Golden girl Kat aims to inspire a nation

graysea

MUSIC

Placido Domingo prepares 'Songs', his first pop album in 20 years

EFE - MADRID - 07/20/2012

Placido Domingo is preparing the launch of 'Songs', the first album of light music of the Spanish tenor in 20 years, with subjects' Evergreen' and 'Besame Mucho' and 'Girl from Ipanema', but also more pop like 'Eternally', ' My heart will go on 'or' From this moment on 'with Susan Boyle.

Tenor Placido Domingo.

This is the first album published since signing an exclusive contract with Sony Classical and is scheduled to go to the streets on October 15, announced today in a note the record company. Most songs have been recorded for the first Placido Domingo once, some duets with artists like Boyle, who rose to stardom in 2009 thanks to a game show for new talent, Zaz, Josh Groban, Harry Connick Jr. or his son, Placido Domingo. The disc contains the subjects' Song for a Queen ',' Sous le ciel de Paris "(Josh Groban), 'Time After Time" (Harry Connick Jr.),' A work uomo fucks', 'La chanson des vieux Amants "(with Zaz ), 'From This Moment On' (Susan Boyle) and "Besame Mucho" (Chris Botti). The complete 'Parla piu piano', 'My Heart Will Go On' (Megan Hilty), 'Eternally', 'Jealousy', 'Girl from Ipanema', 'Come What May' (Katherine Jenkins) and 'What A Wonderful World "(Placido Domingo Jr.). Sunday begins a new tour on July 23, coinciding with the Olympic Games in London, ending December 22 in Prague and passing through Spain with three concerts on 25, 28 and October 31 at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville with works by Massenet and Thais. The artist, who has won 12 Grammy awards, has recorded more than a hundred albums complete operas, compilations of arias and duets and over 50 videos, and has played 137 roles in over 3,500 performances.

http://www.laregion.es/noticia/217457/placido/domingo/prepara/songs/primer/album/anos/

graysea

By Dailyrecord.co.uk
Comments
11 Aug 2012 06:30

Golden girl Kat aims to inspire a nation

SCOTTISH rower Grainger has contributed to a charity book in which people reveal what their goals are.

Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger has outlined her dreams for Scotland as part of an inspirational new project.

The Dalai Lama, singer Susan Boyle and actor Alan Cumming have also contributed to charity book Hopes of a Nation.

Rower Katherine said: “Let’s be proud of what we have and whom we are but look forward to how much more we can be.”

Callum Smith gave up his job with a charity to work on the book to raise cash for the Children’s Hospice
Association Scotland.

Callum, 44, of Dumbarton, said: “I want to inspire people to make their lives better and strive for change.”

The book – backed by RBS – has been five years’ work for Callum. He hopes it will be published next year.

Anyone can contribute to the book, whether they live here or are visitors charmed by our country.

Callum hopes to encourage every school in the country to run competitions for pupils as part of Hopes of a Nation.

For more information visit www.hopesofanation.co.uk

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/katherine-grainger-revealed-her-hopes-and-dreams-1247483

graysea

Susan Boyle on song for Barclay

JAMIE SEARLE

JOHN HAWKINS/FAIRFAX NZ

TRAINER-DRIVER: Kirstin Barclay

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/racing/7464375/Susan-Boyle-on-song-for-Barclay

Susan Boyle's win at Ascot Park yesterday lifted the spirits of her trainer Kirstin Barclay.

She was to drive the mare in the Cue TV 110 Pace, along with Neat N Petite in the www.southlandharness.co.nz Pace. But a bout of flu and a sinus infection forced her to leave the course after race one.

''I felt really guttered when I wasn't there (for the win),'' Barclay said last night.

Tisbury trainer Tom Kilkelly and his staff harnessed Susan Boyle for yesterday's maiden race. Kilkelly and Barclay own the Falcon Seelster mare with Ray Fidow and Jo Sheat, of Dunedin.

Kilkelly was also looking after Christchurch pacer Borntobeanartist, who won the Happy 18th Courtney Dempster Pace. The 4-year-old Artsplace entire returns to West Melton trainers Paul and Graham Court today.

Mosgiel trainer Alan Clark was delighted with The Fiery Ginga's fresh-up win in the Not Just Shoes Discretionary Handicap Trot.

''It was a tremendous run first-up.''

graysea

Do you think the red scarf is a message to us?

Lizzie Mcglynn ‏@superawsomegeek
Mind that time I met SuBo? :P http://yfrog.com/obyf6gbyj

graysea

Britain’s Got Talent Breaks A Billion On YouTube

While ITV1 are preparing for the return of their most popular talent contest The X Factor in just over a week’s time, it is another Simon Cowell-owned show that is taking headlines, as the official YouTube channel for Britain’s Got Talent has YouTube channel has reached over 1 billion views.

