STV Shows

graysea · 27 February 2014 12:37 GMT

STV Shows

http://shows.stv.tv/talk-tv/265638-move-over-beyonce-susan-boyle-sings-sultry-happy-birthday/

Move over Beyonce! Susan Boyle sings sultry Happy Birthday

Susan Boyle made one lucky man’s birthday extra special, after recording a sultry rendition ofHappy Birthday for him.

Beyoncé has been doing the same thing on her current Mrs. Carter tour, but we’re sure Susan’s version meant even more, as she teamed it with a picture showing her holding a hand-written note that read ‘Happy Birthday Steve’.

The former Britain’s Got Talent star sang a Marilyn Monroe style rendition of the celebratory song, and Steve Myall was delighted.

The Sunday and Daily Mirror senior feature writer posted a link to the track, with the message: “Of all the Birthday surprises I've had this is the best... Thanks.”

The 20 second clip is currently on YouTube and Susan’s loyal army of fans have been sharing it, praising the super cute / dare we say, slightly sexy version of the track.

One wrote: “You are an angel Susan. So cute, love u.”

Steve Myall

Susan looked lovely with her hair pinned up, a sparkly scarf and a touch of lipgloss.

via Twitter

She is currently preparing to take her Susan Boyle in Concert show to England, with fans from across the globe set to travel thousands of miles to watch the star take to the stage.

And judging by the reaction she received when she performed the show in Scotland last year, it will be well worth the air miles.

Also write-up in mirror.co.uk/news

Watch Susan Boyle perform sexy Marilyn Monroe version of Happy Birthday to superfan

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/watch-susan-boyle-perform-sexy-3187664#ixzz2uXD5aGDZ
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/watch-susan-boyle-perform-sexy-3187664

graysea

SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

"Steve Myall @stevemyalleats: Susan Boyle sings Happy Birthday to me.:http://t.co/yyuPECQTSX via @YouTube"

Steve is the senior feature writer for the Sunday and Daily Mirror. He posted this on twitter today. Happy Birthday, Steve!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi-gB3dWfWE

SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

3 hours ago · Edited

"Steve Myall @stevemyalleats Of all the Birthday surprises I've had this is the best... Thanks @SusanBoyleHQ"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Vi-gB3dWfWE

Posted on twitter today. Watch the YouTube!

graysea

10 Musical Biopics Heading Our Way
Which rock stars are getting the big-screen treatment?

SUSAN BOYLE

Who she? A singing sensation who rocketed to global stardom on the back of Britain’s Got
Talent was born in West Lothian, Scotland in 1961. She began warbling at a young age,
mostly in pubs and churches, while also auditioning several times for Michael Barrymore’s
show My Kind Of People. But in 2008, (dated of actual audition was January 21, 2009) she
auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent and in April 2009,
ten million people saw her impress the judges with 'I Dreamed A Dream' from Les Misérables.
She became very famous very fast, but found the sudden exposure problematic. Boyle has
since tried her hand at acting and has released four albums.

Name those covers! 'I Dreamed A Dream', 'Perfect Day', 'Don’t Dream It’s Over', 'Cry Me A River'

Fun film facts: Because of course someone would want to film her surprise success. That
someone, in fact, is Fox Searchlight executive Lucas Webb, who is developing I Dreamed
A Dream, but there’s no director or star attached yet.

graysea

SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

2 hours ago · Edited

"3 Bear Challenge @3BearChallenge
@SusanBoyleHQ Mum/daughter mission to get 3 teddies to as many people as poss b4 @BBCCiN. Thx for your support Susan!"

Posted on twitter today. — with Susan Boyle.

graysea

The Christmas Candle

Help us make The Christmas Candle Dove Foundation's top inspirational family film of the year by voting for The Christmas Candle at this link:http://www.dove.org/cdsballot13.asp

Voting ends February 28!

graysea

susanboylefans

5 hours ago

Susan Boyle shopping at Poundland.. Goes to show she's still one of us and always will be <3 #susanboyle#cute #shorthair #scarf #shopping #poundland #uk

by WENN | 24 February 2014

Susan Boyle - Fascinating Fact: 4083359

by WENN | 24 February 2014

Picture: Susan Boyle - Susan Boyle has been made chieftain of the World Pipe Band Championships that take place in Glasgow late this year, 17-18th August...

http://www.contactmusic.com/story/fascinating-fact_4083359

An obsessive U.S. fan of Scottish singer Susan Boyle has bombarded 400 American radio stations with complaints that they do not play enough of the star's music. Grace Rooney has received just five replies to her angry messages, with two stations apparently promising to give the singer more airtime.

