She certainly needed something, because the hype was only getting bigger, and at long last, on 24 May, Susan became one of eight acts - there were forty in total - to appear on the first night of the semi-finals. There had been growing reports about backstage nerves, but her performance that night was an utter and absolute triumph.
When the show began, there were clips of Susan’s triumphant audition, interspersed with interviews with Susan and some of the leading players in the drama. Susan was pictured looking dreamily out across the Scottish countryside, and what she had to say about herself was in many ways heartbreaking.
‘All my life I’ve had to prove myself, that I can be accepted and that I’m not the worthless person people think I am, that I do have something to offer,’ she said, and there was certainly proof of that now. Quite what this meant to her and how much she’d wanted this opportunity - and why - was only too apparent. Many people had thought she had nothing to contribute, but she did, and it wasn’t just her magnificent voice either. Susan’s kindness and modesty could not have been more apparent: this was a woman who had spent her life in the service of others, and she had a lot to give, all right.
Next Amanda came on. ‘This one little woman, from a tiny village in Scotland, has got the whole world talking about her,’ she said, and to prove it, news clips were shown from all around the world, lauding Susan. ‘I don’t think she’s really got a clue as to the impact she’s made,’ said Cowell.
Then there was the question of the internet sensation she’d caused, something that was as big a shock to Susan as anyone else. Indeed, she hadn’t really known anything about it, still less how it could play a part in creating a global sensation.
‘YouTube was pretty new to me,’ said Susan. ‘The only tube I knew was a tube of Smarties.’ From such a sheltered background as hers, should this be any surprise?
Susan’s mentors knew exactly what was at stake, though. ‘The whole world is watching Susan Boyle perform tonight,’ said Simon. ‘I wouldn’t want to be standing where she is right now.’
The screen flashed back to Susan. ‘Britain’s Got Talent is the chance to turn things around, to fulfill the dream,’ she said. ‘I just want that chance to perform in front of the Queen.’
At last it was time for her to take the stage. The scene switched to the auditorium, the three judges, the empty stage and the ebullient hosts, Ant and Dec, who were enjoying themselves as much as ever.
‘Here she is!’ cried Dec. ‘Please welcome . . . Susan Boyle!’
The mirrored doors at the back of the stage opened and out she came, almost unrecognizable from the Susan Boyle we’d met only six weeks earlier. Here was a middle-aged version of the pretty young girl who had sung ‘The Way We Were’ twenty-five years ago. Her hair had been set in a pleasingly curly style and she was wearing a bronze dress made especially for her. Her face was fully made up, unlike the last time, when she hadn’t worn a spot of make-up. This Susan Boyle was a world-famous performer. Now she just had to give the performance of a lifetime.
Susan looked quite calm as she walked down to the edge of the stage, smiling broadly at the cheering crowd. The music began to swell in the background and it was indeed a song by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the deeply affecting ‘Memory’, which was taken to be a tribute to Susan’s moggy Pebbles since it was from the musical Cats.
When Susan began to sing, it seemed as though disaster had struck: she’d started off on the wrong note. Almost immediately, though, she corrected herself, her voice rising and growing stronger than ever above the wildly cheering crowd. She smiled at the audience as she sang, and during the pause in the middle of the song, before resuming again with an exceptionally powerful ‘Touch me . . .’ By now the audience was hollering and Simon, Amanda and Piers were on their feet. Susan had pulled it off.
Of course there was no longer the shock value of a slightly unkempt woman being revealed to have a beautiful voice, but there was also no doubt about her talent. That first performance had not been a one-off. Susan really was a major new talent who, if handled properly, could have a huge career ahead of her. This time there was no awkward attempt to shuffle off stage as soon as she was done; instead, Ant and Dec bounded up to her, telling her to get her breath back and relax. There was a brief interlude as they told viewers which number to call to vote Susan through to the final, before they got on with the bit everyone wanted to hear.
