous!!!! If she was indeed fidgeting with it, I certainly never took notice of it. I was totally absorbed in her ability to share her real self with everyone. That clearly shows that her managers don?t know everything. So what if she?s fidgeting with her scarf. Maybe that?s something she just likes to do. They need to just let it go.

I still think Susan?s gestures and movements are scripted. They may have been partially designed by her (someone mentions above that she did same sharp head movement during her final performance for BGT). I don?t see it as a ?physical? thing though as that commentator mentioned. It may be Susan?s why of trying to express her emotions, which the lyrics of that song portray. However, my concern is that if her managers are not able to see how this is just not coming across very well, then they are not doing their jobs very well. Her arm movements also still seem scripted to me since she does the exact same things (almost like flailing) during the same parts of the song. This, in my opinion, does not come across very well either. It just seems rather strange and inappropriate to me. If her managers don?t see that as well, then I surely question their judgement.

So, yes, Susan may have something to do with the choices regarding her movements, etc. on stage. But we just have no way of knowing that for sure. All we can do is observe what we see. It?s what I?m seeing that is concerning me. I love to hear Susan sing. Her voice is angelic. She clearly has full command of her head and chest voice and also makes very smooth transitions through her registers. She clearly knows how to sing professionally. I?ve never doubted that. She just doesn?t have a lot of experience with performing on a stage before an audience. Some of what we are seeing may be due to a lack of confidence, some may be due to a lack of experience. Which ever it is, this is where her managers need to guide her more effectively. I just don?t see evidence of that at this point.

As to Susan needing ?polish? I guess we looked at the meaning of the word ?polish? a bit differently. I think of old silverware for one example. It looks old and tarnished and dirty. It doesn?t look like much in that state. Then look at an old pair of shoes. They look worn, rough, creased and dull. When I saw Susan the first time I didn?t think of those kinds of things. I didn?t see her as needing to be polished up. I saw an authentic middle-aged woman with a powerfully beautiful voice. A woman who was not vain, or concerned about material things, but a woman who just loved to sing and wanted to do that for a profession. She really knocked all materialism on its ear that night, and I was exceptionally proud of her for doing just that. Yes, she can grow, but in confidence, self-assuredness, and esteem. She doesn?t need fancy clothes, etc. to do that. She doesn?t need to color her hair to do that. I thought her hair looked just fine during her first audition on BGT. The thing that really struck me that night that?s been missing since was her sparkle in her eyes. She just ?shone? through her eyes. That?s gone now. Yes, she can grow to where she needs to be, but not at the expense of her true identity. Susan has been known to be frugal and simple in the way she conducts her life. Those are admirable traits. I don?t want to see her lose them just to please a materialistic world. It will only ultimately rob her of her joy in singing.

Yes, her life has been dramatically altered in the last year. She?s been swarmed by paparazzi and not been allowed to have her privacy and just be herself. I just don?t think Susan cares for that. I sense she truly values her privacy. Having to suddenly put up with intrusion into her personal life must be more than a little overwhelming for her. So, yes, she does need security around her that is effective. She also suffered a lot of emotional abuse when she was a child and some of these paparazzi are just trying to push her buttons. That needs to be dealt with. I?m hoping that Susan will ultimately reach a level of self-esteem and confidence that she will be able to just flick that sick nonsense off her shoulder. She also needs people around her who won?t try to change her into something she never wanted to be. Those people need to have enough authentic compassion for Susan (the real person) to know where to draw the line. I?m just not sure the moguls in the record company are able to do that. They usually have their focus on their own success, not on the personal needs of their subjects. Just look at Judy Garland for example. Anyone who knows her story knows very well how the idiots in the entertainment industry utterly destroyed her. She also had a powerful voice. They knew it and used it for their own gain. They didn?t like her full figure, so they tried to slim her down by putting her on drugs. That was the beginning of her addiction to drugs, and her loss of her sense of self. THAT is what I don?t want to see happen to Susan.

As for her depth of tone, and use of ?head voice? she had all of that during her first audition. Anyone who has had professional voice training can tell you that. I truly believe she chose to belt it out that night to make a point to the judges and those in the audience who were harshly judging her. I?ve never doubted her expertise with her ?head voice? and other singing techniques. You stated it was a ?fair trade-off? for Susan to not be connecting with her audience, but with her ?lyrics?, etc. I don?t agree with that statement. I believe her ability to connect with her audience is the vital key to her success. Everyone who wants to see Susan sing live really wants to connect with her. They can listen to the lyrics at home any time, but to see her live is to connect with her as a real person. The stiffness she?s been exhibiting on the platform, the head and arm movements, the lack of facial expression during her singing, etc. are all inhibiting that from happening. I personally find the head and arm movements very distracting. I also find her very stiff in facial expression and body position. She seems subdued to me. I don?t know if this is due to nerves or not. I just have a sense that if they would let her hold the mike in her hand, move around a bit and get off that little platform, then she might be able to relax a bit and be more herself.

