television and radio stations around the world rely for a vast amount of their information on agency reports; the wire services, as they were once referred to. The unsung heroes of the newsgathering process, they disseminate information locally, nationally and internationally. One of the leading agencies is the Associated Press, and in the middle of the crazy week that ensued after Susan’s Saturday night performance they sent out several stories, one of which was headlined ‘Singing “spinster” strikes chord in talent contest’.
Datelined ‘Blackburn, Scotland’, it said: ‘Susan Boyle lives alone in a row house with her cat Pebbles, a drab existence in one of Scotland’s poorest regions. She cared for her widowed mother for years, never married and sang in church and at karaoke nights at the pub. Neighbours knew she could sing, and now – what withYou Tube, Twitter and countless blog postings – just about everyone else does, too… When she mounted the stage for Saturday’s broadcast, her frizzy grey-tinged hair curling wildly and a gold lace dress clinging unflatteringly to her chubby frame, Boyle looked the antithesis of the American idols Simon Cowell normally anoints. She was greeted with giggles from the audience and eye rolls from the notoriously acerbic Cowell. The audience chuckled in embarrassment as she wiggled her hips awkwardly.
‘Then she opened her mouth… her soaring voice drew startled looks and then delighted smiles from Cowell and the other judges. The audience leapt to its feet to applaud. More than 11 million people watched Saturday’s show, but Boyle’s instant success is due as much to new media as to the power of television, with a clip of her performance posted on YouTube by the show’s producers drawing nearly 13 million views. Not to mention the skilful packaging of the segment, a mini-opera of underdog triumph.’
The report added: ‘Boyle herself seems ill at ease with her newfound fame. At her modest, government-subsidised home on Thursday, she seemed more at ease making tea for visiting TV crews than answering questions about her life. She did mug for the cameras, however, crooning into a hairbrush.
“‘It has been surreal for me,” Boyle told the AP. “I didn’t realize this would be the reaction, I just went on stage and got on with it.”
“‘She is often taunted by local kids. They think she’s an oddball, but she’s a simple soul with genuine warmth,” a neighbour was quoted as saying. “Not many people these days are devoutly religious or would spend their time devoted to their parents to the point they’d find themselves a spinster.”
‘Susan told the agency, “I can hardly remember what happened on the night as I had my eyes closed most of the time. It really didn’t dawn on me what was happening.”’
Perhaps the most famous news agency of all is Reuters, the organisation founded in the middle of the 19th century and synonymous with the dissemination of news about major world events.
So how could they not write about Susan?
The message they circulated to the world in the aftermath of her appearance was: ‘A middle aged Scottish spinster with untamed hair and a plain-spoken manner has captivated millions of music lovers and confounded celebrity watchers with her rise to fame after appearing on a British TV talent show.
‘Susan Boyle, at 47, became one of the world’s hottest celebrities virtually overnight after her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent this month.
‘She has appeared on Larry King Live in the United States and in countless newspaper and internet articles. The clip of her song has been viewed around 50 million times on website YouTube.
‘But while most people see her story as a fairytale,some say it casts an unflattering light on the public and its preconceived notions about beauty and fame. They argue that the reason Boyle, who lives alone with her ct, became the instant star she has was
Datelined ‘Blackburn, Scotland’, it said: ‘Susan Boyle lives alone in a row house with her cat Pebbles, a drab existence in one of Scotland’s poorest regions. She cared for her widowed mother for years, never married and sang in church and at karaoke nights at the pub. Neighbours knew she could sing, and now – what withYou Tube, Twitter and countless blog postings – just about everyone else does, too… When she mounted the stage for Saturday’s broadcast, her frizzy grey-tinged hair curling wildly and a gold lace dress clinging unflatteringly to her chubby frame, Boyle looked the antithesis of the American idols Simon Cowell normally anoints. She was greeted with giggles from the audience and eye rolls from the notoriously acerbic Cowell. The audience chuckled in embarrassment as she wiggled her hips awkwardly.
‘Then she opened her mouth… her soaring voice drew startled looks and then delighted smiles from Cowell and the other judges. The audience leapt to its feet to applaud. More than 11 million people watched Saturday’s show, but Boyle’s instant success is due as much to new media as to the power of television, with a clip of her performance posted on YouTube by the show’s producers drawing nearly 13 million views. Not to mention the skilful packaging of the segment, a mini-opera of underdog triumph.’
The report added: ‘Boyle herself seems ill at ease with her newfound fame. At her modest, government-subsidised home on Thursday, she seemed more at ease making tea for visiting TV crews than answering questions about her life. She did mug for the cameras, however, crooning into a hairbrush.
“‘It has been surreal for me,” Boyle told the AP. “I didn’t realize this would be the reaction, I just went on stage and got on with it.”
“‘She is often taunted by local kids. They think she’s an oddball, but she’s a simple soul with genuine warmth,” a neighbour was quoted as saying. “Not many people these days are devoutly religious or would spend their time devoted to their parents to the point they’d find themselves a spinster.”
‘Susan told the agency, “I can hardly remember what happened on the night as I had my eyes closed most of the time. It really didn’t dawn on me what was happening.”’
Perhaps the most famous news agency of all is Reuters, the organisation founded in the middle of the 19th century and synonymous with the dissemination of news about major world events.
So how could they not write about Susan?
The message they circulated to the world in the aftermath of her appearance was: ‘A middle aged Scottish spinster with untamed hair and a plain-spoken manner has captivated millions of music lovers and confounded celebrity watchers with her rise to fame after appearing on a British TV talent show.
‘Susan Boyle, at 47, became one of the world’s hottest celebrities virtually overnight after her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent this month.
‘She has appeared on Larry King Live in the United States and in countless newspaper and internet articles. The clip of her song has been viewed around 50 million times on website YouTube.
‘But while most people see her story as a fairytale,some say it casts an unflattering light on the public and its preconceived notions about beauty and fame. They argue that the reason Boyle, who lives alone with her ct, became the instant star she has was
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