‘Susan, you’ve been waiting all day to do this,’ Dec began. ‘How does it feel?’
‘Fantastic,’ declared Susan emphatically. ‘Absolutely fantastic!’
‘Good girl!’ cried the boys. ‘Susan,’ continued Ant, ‘try to describe what the last few weeks have been like. One hundred million hits on YouTube, you’re in the papers, America - how’s it been?’
‘Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable,’ Susan replied.
‘Did it add to the pressure for tonight, though?’ asked Ant.
‘What pressure?’ asked Susan. ‘It was really good tonight. I really enjoyed myself tonight.’
This got a few more cries of ‘good girl’, before Dec asked if Susan had enjoyed every minute.
‘I’ve enjoyed every second,’ she said. ‘And I’d do it again.’ This elicited more cheers and whoops from the audience, but Susan could have read them the telephone book at that point and they’d have lapped it up. They loved her, and so did the world.
Next it was over to the judges.
‘Susan,’ Piers began. ‘I think you look absolutely beautiful tonight.’
‘Thank you very much,’ interjected Susan, blowing him a kiss.
‘And more importantly, I thought you sang beautifully as well. And the great thing about you, that we’ve all realized, was that when the world was going through a pretty tough time and was looking for a bit of hope and inspiration, along came Susan Boyle to provide it. And on behalf of the whole world, because they’re all watching you tonight, thank you, Susan.’ This elicited a roar of enthusiasm from the audience, applause and a storm of cheers. Susan beamed and bowed gracefully in return.
Now it was over to Amanda. ‘Susan,’ she began, ‘you’re turning into Eva Peron, it’s fantastic. And I am just so relieved that it went so fantastically well for you. I was biting all my acrylic nails off. You nailed that performance. I’m so proud of you and I’m proud that you represented Britain so brilliantly. Because Piers is right and the world is watching you. So well done and thank you.’
Susan thanked her in reply.
Simon began. ‘Well, Susie [sic], you are one special lady, I have to say,’ he said. ‘You really are. And you know what? I just want to apologize because of the way we treated you before you sang the first time. You’ve made me and everyone else look very stupid and I’m very happy for you and very proud of you.’
Susan lifted her eyebrows and shrugged, saying, ‘I know nothing,’ a few times. She had taken everything the judges and the world at large had thrown at her like a remarkably good sport.
Dec took over again. ‘Thank you very much indeed, judges,’ he said. ‘Susan, great comments. You must be over the moon.’
Susan nodded emphatically. ‘I’m very happy to be here. And thank you all for your support,’ she said, and with that she walked off, waving to the enthusiastic crowd.
Susan went through to the next round along with dance troupe Diversity. They had tied with Natalie Okri, so Simon had to use his casting vote, much to the chagrin of the audience. The other acts that weren’t successful that night were the violinist Sue Son; Darth Vader/Michael Jackson impersonator Darth Jackson; belly dancer Julia Naidenko; comedy dancing duo Faces of Disco; and street performer Nick Hell.
Once again, though, it had been Susan’s night.
The papers were full of praise the next day, with headlines such as ‘Sue Perb!’ and ‘Sue Perstar’. Simon Cowell was now talking seriously about making a film of her life and, whether she won Britain’s Got Talent or not, there was almost certainly going to be a CD. Nearly 14 m
illion viewers had tuned in to see the show and the biggest draw, without a doubt, had been Susan.
Susan herself was feeling fine, larking about and enjoying herself. In the aftermath of the show, she bumped into Piers and finally got that kiss: ‘I’ve been kissed now,’ she said impishly before laughing and running away.
‘It was very exciting,’ said a gallant Piers. ‘I felt very proud to be the man who did it, as I thought she looked absolutely beautiful on Sunday.’
And as for that initial bum note, there turned out to be a reason for it: Susan had been struggling with a cold. ‘It was a pretty rocky start to begin with because I sort of hit a croaky note,’ she explained afterwards. ‘That’s because I had a cold, but I said to myself, “I guess you’d better just pick yourself up and keep going,” so all I did was keep going after that and it got better.’