Contactmusic

Tags: Susan Boyle.c

Contactmusic.com sent a tweet looking for me and a fan site contacted me to respond, which I did. The questions were answer as below. My messages to the radio stations were not angry. They were informative requests (look on the radio blog, I have explained it there). I do agree with the "obsessive" fan though, for sure I love Susan Boyle. Susan is a wonderful, caring lady and one heck of a fantastic singer!

Below are the reporters questions and my answers:

To answer your questions:

Below is what I did for the radio campaign and I know others were calling and sending email too. SBFII had a thread especially for the radio campaign. I put my information on my blog. See link below.

Do you know how many radio stations you contacted in the US?

I sent email to 37 states in the USA. Over 5 to 12 emails sent to radio stations in each of the 37 states, such as, Wyoming below. I think that was the last state I did.

All of the email addresses and correspondence is on the blog. Go to the right column, mainly in the February and January posts. (Under Blog Archive) Started Nov. 27, 2011 ended approximately Feb. 5, 2012.

http://susanboyleradiostationcampaign.blogspot.com/

Exmple:

▼ February (7)

36 Wyoming Feb. 5, 2012 email sent to the radio stations below:

imixwyoming@gmail.com, rgelder@bhrnwy.com, klmi@myhits106.com, ben@sheridanmedia.com,rgrandpre@kfbcradio.com, donovanshort@townsquaremedia.com, alan@kyoy.net,kmtnthemountain@gmail.com,

▼ January (116)

·
Emailed 35 Montana Jan. 31, 2012

· Strongest FM radio stations in Palm Springs:WRMF (...

· Email Sent to Ryan Seacrest

· Corkie's Informative Radio Report

· Early 1930s Radio Broadcasting

· The First Radio Station

· State 34 Texas on Jan. 28, 2012

· State 33 Oklahoma Jan. 27, 2012

· Enjoy the Music

· State 32 Kansas Jan 26, 2012

· 31 Nebraska Jan 25, 2012

· 30 South Dakota

· Susan Boyle Radio Station

· Magic828 Mentioned Susan Boyle IDAD

· Blog note to friends

· Very interesting and informative letter received f...

· 29 North Dakota Jan. 17, 2012

· Post from Nelan 6

· 28 Louisiana Jan 14, 2012

· Emails sent to Arkansas

· SUSAN BOYLE - Susan Interview on Magic 828 Radio

· Posted 1-10-2012

· Posted 1-9-2012

· Posted 1-7-2012

· Posted 1-6-2012

· Posted 12-31-2011

· Posted 12-30-2011

· 12-29-2011

· Posted 12-28-2011

· Posted 12-27-2011

· Posted 12-26-2011

· Posted 12-24-2011

· 12-23-2011

· http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...blicist-269...

· Posted 12-23-2011

· Posted 12-22-2011

· Posted 12-21-2011

· 12-20-2011

· Posted 12-20-2012

· Posted 12-19-2011

· Posted 12-18-2011

· Posted 12-17-2011

· Posted 12-16-2011

· Posted 12-15-2011

· Just got through with doing Ohio radio Stations. D...

· Posted 12-14-2011

· Posted 12-13-2011

· 12-13-2012

· Posted 12-12-2011

· 12-12-11

· Posted 12/11/11

· 12/10/11

· 12/09/11

· Posted 12/09/11

· 12/09/11

· Posted 12/08/11

· 12/08/11

· Posted 12/08/11

· 12/07/11

· Posted 12/06/11

· Posted 12/05/11

· 12/02/11

· Posted 121/01/11

· Posted 12/01/11

· Posted 11/30/11

· 11/30/11

· Posted 11/30/11

· Posted 11/29/11

· Posted 11/28/11

· Post on 11/28/11

· My post on 11/27/11

· 11/27/11 - My first post regarding Radio Contact

Do you know how many radio stations you contacted in the US?

Approximately 10 email X 37 states (about 400 stations)

How many came back to you?

About 5

Did you get any flat-out rejections i.e. stations that said they wouldn’t play Susan’s music? If so, what stations said this.

