Video: Watch our exclusive clip of Susan Boyle making her feature film debut in The Christmas Candle

graysea

Like This Page · 58 minutes ago

A couple of days ago, we asked Susan what her favourite Christmas memory was. Here's what she had to say...

"My favourite Christmas memory was when I was about five years old coming downstairs and seeing all my presents laid out in the living room and they were all looking at me to see my reaction as I ripped off all the paper – my face must have been a picture!"

Susan Boyle

Like This Page · 22 hours ago

Who'd like to see Susan's new album chart in the Top 5 this week? Spread the word far and wide if you do! Oh and needless to say, if you haven't already - grab a copy on Amazon today: http://smarturl.it/HomeForXmas

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Fen Fern Britton with Susan Boyle

“There’s one revelation that the tabloids will be very interested in,” hints Fern. “It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s certainly an eye-opener.”

With a line-up including gold medal-winning Team GB runner Christine Ohuruogu, singer Susan Boyle, BBC correspondent John Simpson and entertainer Ken Dodd, we can only guess what revelations we can look forward to, though Fern admits her chat with Susan Boyle was enlightening.

“Susan is a wonderful woman and I was very fond of her,” she says.

“Afterwards, she told me it was the most relaxed she’d felt in any interview and that she had been more open and honest than she’d ever been before.

I admire her strength of mind and determination. She suffered a tough upbringing and managed to pull herself out of the bleakest of depressions due to the strength of her faith.”

Click link for story:

http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/445640/Britton-s-got-talent-Exclusive-interview-with-one-of-the-UK-s-best-loved-presenters

graysea · 29 Nov 2013 14:26

Video: Watch our exclusive clip of Susan Boyle making her feature film debut in The Christmas Candle

29 Nov 2013 14:26

Britain's Got Talent runner-up has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a movie star

Susan Boyle has made her debut appearance on the big screen in The Christmas Candle.

The Christmas film centres around a preacher who is sent to the small English town of Gladbury where the entire congregation, SuBo included, believes in a magic candle.

The maker of the candle is visited by an angel every 25 years, who then touches one of the candles and bestows a Christmas miracle on them on Christmas Eve.

Samantha Barks, Hans Matheson, John Hannah, Lesley Manville also star in the movie.

What do you reckon to the singing sensation's acting debut? Leave your comments below.

* The Christmas Candle previews December 8 at VUE Cinemas and from December 13 at selected cinemas nationwide .

Click on link below for video:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/video-watch-exclusive-clip-susan-2864955?fb_action_ids=618975371494576&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B560381297375191%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/video-watch-exclusive-clip-susan-2864955#ixzz2m61YpUnB
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

graysea

You Raise Me Up!

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SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

4 minutes ago · Edited

"Amir Khan @AmirKingKhan
Me and @SusanBoyleHQ at the @PaulOGradyShow. Make sure you all tune in on Friday 5pm ITV1http://instagram.com/p/hOwu0RAngK/"

Photo posted on Instagram today. Amir is a two times World Champion boxer from England.

SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

about an hour ago

"So I went to Paul O Grady show today had a great time @PaulOGradyShow @PaulOGrady_FC @SusanBoyleHQ on Fridays show

Saw the Amazing #SusanBoyle today singing Drummer Boy a Xmas Treat sounding great Susan @SusanBoyleHQ x

.........It was good and she came across so well was funny lovely lady and great Xmas Song"

Posted on twitter today. The show will be broadcast this Friday at 5.00 pm, UK time.

Really cute new photo of Susan that was tweeted today!

graysea · 27^th November 2013

Bystander

27^th November 2013

The Secret Winter Gala

THE CITY

The Secret Winter Gala

If you didn't feel festive at the end of the Save the Children and Bulgari's Secret Winter Gala at Guildhall last night, there really is no hope at all. For a start, it was themed around The Nutcracker. And there were smoking rum and apple syrup cocktails, a nut bar, and traditional carols humming in the background. Samantha Cameron, Mariella Frostrup and Elizabeth McGovern were there, swishing around in their beautiful long gowns and looking insanely beautiful in the Tatler photobooth. Soon everyone was ferried into the main dining room to tuck into a three-course feast of scallops, fillet of beef and gingerbread ice cream, while the English National Ballet performed theNutcracker finale to a live orchestra. When Lord Harry Dalmeny conducted the live auction (in tartan trousers - a present from his mother), furious bidding for a trip to Rome broke out. The lot was nabbed, eventually, by a very pleased Susan Boyle. Golly, with so much Christmas excitement, we're surprised if anyone managed to get to sleep...