Nanny1, I?m not convinced Susan?s head movement is a ?physical? thing. It may be her way of expressing herself, but she needs to be counseled that it?s not effective, but instead very distracting to keep doing that same thing every time she sings that song.

Quew, yes she has sung this song so many times, and yes, many of us are tired of hearing it, but I strongly suspect she may be receiving requests from her invitations to perform this song. It?s the song that the entire world fell in love with her singing. Many may just want to see her perform it live. I, too, hope we?ll start seeing more variety in her songs soon.

Eloise, I?m not sure if Yvie Burnett (her coach) is making these suggestions or not. None of us can really know that for sure. If she is coaching her to do these things, then she?s got it all wrong, and will only hurt Susan in the process. Yes, I would prefer to see Susan do her own instinctive motions on the stage. I, too, believed that Susan seemed the most relaxed with Elaine Paige. I?m not certain it was responding so much to Elaine?s energy so much, as to just having someone else on the stage that she could interact with. This allowed her to relax, walk out on the stage with a handheld mike, and then move around and motion to both Elaine and the audience. THAT is what I?ve been hoping to see ever since that performance. I also saw the same relaxed Susan when she sang at Rockefeller Square in New York. In that instance, she was interacting with her audience. She just needs to interact with her audience more and I?m convinced she will feel more herself.

I’ve been reading these comments with much interest and also much dismay. Susan performing in Germany was the best (in my opinion) she has ever done. She sang magnificantly and looked so very beautiful. Susan is on a learning curve here and every time she performs she is better than before. I think the head shake is acting the anger of Fantine in this song. I have never seen her do it in any other song. I don’t understand Marg1′s criticism of her gowns – too much skin, what nonsense. I am a Catholic and there is nothing in catholicism that I am aware of that you cannot show a little skin. I think Marg1 would like to put Susan up there dressed as a nun. Even nuns in this country don’t wear habits any longer. Don’t try and make Susan a saint, she is far from it. She is a normal woman who I don’t believe is running to Mass every day like she used to as that was all she had to do, nowadays she has many other things in her life. Look at pictures of her in Blackburn in the beginning and various other pictures (for instance in the recording studio), she often wore low cut blouses or t-shirts. Susan is a world star and she should dress accordingly. She is a beautiful woman and she should show that off not hide it. She never had the means to look after herself before, hair, skin, etc. Compared to other stars out there Susan dresses very modestly. I just get so tired of the constant criticism of Susan. If you can’t support her and love her as millions of us do why can’t you just keep quiet.

Marg1, to clarify, I didn’t mean that I felt the lack of connection with the audience was a fair trade-off permanently — just for the moment. I want to believe she’s focusing on other things right now, like her connection to the lyrics (which has vastly improved). But certainly my hope is that she will soon turn her attention to other aspects of her performance, such as audience connection and movement.

Re: the “polish” discussion, like it or not, accept it or not, our culture (on both sides of the pond) is such that appearance matters, especially in the entertainment industry. Susan looked just fine as a “wee wifey” as long as she was one, saw herself that way, and was content to remain one. Once she started wanting more for herself (“I want to be a professional singer,” she told the world) she wanted to look the part.

Susan’s gone through many different looks, some clearly her own choice, some clearly not. Not all of those have been successful, including wardrobe (I think v-neck is much more flattering). Polished but natural is the look that seems to work best for her. I’d like to think that she now has more say in the way her hair and make-up are done onstage.

I think it may be dangerous for us all (myself included) to indulge too much in speculation — we really can’t know what’s happening with Susan’s level of confidence, security, and comfort. We can’t know how much (or how little) her performance anxiety is a factor governing her onstage presence. We can’t know how much (or how little) Susan is depending on others’ advice with respect to that.

I have to say, from day one I have been a worrier where Susan is concerned. I still worry — as do most of those who have contributed to this discussion — about the extent to which Susan may be manipulated by others, about the judgment of those who are advising her, about the self-interest and egos that are at play, about the dragon pit that is the music industry.

I’m trying to be less of a worrier and more of an optimistic truster when it comes to Susan’s career longevity and stability. But those of you who have read my “multiple choice quiz” at http://susanboylefanclub-usa.blogspot.com/ know that I think Susan might be in a very precarious spot. I do believe that this is going to influence her decision-making, her suggestibility, and her vulnerability. I want to hope — I want to believe — that smart heads and caring hearts will prevail.

NOTICE: Susan Boyle’s birthday is April 1st! All you loving and loyal fans of Susan can send her a gift on this very special day. Go out and buy another Susan Boyle CD on that day in her honor, giving you a spare when your first CD wears out. A very Happy Birthday to a very special lady – Susan Boyle.