As predicted, singing sensation Susan Boyle has been touched up–hair dyed and restyled, eyebrows plucked. According to the Associated Press article I read, fashion experts say she has taken years off her looks. Enough fuss has been made over what’s the right thing to do that she might stop there, but will she? Should she? Will letting her hair grow, her weight drop, and her non-existent wardrobe blossom turn people off?
Personally, I think not. With our global focus on beauty, I have a hunch that most people will be pleased that she has been given a chance to have an overhaul, considering it part of her success story. What woman doesn’t want to look the best she can, short of surgery and starving herself? How can she remain a common villager now that she has been discovered?
First impressions are important, and tend to be visual. We were stunned by the voice that came from an unmarked box, but now that we know what’s inside, we expect some gift wrapping to match it.
A number of bloggers have complained that the world should not have marveled at the sweet voice streaming from Susan Boyle simply because she didn’t look the part. Yes, it’s unfair, but people also responded the way they did because of her age. “Where has she been all these years, her talent going to waste?” At last, she has been discovered.
And what if she was an unattractive 15 year-old girl? People would have cheered in response to someone so young singing so well. Her looks would have meant less.
And if she where an unattractive 25 year-old? My guess is the public reaction would have been far less exuberant.
Susan Boyle, the Plain Jane singer whose appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent” has been see on YouTube by 11 million people, is like many of the people I have interviewed for my book-in-progress, “Facing the World.” She discovered what she was good at, and found a way to be recongized for it. Not everyone has her level of talent, but everyone has a skill or ability that they can build upon.
Susan Boyle is a sensation because she is a frumpy small-town lady who doesn’t look the part. If you saw her on The Early Show April 16, she also lacks poise and on-air presence. That’s no surprise, and adds to the good-for-her excitement surrounding her discovery. Now, get ready for the makeover. Her hair will be fixed, she will lose weight, be given media training, and will develop more confidence as her career develops. That’s Show Biz, and that’s okay, but the mystique will be gone, unless her future promoters will not let the public forget her humble beginnngs.
Does anyone remember nervous Paul Potts, who looked like he would pee in his pants before he belted out opera on “Britain’s Got Talent”? I thought his voice and his story was even better. He didn’t get the hype he deserved, and that taught someone not to miss an opportunity to promote Susan Boyle’s uplifting story.