Photographs JEFF MOORE/SAVE THE CHILDREN

http://www.tatler.com/bystander/events/2013/november/the-secret-winter-gala#/12877/image/13

graysea

Zodiak Rights To Sell Susan Boyle Documentary

3:21 AM PST 11/27/2013 by Stuart Kemp

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The one-hour special for ITV follows the Grammy-nominated singer, who became an overnight sensation after auditioning on Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent and has dealt with anxiety all her life, as she preps for a U.S. concert.

LONDON – A new documentary about Grammy-nominated artist Susan Boyle, who emerged as an overnight sensation after an audition on Britain's Got Talent when Simon Cowell was on the judging panel, is to be touted to global TV buyers.

Susan Boyle on TLC Documentary: 'You Have to Share Your Life With the Public'

Susan Boyle to Make Feature Film Debut

Zodiak Rights, the international division of Zodiak Media, has taken on worldwide sales duties to There’s Something About Susan, a one-hour special produced by U.K. banner Firecracker Films for commercial broadcaster ITV1 where it will air in early December.

The documentary follows Boyle -- an anxiety sufferer all her life -- as she embarks on her first ever series of live solo concerts having sold over 20 million records since her audition on the show in 2009.

The documentary follows the global superstar on a journey from the stress of early rehearsals to the opening night in Scotland and then on to a sell-out concert in America in front of 20,000 fans.

There’s Something About Susanfollows on a documentary Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar, which originally aired on ITV1 in November 2011 and attracted 5.8 million viewers, making it one of the highest-rated documentaries in recent years.

Zodiak Rights sold the first Boyle film to 88 countries around the world.

Andreas Lemos, vp factual programming & acquisitions, Zodiak Rights said: "Susan’s incredible journey to fame and her successful career continue to fascinate audiences around the world and I’m sure her fans will be eager to watch the next instalment of her unique story."

Firecracker Films managing director Sue Oriel added: "In this film, Susan has given us both unique and intimate access to her world as prepares to sing live with musicians. Her final concert in the US is a triumph; only viewers of this film will truly appreciate how much this means to her."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/zodiak-rights-sell-susan-boyle-660549

graysea

Thank you! Looks very nice to me!

Graeme Shinwell

4 minutes ago via mobile
near Granton, United Kingdom

HMV store in Princes Street

Like · · Share

2013-11-09T09:56:35-05:00

Click on bars below to see the video. Then click on the Post Office Picture.

Blackburn Post Office Opening with Susan Boyle

from WILLIAMS PHOTO AGENCY PLUS 2 weeks ago NOT YET RATED

graysea · 26 Nov 2013 14:14

By Dailyrecord.co.uk

Susan Boyle reveals that people send her bank statements in hope of her paying off their debts

26 Nov 2013 14:14

THE 52-year-old who made her name on Britain's Got Talent, has said that she doesn't receive marriage proposals anymore but has had her fair share of begging letters.

SINGING star Susan Boyle has said she no longer gets marriage proposals in the post - but bank statements from people asking her to pay off their debts instead.

Boyle, 52, who has an estimated net worth of more than £20 million, said she never responds to the letters.

She told OK! magazine: "I get them (begging letters) all the time but you just have to ignore them because you can't give to everybody.

"I sometimes get bank statements posted through my door asking me to pay off their debts! Some people have a heck of a cheek!"

Boyle, who gives herself a weekly allowance of £300 to £500, said that unlike Simon Cowell, who plans to leave his fortune to charity, her money will go to her family.

The singer, who found fame on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, also told the magazine she would love to be an X Factor judge, replacing Gary Barlow who is leaving next year.

