Susan Boyle

Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle was dragged into the X Factor Auto-Tune row today when it was revealed that the Scottish singer’s first appearance was digitally tweaked.

The X Factor this week admitted using technology to smooth out faults in contestants’ singing during the audition stages. Today the Standard learned that the same techniques are used on Simon Cowell’s other reality show, Britain’s Got Talent.

A show insider said: “The exact same techniques are used on Britain’s Got Talent as on The X Factor — it’s the same production team. The sounds are cleaned up — it’s an open secret and an industry standard.

“This goes for everyone — even Susan Boyle’s audition was smoothed out in post-production to give it the best possible sound.”

Boyle’s audition was seen by more than 120 million people on YouTube and helped make her a global star. A spokeswoman for Talkback Thames, producer of both shows, said: “In line with standard television practice, sound filtering technology has been used on Britain’s Got Talent on our pre-recorded shows, but this does not unfairly reflect any singer’s performance.

“The performance shown on screen is a fair reflection of performance given in the live theatre. Judges make their decision based on that live performance.”

Simon Cowell’s ITV show The X Factor recently started a row when it admitted to using auto-tuning technology to cover up faults in auditionees’ voices on its show. A source said to UK newspaper Evening Standard: The exact same techniques are used on Britain’s Got Talent as on The X Factor – it’s the same production team. The sounds are cleaned up – it’s an open secret and an industry standard.

“This goes for everyone – even Susan Boyle’s audition was smoothed out in post-production to give it the best possible sound.”

A spokeswoman for Talkback Thames, which produces both shows, added: “In line with standard television practice, sound filtering technology has been used on Britain’s Got Talent on our pre-recorded shows, but this does not unfairly reflect any singer’s performance. “The performance shown on screen is a fair reflection of performance given in the live theatre. Judges make their decision based on that live performance.”

‘The Boyle management sources last night confirmed Susan’s allowance is just £300 a week but said she could have more at any time if she wanted’.

The News Of The World does at least offer some perspective:

‘Global star Susan’s weekly allowance is Less than NHS hospital staff earn’.

When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad. We should probably be more worried about the low earnings of NHS staff than Susan Boyle – were it not for the massive gap between what Boyle has earned for everyone else, and what she’s been given. But do remember: the music industry does everything it does for the sake of the artists.

Boyle is not allowed to withdraw extra cash from the bank and she cannot even buy furniture for her new home. SuBo even cannot use a credit card; she is forced to shop for dresses at Tesco and travel by bus.

“When Susan realised she can’t just walk into a bank and take out her own money she had a fit because she thought she was down to her last few quid,” Susan’s brother Gerry Boyle said.

“Her millions are ring-fenced but Susan has no concept of money. She was extremely distressed. She lives in fear of losing everything and returning to her old life before she made it big,” he added.

All of the cash earned by the Scottish singer is locked away, invested by her paid professional management team – Andy Stephens, Ossie Killkenny and lawyer Kirsty Foy, one of Susan’s nieces. Although, Boyle has bought a 300,000-pound, five-bedroom house, she was not able to move in as she didn’t have the cash to furnish it.

“Susan said to me, ‘I’ve been told I get £300 a week because I”m a novice. I don”t have the money to go and buy the furniture,’” News Of The World quoted Gerry as saying.

The Boyle management sources said that her allowance is just 300 pounds a week but she could have more at any time if she wanted. They also said that they are trying to help Boyle furnish her new house and, quizzed on security.

There is something special about Susan Boyle’s rise to fame. It is the ‘under-dog’ making good that appeal to so many people around the world. She has fan clubs that sprung up in support of her immense talent and yes her personality.

This woman not only has a beautiful voice but she also has ‘grit’. Susan knew what she wanted all along and was determined to turn her dream into reality. That is exactly what she did and with a ‘bang’ it might be added. Her inspirational rags-to-riches tale is what legends are made of.

Susan Boyle knew that she wanted to sing and perform ever since she was a young girl. Sometimes though, life itself can get in the way of one completing one’s goal. Still Susan kept dreaming. Until one day her dreams started to take shape.

Miss Boyle never gave up on her life-long passion. You may ask just where these visions landed her. How about with a record deal and a debut album/cd that has broken world records for sales in only two weeks time on its onset.