Now there was the final to look forward to.
‘I’m really looking forward to the final and to giving an improved act,’ Susan continued. ‘I really want to fulfill this dream and see it through to the end. I’m feeling really good. The audience reaction was really stunning and it feels really good to have fans all around the world. It’s overwhelming. It’s very hard to put into words.’
As the semi-finals went on, the next two to get through were Flawless and Shaun Smith, both of whom wowed the judges.
‘Earlier tonight on the TV news I said if Susan Boyle doesn’t win this contest I am a doughnut,’ said Piers. ‘I may have to consider the prospect of being a doughnut.’
They were then followed by the Greek dance duo Stavros Flatley and Shaheen Jafargholi.
Behind the scenes, there were indications that the strain was beginning to show on Susan. At this stage, the full extent of her learning difficulties hadn’t been made clear, so the public was startled by the erratic behaviour she suddenly began to display.
When she appeared on Britain’s Got More Talent, her answers to the questions put to her seemed disjointed and a little eccentric. When she was asked what she thought of a doll that was based on her, instead of answering, she put it beside her nose. Then there was an unfortunate incident at the Wembley Plaza hotel, where all the contestants were staying. A group of them were watching the semi-finals when Piers announced that Shaheen was producing ‘pound for pound the best singing performance in the semi-finals. ’ This was the very same Piers who Susan had admitted having a crush on and who had just boasted about giving Susan her first proper kiss. Susan appeared singularly unable to cope, and allegedly, according to onlookers (although Susan was to deny the incident took place), she gave the TV screen a two-fingered salute and shouted, ‘Fuck off,’ before walking out.
This was neither the language nor the behaviour the country expected of the prim and proper spinster, but it soon emerged that this was the way she used to react when confronted with the irritating juveniles who used to taunt her at home. It was a bit of a jolt to the national consciousness, not least because it was the first time the public realized that Susan’s problems might run a little deeper than simply never having been kissed and living alone.
It was also the first time Susan had experienced a celebrity ‘downer’. Although at times it seemed as though half of Hollywood’s A list were publicly backing her, there was the odd dissenting voice, such as Lily Allen’s when she tweeted that Susan was ‘overrated’.
‘I thought her timing was off on Sunday - no control, and I don’t think she has an amazing voice,’ Allen continued. ‘She can sing, but it’s not about talent with her, is it?’
This provoked an immediate row. The Secretary of State for Scotland, Jim Murphy, felt moved to criticize Lily, telling her he couldn’t have agreed less, while Ladbrokes announced that it expected Susan to garner more Number Ones than Lily.
Suddenly everything had stopped running as smoothly as it had been, and there were more problems to come. Craig Revel Horwood, a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, waded into the debate by saying that Susan was a ‘freak of nature’. The media printed a picture of Susan arguing with two policemen, who had been called after she rounded on a reporter who had asked her about the incident where she’d shouted at the TV.
Although she had denied the earlier incident, more and more negative comments about her were appearing and fears were growing that her fragile mental state might stop her taking part in the show’s final. This would be a disaster for everyone: the producers of the show, who would lose their biggest draw, and for Susan herself, who had the opportunity of a lifetime within her grasp. Something had to be done, and fast. Behind the scenes there were urgent consultations about her mental state, while Piers made a very public plea on his blog for Susan’s critics to back off.
‘Imagine, if you will, being anonymous for forty-seven years of your life, and then suddenly being propelled into genuine world superstardom,’ he wrote. ‘For many people, it would be a dream come true. All that fame and attention and the prospect of all that money to come with it down the line. The pressure from sudden global success can be enormous. Imagine having all this going on when you are days away from the final of a competition that can make or break your career and your life. A competition that everyone expects you to win, a fact that in itself piles on even more pressure. This is exactly the situation that Susan Boyle now finds herself in. And my heart absolutely bleeds for the poor woman.