"I would if I was asked," she said. "That's something I'd love to do. I'd be very honest because you have to be, but it's manners to wait until you're asked."

Asked if she still receives marriage proposals in the post, the Wild Horses singer said: "No, I did in the very beginning but not so much now."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/susan-boyle-reveals-people-send-2853122

graysea

BESTDAILY FILM REVIEW: Christmas Candle

Monday, Nov 25 2013 WRITTEN BY Siobhan Wykes

Susan Boyle stars in an enchanting Christmas film that deserves to be a hit

Susan Boyle's role as the wife of a church warden is small but her sweet face, innocent giggle and enchanting singing only add to the Christmas magic of this feelgood film.

The story is set in the fictional Cotswolds town of Gladbury, where for 200 years, one family has made all the candles and - the villagers believe - an angel touches a single candle every 25 years. The recipient of this 'miracle candle' found their prayers were always answered.

When, in 1890, the candle-maker's son leaves the village, the new vicar introduces electric light to the church and the precious candle goes missing. So the ageing candle-maker and his wife give a candle to everyone in the church and they all hope and pray that theirs is the blessed candle.

Susan Boyle is enchanting

On Christmas Eve, almost every villager believes they have received a miracle. A little boy's stutter has disappeared, another finds work, a grandchild is found and the new reverernd regains his lost faith.

Do angels exist? And can they every grant our Christmas wishes?

Well, it's nice to think that they might – even if it's just on Christmas Eve.

5 out of 5 for Christmas schmaltz.

THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE - Special Preview Screenings 8 December at VUE Cinemas & Nationwide 13 December www.facebook.com/TheChristmasCandleUK

http://www.bestdaily.co.uk/showbiz/news/a533578/bestdaily-film-review-christmas-candle.html

graysea

Sarah Keep ‏@SarahKeep_ 22m
Brightened my day �� #thelittlethings #subo pic.twitter.com/ujJvt1v3gK

Thank you John V.

graysea

Susan BoyleFans

Yesterday · Edited

Susan Boyle Visits Magic FM
http://www.the-news-daily.com/susan-boyle-visits-magic-fm_102987

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The fuchsia's bright: Susan Boyle steps out in fun feather trimmed coat after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

By SARAH BULL and FAY STRANG

PUBLISHED: 15:35 EST, 25 November 2013 | UPDATED: 16:54 EST, 25 November 2013

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She has reportedly been battling to give up chocolates and sweets after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

But Susan Boyle looked far from downbeat when she as spotted leaving the ITV studios in London on Monday.

Dressed in a very bright pink coat with feather trim, the 52-year-old looked every inch the star she is as she made her exit.

Bright on: Susan Boyle was spotted at the ITV studios in London on Monday

The Britain’s Got Talent singer wore the glamorous coat over a pair of black trousers and T-shirt and clearly in a cheery mood she added a vibrant scarf.

Completing her look she wore her brown hair styled

in curls and piled on her head, while she showed off her smooth complexion with minimal make-up.

Her appearance comes after it was revealed she has type 2 diabetes and is believed to be finding it incredibly difficult to kick her sweet tooth habits, but has managed to do so for the sake of her health.

According to a friend, Susan is now managing her condition by taking tablets daily.

Glam: The singer opted for a bright coat as she made her first appearance since it was revealed she is suffering from diabetes

The pal told the Sunday Mirror: 'Susan is very much following doctor's orders now and has cut the sweets out. At the moment she is able to control the condition with tablets.'

Belting it out: Susan's only vice was her sweet tooth, as she doesn't smoke or drink

It is believed the tablets Susan has been taking are metformin - a drug that boosts the amount of insulin taken up by the cells.

However, friends are said to have warned the star, who reportedly had been 'sneaking in' sweets to her house before kicking her habit, that if she does give in and succumb to her love of all things sweet, her condition could worsen and see her have to inject insulin as a means of controlling the illness.

The friend added: 'That's the last thing she and those around her want.'

Susan had never made a secret of her love of chocolate and sweets, which were her only vice as she doesn't drink alcohol and doesn't smoke.