She also has made numerous appearances on televisions shows other than the original talent contest. Miss Boyle has been featured on a special television broadcast entitled, ‘I Dreamed a Dream, The Susan Boyle Story’. She epitomizes what most of us strive for; complete dedication and determination to fulfill our destiny.

She never gave up, she never gave in. Susan has proved to us that Dreams really Can Come True. Just as they have for Susan Boyle. What lies in your future? Why not begin to manifest your own destiny starting with being grateful for inspirational real people like Miss Boyle.

Susan Boyle‘s search to find a singer for a song which will be included on her sophomore album The Gift is now over. Susan’s team are now working their way through the hundreds of submissions received from her official Youtube channel.

She looked at me with this cynical look of hers, like saying “Pa you are living behind the moon”, and replied “You have not heard of Susan Boyle? …Really? … O.k. She is a singer from the English TV realty show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. The show is similar to the Spanish equivalent ‘Operacion Triunfo’. She was the sensation!”   “And why that?” I replied. Again, she looked at me with this cynical expression, slightly shaking her head, about to continue, but then changed her mind and simply said. “That’s a surprise Pa. If you want to know more, then have a look on internet. It’s worthwhile!” 

Looking at her smiling face and knowing my teenager daughter, it was very clear that she would not tell mi a single word more about Susan Boyle’s “sensational” performance in the Britain’s Got Talent show.  I would have to research for myself. I asked her whether the “woman” on the TV had been Susan Boyle, and she nodded, confirming the “impossible”.

Now I was completely intrigued and headed directly to my PC. When I looked “Susan Boil” up in Yahoo there was nothing. I thought, “Well, Susan Boil can’t be that important if I can’t find her name in yahoo”.  Then I tried Google and got the hint “Did you mean ‘Susan Boyle’?”. Oooops! Google was right, and I am ignorant!  There were pages and pages of search results for Susan Boyle, including pictures of this “sensational” woman. Also the title of Susan’s new (debut) album, I Dreamed a Dream, was al over the place. An album that has not even been published! Dreamed a Dream, will be published officially on November 22nd.

One of the first entries was the YouTube video titled “Susan Boyle – Singer – Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)”. That lookes interesting, click and go…

The video loaded in high definition mode. The first images, Susan, sitting in the back, having a big bite into her sandwich, in a way that it seemed as if she wanted to eat it all in one go, including the tips of her fingers. Then a few backstage sequences of Susan with the final phrase “I’m gone a make that audience rock!” What a statement! This woman, “uglier” than I recalled, dressed according to the rest of her appearance, what would make her performance so “sensational”? Was this “show” of self esteeming just a bluff? Either Susan was totally “nuts”, or …I don’t know what to say….     

The following sequences are amazing; Susan walks onto the stage with all her pride and courage, exposing herself to the humiliation and desperation that will follow, without doubt. Asked about where she comes from gets stuck, but very naturally finds her way out; then, asked about her age, 47, shows a wonderful sense of humour with her peculiar “belly dance”. You can tell that she is enjoying her “Dream”! Susan Boyle has nothing to loose, and she is living this moment that will never come back.

Flashes of people’s faces and expressions, ranging from pain through amusement and laughing to incredibility make me feel glad for her that she is not able to see those expressions from her spot far up on the stage, against the blinding lights.  I would have run away, that’s for sure!

But Susan stays! No doubting seems to overcome our brave Susan Boyle. Asked about who she would like to be successful as, Susan, without shame, but rather convinced, names a famous star. No need to describe the expressions on the crowds faces.

Then Susan begins… singing her song, “I Dreamed a Dream”… Within seconds the whole atmosphere changes. Her voice seems to embrace all.  The peoples faces first freeze, but then quickly warm up and astounding and joy is everywhere. The audience is applauding enthusiastically, screaming and giving standing ovations. The crowd “rocks”! …Susan Boyle has fulfilled her Dream. Finished her song, she sends a kiss to her audience, turns around and is about to leave the stage (as if she did not want to spoil this memory of her dream), but the jury calls her back. Susan turns around and with firm steps takes her spot on the stage again, awaiting what is about to come.

No need to say that she had passed the exam with outstanding results.