‘She was said to be angry because I, her “favourite judge”, had backed another contestant. Susan denies this happened and I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what really went on. But I’ve seen the photos of her arguing with policemen and I’ve read the incredibly bitchy comments exploding all over various websites. And you know what? It made me very, very angry. Susan Boyle is a very kind, generous-hearted lady who has had a pretty tough life. I am calling for everyone to just give her a break.’
Piers was doing his utmost to help Susan at this low point by spending time with her, trying to calm her down and telling the public to back off. Susan had been, he said, on the verge of walking out on the show because the pressure was so intense, and she was becoming increasingly distressed by the negative comments that were beginning to flow. She had been in tears, according to Piers, and was like a ‘rabbit in the headlights’. What poor Susan was experiencing, of course, was tall poppy syndrome - the British urge to cut anyone down to size who appears to stand out from the rest. Just about every famous Briton has had to endure it at one stage or another - including Simon, Piers and Amanda, all of whom had received drubbings from the press and public over the years - but unlike them, Susan was ill-equipped to cope.
‘I am today calling for everyone to just give Susan a break,’ Piers blogged. ‘She is two days away from the biggest day of her life, and all she wants to do is sing well for everyone and hopefully try to win . . . She was deprived of oxygen during her birth, and that left her with learning difficulties, causing her to be called ‘Simple Susan’ at school. She’s only been able to have one brief job in her life, but rather than feel sorry for herself she dedicated all her time to helping her ageing, ailing mother until she died two years ago. Susan’s just a sweet, middle-aged lady from a Scottish village, who can’t really comprehend the sheer scale of what’s happened to her.’
Did it help? At least Piers managed to persuade Susan to stay on the show, but it was the start of a troubling period for Susan, who, having coped so well until now, seemed to be succumbing to the strain of it all. It was as if the stresses of the previous few weeks had suddenly overwhelmed her, and if that were not enough, there were family worries, too. One of her nieces, who had just given birth, had a fall shortly afterwards, brought on by a dizzy spell.
Not for the first time since the circus began, Susan was spirited out of public view in order to relax and wind down. The first time she had hidden away because she couldn’t cope with the sudden popularity, but this time the opposite was the case. That said, however, it was only a tiny minority who gave her stick. She still had a huge global fan base - a few silly inci
dents weren’t going to stop that - and on the whole, the world was behind her as much as ever. She was still their Cinderella and they wanted to see her go to the ball.
The problem is that nastiness is louder than moral support, so all Susan heard were the negative comments. She didn’t realize that for every naysayer, there were a hundred well-wishers, and why should she? This was a woman who had been bullied her entire life, so it must have seemed as though things were returning to the way they’d always been.
The other judges were equally concerned. Britain’s Got Talent was Simon’s show, and he wanted to ensure her wellbeing, so he met up with her and told her not to give up on her dream by walking out. ‘I wanted to make sure she is OK,’ he told reporters afterwards. ‘I wanted to tell her I would help her in any way I can. She has earned the right to be in that final and I didn’t want her to miss out on her big night.’
‘Susan’s not going to quit,’ Amanda confirmed. ‘I think she did have her bags packed at one stage, but I think basically that was just because she was feeling so sad and kind of upset. We’ve just got to keep being on her side and not assume she’s going to win. [But] I would imagine that whether she wins or loses, she will definitely record “I Dreamed A Dream”. I think that that would be a huge, huge hit. It would go platinum.’
By the time the final rolled round the negative comments had died down - in the press at least - as commentators began to realize that while picking on Susan made good copy, it was actually doing her harm. But there was now another worry for the show’s organizers: what would happen if Susan didn’t win. It didn’t matter as far as viewing figures, the subsequent tour or anything else was concerned; what did worry them was how Susan would react. There was increasing public criticism of the show for putting a vulnerable lady in the spotlight, so if Susan lost and went into meltdown, how would that make them look?
Susan Boyle Page 7