The singer previously gave up chocolate for Lent, adding: 'It's too fattening anyway!'

Susan's diagnosis comes after Hollywood actor Tom Hanks recently revealed that he too suffers from the condition.

Speaking to David Letterman, Hanks said: 'I went to the doctors and they said, "You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been living with since you were 36, well you've graduated, you've got Type 2 Diabetes young man". '

Other stars who have type 2 diabetes include Halle Berry, Larry King and Randy Jackson.

Sweet tooth: Susan is seen tucking into a chocolate bar back in 2009

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2513440/Susan-Boyle-diagnosed-type-2-diabetes.html#ixzz2liyiYUyg
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Susan Boyle: Singer and Now Businesswoman

By Marie Sheahan Brown

Who can forget the YouTube masterpiece? She strode and sashayed onto the stage with golden stature and confidence. She sparred wittily with the three famous judges, wearied by their long day of auditions in Glasgow, Scotland. She didn’t look the part of a “professional singer,” although one might perceive that being “currently unemployed” at forty-seven left little extra for beauty-shop pampering. Was she, rather, a comedienne? Susan Boyle audition

Then she sang. The formerly skeptical audience stood enraptured, tears welling as she belted out “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Misérables with stunning clarity and passion.

More than five years after the seven-minute audition video aired on Britain’s Got Talent on April 11, 2009, and promptly hit worldwide news feeds, multitudes in America and beyond remember Susan Boyle. Since she first broke Amazon pre-sale records in September 2009, millions have bought her albums. Each year, a new carefully crafted album has been released in time for Christmas. Since 2009, five albums have garnered sixty-three gold and ninety-four platinum sales levels in forty-two countries. Her sixth album, Hope, will be released on October 21 in the United States.

Scottish and United Kingdom audiences thrilled to Miss Boyle’s first full-length concert tours in 2013 and 2014. Now she’s coming to America—home of an immediate and strong support base—starting in San Diego on October 8, and singing her way across the southern half of the United States at venues in twenty cities. A sweep through the northern states could likely follow in the future.

See http://www.susanboylemusic.com/us/events

Many have written about Susan Boyle’s difficult and graced life. Her 2010 autobiography, The Woman I Was Born to Be, is a good source. Now fifty-three, she carefully revealed late in 2013 that, after decades of mistaken assumptions, she had finally been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. The relief of self-knowledge strengthens and encourages her after a lifetime of dealing with debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, and some difficulty in handling emotions and relating comfortably to people.

“This is a point: People may have problems,” she states in a documentary, “but they’ve got other things as well. And they’ve got a lot more to offer.” (Gammon, Lottie, produced, filmed, and directed. “There’s Something About Susan.” Firecracker Films Ltd. for ITV, 45:37 minutes. 2013)

Fewer analyses have considered her role as a small businesswoman and philanthropist whose personal success has enhanced the lives and small businesses of countless others not only in her native Scotland but also in, for example, America.

Miss Boyle, easily mistaken for a stately five feet ten in the famous video, is, in fact, barely over five feet tall with soft, dainty hands and feet—a huggable China doll. So she does qualify as a smallbusinesswoman despite her multimillions in sales, which also benefit business giants like Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited; SYCOmusic (Simon Cowell); Simon & Schuster, Inc.; Amazon; and, more recently, concert tour bus companies. In significant other ways, she retains her focus on the little ones.

The woman who had “never been married, never been kissed” and remains a virgin has, since 2009, given birth with astonishing fecundity. Lewis Hyde well describes her kind of gift and fertility in his 1983 classic, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property: “I have hoped . . . to speak of the inner gift that we accept as the object of our labor, and the outer gift that has become a vehicle of culture. I am not concerned with gifts given in spite or fear, nor those gifts we accept out of servility or obligation; my concern is the gift we long for, the gift that, when it comes, speaks commandingly to the soul and irresistibly moves us.”