Yes, about 2. The replies are in the blog. I believe Kiss in Boston told me it wasn’t there type of music.

Did you have any successes, i.e., stations that said they would play her music? If so, what stations said this.

Yes, there were 2 to 3 stations that played her music. One was Baltimore Net - have to look at blog for others.

Do you still contact stations to request her music be played?

No, ended it about Feb. 5^th, 2012 - Hopeless cause, found out through calls and replies that it is up to Susan record company Sony/Columbia to get the information/cd to the stations. Also, a little gift or monetary game for listeners.

Why do you think so many stations don’t play her music?

Because Sony/Columbia do not get the CDs/info to the stations

I believe someone in Britain is trying to do the same thing here. Would you be willing to team up with them?

No. My effort was a waste of time. I didn't accomplish anything for the months I spent on it. Susan is doing just fine without the radio plays. Would be a lot better for her if they did play her music and the listeners too, but as I stated before, it is up to the record company to contact the radio stations. It is up to the record company to do it. The pressure should be put on Sony and Columbia, not the radio stations. Most big radio stations are the Kiss stations. I was told by local radio stations that they do not have a say on what they play. The list comes down to them from major corporate heads. The major stations are under big corporations. The local, schools and universities can play their own music. Some play Susan’s music.

Do you know of anyone else in other countries around the world campaigning for susan’s music to get airplay on radio?

Yes, on SBFII fans are and have called and emailed stations. Some of them using the list of stations I supplied as I posted the information on the fan thread as I was doing each state.

How did you become a Susan Boyle fan?

April 11, 2009, saw the BGT video of Susan singing” I Dreamed A Dream” and have followed her ever since. Love everything about her.

Have you ever met her?

Six (6) times. First time, shook her hand the first time she was in the NY

Can you tell me a bit about yourself? i.e. age, where you live, occupation, hobbies, anything like that.

I am a very senior retired lady, living 16 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. I worked as an Administrative Assistant to a VP in large company for many years. My hobby for the past few years is keeping 4 blogs on Susan Boyle, which I post to daily. Even though I did Word Processing, I never went on to the internet until Susan. Now I am on fan sites, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Aol, and so many more sites following Susan and I love it.

Have you ever been to Scotland or anywhere else to see Susan perform?

My first trip overseas was to Scotland to see Susan in IDAD stage show and to see the area where she lives.

My trip to Scotland - September 27th through October 15, 2012

http://graysea-susanboyle.blogspot.com/

A daily log of my Scotland trip is on the “Scotland Trip” page on my main Susan Boyle blog. (see link above) This blog has over 160,000 viewers, so far.

Could you send me a photo of you and Susan together if you’ve ever met as this would be good to include.

gr and sb backstage festival edinbugh 9-28-12.jpg

Festival Theater Sept 2012

Balbairdie M&G Oct 2012

New York 20 M&G at St. Andrews

Houston, Texas M&G Nov. 17, 2013

New York, first M&G Rockefeller Plaza Today

-

Glasgow M&G, Oct. 2012 Premier Inn Meeting

-----Original Message-----
From: John Breslin <jbreslin@dcthomson.co.uk>
To: 'graysea' <seagrayc@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Feb 20, 2014 5:10 am
Subject: RE: Susan Boyle - Radio

Hi Grace, yes, I don’t have much on my Twitter account. I just use it now and again when trying to contact people.

Do you know how many radio stations you contacted in the US?

How many came back to you?

Did you get any flat-out rejections i.e. stations that said they wouldn’t play susan’s music? If so, what stations said this.

Did you have any successes, i.e., stations that said they would play her music? If so, what stations said this.

Do you still contact stations to request her music be played?

Why do you think so many stations don’t play her music?

I believe someone in Britain is trying to do the same thing here. Would you be willing to team up with them?

Do you know of anyone else in other countries around the world campaigning for susan’s music to get airplay on radio?

How did you become a Susan Boyle fan?

Have you ever met her?

Can you tell me a bit about yourself? i.e. age, where you live, occupation, hobbies, anything like that.

Have you ever been to Scotland or anywhere else to see Susan perform?

Could you send me a photo of you and Susan together if you’ve ever met as this would be good to include.

Thanks for getting back to me. I think there’s definitely a story in Susan’s fans trying to get her airplay.

Regards

John Paul

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