Susan Boyle dreamed a dream...
Many of us have fleeting dreams of 'what if?' fame finding us...but I wouldn't want this for anything...
Prayers for Susan
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...-talent-final1
Susan Boyle dreamed a dream, now TV show stress has become her nightmare
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/...-2009--001.jpg
The pressure on Susan Boyle has grown in the run-up to the live final of Britain's Got Talent on ITV1 tonight
* Stephen Brook and Severin Carrell
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 May 2009 20.03 BST
Potentially the biggest television audience of the year will tomorrow tune in to ITV1 to watch Susan Boyle sing in the final of Britain's Got Talent. And if any of the slew of stories in the papers about the 48-year-old Scottish church volunteer turned global phenomenon deserve any credence, Boyle will either triumph – or crack. That's if she appears at all.
This week Boyle was reportedly upset by a rival's success, then swore at a group of journalists and later threatened to quit, leading programme-makers to deny that too much pressure had been put on its unusual star.
One of the show's judges, former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, blamed the pressure heaped on Boyle, saying she felt "like a frightened rabbit in headlights". He wrote: "Susan is finding it very, very difficult to cope, and to stay calm. She has been in tears many times during the last few days, and even, fleetingly, felt like quitting the show altogether at one point and fleeing all the attention." Boyle, the youngest of nine children, has led a sheltered life in Blackburn, West Lothian, a community of 4,750. Her difficult birth, during which she was deprived of oxygen, resulted in learning difficulties; she has been teased throughout her life by local youths. She has worked as a church volunteer, lives with her cat and"has never been married, or kissed!", according to a press release from the show.
Boyle has performed on the show twice. In her first appearance she was portrayed as a sweet woman, unsure of herself, stumbling over words before breaking into a sexually charged swivelling of her hips. The audience was puzzled. But she sang beautifully. Her version of I Dreamed the Dream was watched on YouTube 100m times, film star Demi Moore said she was moved to tears and Boyle became a transatlantic star, appearing on US TV shows from Oprah Winfrey to Larry King Live.
Richard Holloway, one of the executive producers on Britain's Got Talent, said: "She hasn't had room to breathe. She has constantly been followed by the paps and reporters whether it's been the pub, in the garden, in the hairdressers. It has been Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attention where her every move is documented."
He said Boyle's best friend from high school had accompanied her to London, and a member of the production staff has lived with her in Scotland since her first appearance on the show.
Jo Hemmings, a behavioural psychologist who has assessed psychometric testing on Big Brother, said it was wrong to attempt to diagnose Boyle but that she had exhibited delusional signs, by trying to deal with her stress by focusing on her relationship with Morgan.
"As long as Morgan was supporting her, she could deal with the pressure," said Hemmings. When he praised rival singer Shaheen Jafargholi, 12, who he said gave "the best singing performance of the semi-finals", Boyle became unmoored, leading to the swearing outburst. There then followed a furious exchange with journalists. "She's angry, she overwhelmed. It's all very sad," said Hemmings.
In Boyle's home town there is a festival atmosphere, but her friends are candid about her short fuse. Her abusive outburst last Wednesday towards journalists goading her at her central London hotel and the expletives she shouted at the television when Morgan praised her rival surprised no one. "I've known Susan all her life," said David Stein, the village butcher. "We know what Susan can do verbally; she can be pretty rough on you. When she loses it, she loses it rough style."
Pub manager Jackie Russell just shrugs, and says: "It's the stress. It's only natural. She's used to just walking up and down to the shops and nobody bothering her, and all of a sudden, she's thrust into this limelight. It must be really hard for her."
Having been seen as a dead-cert winner, Boyle is now facing strong competition from clean-cut soulful 17-year-old rugby player Shaun Smith, winsome Jafargholi, father-and-son novelty act Stavros Flatley and dance teams Flawless and Diversity.
Hemmings now thinks it would be better for all concerned if Boyle did not win. "It's better for ITV if she doesn't win because they don't need the extreme pressure that goes with that. Performing in front of the Queen [the winner gets £100,000 and performs at the Royal Variety Performance] would be too risky. If she loses they can mop up the disappointment and deal with it. Her star will descend as fast as it rose."