Amanda defines very well the crowd, and myself. “I know that everybody was against you. We were all being very cynical, and this has been the biggest wakeup call ever…”

Simon describes Susan I with one clear phrase; “Susan, you are a little Tiger, aren’t you?” Yes! Susan Boyle is a Tiger, and not one of the small kinds. I am trying to imagine how much she had to fight against herself and all the odds, but Susan did not give up! She finally managed to live the dream she dreamed. 

Now, while I am writing this small article, I take a small break and watch Susan Boyle’s first performance again. The same happens to me as when I saw her yesterday. Tears are rolling down my chicks.

On Sunday, November 21, 2009, there were 77,023,361 views of Susan’s YouTube video “Susan Boyle – Singer – Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)”. How many tears and joy may this 7:07 minutes have given the world? How many talented people may there be out there that have not had the chance to live the dream they dreamed or did not even dare to dream?

So, …Why did Susan Boyle’s Album, I Dreamed a Dream, beat Amazon’s pre-ordered sales records?

I went to amazon.co.uk and found already 50 very positive reviews on Susan’s unpublished debut Album; I then listened to the trailers of the 12 songs onthe Album titled,… guess what!… “I Dreamed a Dream”.  The reviews were very positive and I like a lot the songs, but nothing convinced me more than the moment I enjoyed together with Susan, when she lived her Dream.

Today, I am curious to see how many albums of Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” are still available on Amazon. I first go to Amazon.co.uk and, no surprise, only 6 CD’s left. I then go to Amazon.com and find another 13 Albums. My wife calls me for lunch, and I return an hour later. Now all “I Dreamed a Dream” CD’s are gone! I missed my chance . This would have been a wonderful gift for my wife (and myself ). 

I will have to wait until Susan Boyle’s Album is on stock again. But there is a handy website that will alert me immediately for any product on Amazon when it returns into stock again.  

Columbia spokeswoman Fran DeFeo confirms that Boyle is “recording a new album to come out later this year,” but doesn’t have any details on the nature of that recording.

What details are there to reveal? I mean, there are only so many Christmas songs out there.  I assume Oh Holy Night will be on there…belt belt belt those notes! -

“There are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t have the confidence or perhaps the means to enter a big competition like Britain’s Got Talent. So this might be a lot less daunting for some people as they can record the song in the privacy of their own home,” Boyle says. “I’m hoping that people who have always wanted to sing will give it a try. I wish you all good luck”.

Boyle was sent a 4-million-pound birthday present by Simon Cowell, her first royalties cheque of her debut album, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. Simon Cowell’s company, Syco, released Susan’s record-breaking album, which became the fastest selling album in British history, with more than 3.1 million copies being sold in the first month. Boyle was the runner-up of the show. The Scottish singer who wowed the entire world, rose to fame on the TV’s Britain’s Got Talent show, when she sang the soul stirring ‘I Dreamed a Dream’.

Gone is the appearance of a dowdy dressed, frizzy haired unknown, from West Lothian, in Scotland. Boyle has climbed from strength to strength. In January 2010 Boyle raise money for women who were victims of the Haiti earthquake, when she sang on a Danish relief show, ‘The Denmark Collection’, at the Tivoli Concert Hall, in Copenhagen.

Boyle has made numerous guest appearances around the world, since her debut on Britain’s Got Talent, including singing at the Sanremo song festival, Italy and with the Yamiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Japan. Boyle celebrated her 49th birthday with her fans, While in Japan, where she hosted a lavish celebration. Boyle suddenly cancelled her Australian tour, where she was to sing at the Logies, claiming she had to get rested in order to cut her second album.

Boyle is currently taking legal action against her two brothers, for breach of privacy, following an interview. Brothers John 59 and Gerry, 55, supposedly told a magazine about her career. The brothers told the mag that the family is increasingly being ‘frozen out’ of the church volunteer’s life. They also commented on her cancelled Australian tour and reportedly weird behavior. The interview is reported as having deeply offended the feelings of the singer.

Boyle is said to be fed up with the constant invasion into her personal life. She was admitted to hospital, suffering from stress after Britain’s Got Talent. Following a recent show in New York, she broke into tears and angrily hit out at the reports of the show.