Mr. Hyde first explores traditional “gift economies,” in which citizens are considered wealthy not according to how much they acquire but how much they give. In fictional form, Jean M. Auel’s well-researched Earth’s Children series (The Clan of the Cave Bear and five sequels) describes the creativity and ingenuity that led people to survive, to form communities, and to work cooperatively for mutual benefit. Goods, services, storytelling and musical talents, art, and many other gifts were appreciated in deeper ways than they might be in a typical “market economy.”

According to reviewer JoAnn Schwartz, “Above all, Hyde is interested in examining the effect our current immersion in the market economy and the myth of the free market has both on our view of gifts and on our ability to give and receive them. The market economy is deliberately impersonal, but the whole purpose of the ‘gift economy’ is to establish and strengthen the relationships between us, to connect us one to the other. It is this element of relationship which leads Hyde to speak of gift exchange as ‘erotic’ commerce, opposing eros (the principle of attraction, union, involvement which binds together) to logos (reason and logic in general, the principle of differentiation in particular). A market economy is an emanation of logos.

“In a market economy,” Ms. Schwartz continues, “one can hoard one’s goods without losing wealth. Indeed, wealth is increased by hoarding—although we generally call it ‘saving.’ In contrast, in a gift economy, wealth is decreased by hoarding, for it is the circulation of the gift(s) within the community that leads to increase—increase in connections, increase in relationship strength. Through this book, Hyde helps us focus on the importance of gifts, their flow and movement, and the impact that the modern market place has had on the circulation of gifts.” (http://southerncrossreview.org/4/schwartz.html)

Susan Boyle does appreciate the financial security that she had never known, especially in the fearsome years after her mother died in 2007, when Miss Boyle kept her house cold so that she could afford the heating bill. Yet more important, Susan Boyle has said all along, “I sing to make people happy.” When she was a girl, the gift spoke “commandingly to the soul”—her soul. She honed, honed, honed the gift to perfection over decades of world obscurity. She sees with gratitude and humility the effects of this gift on people worldwide. When this gift is pointed out to her in personal conversation, she bows her head and lowers her eyes shyly. “Thank you.”

Miss Boyle’s fame and financial success have boosted tourism modestly in West Lothian, Scotland, with its pastoral more than spectacular scenery, a region that has suffered from bouts of economic depression and unemployment over the past few centuries. In February 2013, for example, following a centuries-old pattern, the main employer in the area—Halls of Broxburn meat processing plant—was closed by foreign owners, leaving 1,700 unemployed.

Lorraine Campbell co-owns and manages The Balbairdie—a nicely refurbished old hotel and pub in Bathgate, West Lothian. When the economy suffers, The Balbairdie feels it. Asked how she copes, Ms. Campbell replied, “You just keep going.” Happily, the local economy has improved some since 2013, according to Ms. Campbell in April 2014.

Miss Boyle has engaged experts like Andy Stephens, manager; Nicola Phillips, publicist; and Andrew Panton, creative and vocal director, to name a few. She has provided jobs for local personal assistants who handle correspondence, scheduling, wardrobe consultation, and myriad other details; gardeners; carpenters to renovate the council house she grew up and still lives in (her first big post-Britain’s Got Talent purchase); a housekeeper; women who fix her hair, do her nails, and apply her makeup for special public appearances and photo sessions; and others who tend to basic needs of a now-busy celebrity who still prefers to live in her home village, stop in at her favorite small shops and establishments, and take the bus.

Miss Boyle has also given seed money and sponsorship for creative business and charitable ventures in her local community and beyond. One start-up, Boyle’s Boutique, is an extended-family cottage industry that sells, among others, products featuring the new Boyle Tartan created for the family. Products may be ordered online.

Susan Boyle’s very capable personal assistant Sadie Boyle (no relation) says Miss Boyle gets about four hundred emails weekly, many requesting her generosity. This kind of response to another’s fame and fortune is not uncommon.

More unusual, and a clearer example of the fruits of the “gift economy,” is the generation of a worldwide community of Susan Boyle supporter-fans who have formed friendships, discovered or rekindled their own creative gifts, invested thousands of volunteer hours, spread financial generosity, and—to a small extent—started creative cottage enterprises for profit or merely to cover expenses.

Several unofficial Susan Boyle fansites live on the Internet. The first and largest, still flourishing, is www.susan-boyle.com. On April 11, 2009, Paul Wood, a London construction worker, watched Miss Boyle’s audition on TV and immediately put up a website. Starting within hours after the audition aired, people from many continents to whom Susan Boyle’s gift spoke “commandingly to the soul” were “irresistibly move[d]” to find out anything they could about her on the Internet. They frequently stumbled across Mr. Wood’s hastily launched site with its prolific discussion threads generating hundreds of written comments every day in the first two months of Miss Boyle’s fame.

To bring some order to the conversational chaos, Mr. Wood launched a companion Forum in June 2009 with more sophisticated software, accessed through the main website. Anyone could (and still can) join for free. The main rules are that one not be an Internet troll (a term and experience many had never heard of), that one behave reasonably civilly as outlined in posted guidelines, and that one not use the Forum itself for commercial purposes (more on that later).

Volunteer moderators and techies keep the discussions and online experience on an even keel. Online advertisements generated by Google AdSense and Amazon sales linked to the website (“SuBo Store”) help pay for the normal operational expenses.

In early 2010, Mr. Wood announced that he was going to auction off the website (some fifty thousand registered members) and its Forum (a few thousand registered members at the time). The worldwide member community could not bear the prospect of being taken over by some unknown commercial entity with other goals. So they decided to bid on the fansite themselves. A few members—by no means wealthy—each voluntarily loaned trusted fellow members a few thousand dollars to buy the fansite during the auction. The effort succeeded in July 2010.

Navigating through some tensions and hurt feelings (typical in any community anywhere), the worldwide Susan Boyle Fans International, Inc. (SBFII) community established itself as a non-profit corporation registered in Delaware, USA. SBFII elects a multinational volunteer board of directors; keeps meticulous financial records and files annual tax returns; maintains bylaws; and holds online annual meetings and elections engaging active members. Technically not a charity, SBFII uses AdSense and SuBo Store income to cover modest expenses and keep a healthy bank balance. Funds left over from voluntary collections (often for tasteful gifts for Miss Boyle for special occasions) are donated to a charity of Susan Boyle’s choice, frequently benefitting children in Scotland. By December 2011, SBFII repaid all interest-free loans given by members to buy the website; it remains debt free. No member gets paid for services to SBFII or personally benefits financially.

From the beginning, even silver-haired grandmothers proficient only with email learned to navigate the fansites in order to participate in a community of people who have experienced an inexplicable response to Susan Boyle—both her singing and her unique way of being—unlike their response to other favorite singers. Within months, members began gathering in person around the globe (often in restaurants, boosting local economies). They attended (and surreptitiously filmed and posted to the fansites for the enjoyment of those who could not attend) Miss Boyle’s performances in various cities (Britain’s Got Talent tour venues in the UK; Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, and more). Supporter-fans flocked to these events even though—until only 2013, when she first tried her own full-length concerts in Scotland—Miss Boyle was slated to sing just one, two, maybe three songs. These gatherings supported local hotels, B+Bs, restaurants, cab drivers, shops, and other travel-related businesses.

Miss Boyle and her team soon experienced that supporter-fans who came to these early events were older or at least more mature than stereotypical rowdies at, for example, Justin Bieber concerts. They saw that typical Susan Boyle supporter-fans are responsible, respectful, fun loving, generative. They include retired or active professionals—teachers, nurses, techies, writers, musicians, artists, farmers, truckers, businesspeople, social workers, radio hosts, professors, lawyers, homemakers, construction workers, postmasters, foresters.

To most gatherings (usually at restaurants) supporter-fans bring homemade memorabilia to share, including commemorative buttons and red scarves to identify themselves in various venues. The popularity of such items led SBFII to add another linked site, “Fan Creations,” linked in turn to the creators’ individual websites. Products include non-Susan-Boyle-related fan creations. Currently, three members offer SuBotique Hand Painted Apparel; Creative Images by tweek (Buttons, Mugs, etc.); and Susan Boyle Professional Singer chronicles gathered from news and other sources.

SBFII members often post creative ideas and images to discuss in writing with one another. Memorably, in 2009, a member from Texas, one from Iowa, and other volunteers, coordinated an international quilting bee. Supporter-fans from every continent, including Antarctica, created and mailed squares for a handmade quilt presented to Miss Boyle at a brunch following her debut solo appearance on the Todayshow on November 23—the day her first album, I Dreamed A Dream, was released in the United States and quickly broke world records in several categories.

Members can upload Susan-related videos that they have created; share poems that they’ve written; upload posters that they’ve designed digitally to document Miss Boyle’s career and accomplishments; upload news reports of supporter-fan activities, complete with photographs; post fine pencil drawings or paintings displaying talent the artists had only recently discovered; and offer a place where members can contribute their own essays. These essays, sometimes written in French or other non-English languages, often try to explain how the wee singer with the big voice; the shy woman who communicates profoundly—cor ad cor loquitur—through music others have written; the multimillionaire who stays in her small lifelong home and still takes the bus—the essentially inexplicable Susan Boyle—“irresistibly moves” them.

SBFII and other volunteers take responsibility to daily and positively post or re-post Susan Boyle news, photos, and encounters on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Their Internet involvement began immediately when Miss Boyle became famous—and once again experienced the bullying known since childhood, only this time inflicted by some members of the media and anonymous commentators. She writes in her autobiography, “What I didn’t know then, because I didn’t have a computer at the time, was that every time there was a mean comment about me in the press, a dozen messages of support would appear in response. On the Internet there was a growing community of fans. I had no idea how many people out there in the world felt moved to stick up for me, and I want to thank everybody for that.” (The Woman I Was Born to Be, pages 188–189)

Miss Boyle’s professional team also encourages creativity from fans. Starting with the first documentary of her life, Susan Boyle: I Dreamed A Dream, produced in 2009 by Talkback Thames, fans were invited via the official www.susanboylemusic.com site (picked up and promoted by volunteer sites) to send short videos of themselves saying “Hello, Susan!” with backdrops representing their locations. Several clips from around the world were chosen for the documentary. As a lead-up to Miss Boyle’s second album, The Gift, she held a worldwide “Susan’s Search” competition, inviting any amateur singer to upload a brief selfie singing “Silent Night.” The winner, Amber Stassi, a thirty-three-year-old paramedic from Brewerton, New York, sang “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with Miss Boyle on the album and at the 2010 outdoor Today show appearance in New York City.

In the 2013 and 2014 concert tours in Scotland and the United Kingdom, Miss Boyle and her team selected local choirs to serve as back-up choruses in every city, receiving standard financial compensation. Already individual choir members in the United States are tweeting: “Aaliyah Buchanan ‏@Itsuko_Sora I’m to pumped, i get to sing for Susan Boyle!!!!” and “Drew Mikuska ‏@DrewMikuska Hahahahaha I’m singing backup for Susan Boyle.”

Already in the twenty cities spanning the southern United States, supporter-fans from as far away as Australia and Scotland are buying tickets. They are organizing pre-concert dinner-camaraderie gatherings for supporter-fans, some of whom they have never met in person but know through their written posts on fansites. Restaurants, hotels, theaters, airlines, public transportation providers, cab drivers, and many small businesses will benefit. Susan Boyle, her team, and numerous music-related vendors will profit.

Yet in Susan Boyle’s “gift economy,” which she neither forecasted nor manipulated, money can facilitate but cannot possibly buy the greatest benefits to the community in which she finds herself to be the generator and principal member. In this higher economy, she is both blessed herself and a blessing to countless others.

As recently reported on her official website, Susan says about her upcoming United States concert tour: “This is a brilliant moment for me. The past five years have been incredible, and it just keeps getting better. I have spoken so often about wanting to tour America and be able to visit different cities for the first time—I’m so excited. This really will be fantastic, and I can’t wait for October. The US embraced and supported me from the beginning, and it really feels like a second home. So I can’t wait to get on the road and perform there.”

Source:Small Business Exchange Northeast