The channel, which provides full repeats of all key performances from the show, broke the milestone this week, counting the total of all ‘hits’ for all their 596 videos, with the channel also currently holding over 370,000 subscribers.

Fremantle Media UK are the production company behind Britain’s Got Talent and by extension have partial responsibility for the YouTube hub, as their chairman Peter Cassidy said of the show: “[It] is not just a national treasure but a global sensation. Along with The X Factor UK, it’s one of the most successful YouTube channels in any country, in any genre. We look forward to the next billion.”

The landmark will be seen as a big one, especially considering that it is a relatively small ‘dominant share’ at the top, with only 12% of the total views having come from the top 4 videos on the site, though the clips have attracted high viewing figures on their own merit through the official channel, with a surprise breakaway leader being child singer Natalie Okri, whose audition has so far taken in 54m views since 2009.

That appeared to be a vintage year for the show’s talent viewed on YouTube (also being the year that the channel was launched), as it provided the remainder of the top 4 (the only videos on the channel to attract over 20m views) in the form of flatulent musical performer ’Mr. Methane’ (on nearly 22m hits), viral hit Susan Boyle (a surprising third in the listings despite her popularity in syndication), and eventual season 3 winners Diversity, all of which can be seen below:

http://www.worldtvpc.com/blog/britains-got-talent-breaks-a-billion-on-youtube/

Read more internet tv news: Britain’s Got Talent Breaks A Billion On YouTube http://www.worldtvpc.com/blog/britains-got-talent-breaks-a-billion-on-youtube/#ixzz23FSFZ2By

graysea

Month of August from Canadian Bill's Calendar

http://forum.susan-boyle.com/threads/15154-Susan-Boyle-Calendar-2012?highlight=susan+boyle+calendar+2012

graysea

Invercargill HRC tips

JAMES JUBB

DRIVER: Kirstin Barclay will rein Susan Boyle in race eight at Ascot Park tomorrow. Susan Boyle has been featuring at workouts on the course.

Jamie Searle's selections for the Invercargill Harness Racing Club meeting tomorrow:

Race 1:Springbank Ruby, Becky's Baby, Bet's Best.

Race 2: Falcalla, Southern Red, Major's Delight.

Race 3: The Receptionist, Shezaterror, Miss Milwaukee.

Race 4: Major Deed, Love In The Dark, Hey Hardy.

Race 5: Eddie Boy, Run Fatboy Run, Borntobeanartist.

Race 6: Sunnivue Ted, The Fiery Ginga, Here Comes Pat.

Race 7: Lord Mamaduke, Kai Bree She, Lord Forbes.

Race 8: Sudden Flush, Susan Boyle, Golden Compass.

Best bet: Eddie Boy.

Longshot: Gold Digga (R2).

***

Invercargill HRC betting information

*Stable changes

Race 1: Marchesa, from Russell Williams (Leeston) to Billy Heads (Waimumu); Makarewa Rick, from Tony Barron (Makarewa) to Kelvin Franks (Gore).

Race 2: Zest Philly, from Gavin Smith (Kaiapoi) to Graeme Anderson and Amber Hoffman (Brighton); Gold Digga, from Tony Barron (Makarewa) to Ray Faithful and Tracee Sherborne (Ascot Park).

Race 3: Trilby, from Mark Purdon and Grant Payne (Rolleston) to Graeme Anderson and Amber Hoffman (Brighton).

Race 6: Rocker Billy Rebel, from Lindsay Veint (West Plains) to Tony Stratford (Lorneville).

Race 8: Rakabaa, from Peter Hunter (Ryal Bush) to Alex Milne (Edendale); Clifton Prize, from Graeme Anderson and Amber Hoffman (Bright0n) to Craig Laurenson (Edendale).

* Trial form

Race 1: Marchesa, 2nd Ascot Park, Aug 1.

Race 2: Ultra Shok, 3rd Ascot Park; Major's Delight, 2nd Ascot Park.

Race 3: Trilby, 2nd Forbury Park, Monday.

Race 4: Expressionist, 2nd Ascot Park; Love In The Dark, 1st Ascot Park; Bleach, 2nd Forbury Park.

Race 6: Rocker Billy Rebel, 1st Ascot Park; The Fiery Ginga, 1st Forbury Park (against pacers).

Race 8: Sudden Flush, 1st qualifying trial Ascot Park.

* Workout form

Race 1: Infusion, 3rd Ascot Park Aug 4, 1st Ascot Park, July 28.

Race 2: Gold Digga, 3rd Ascot Park, July 28; Southern Red, 2nd Ascot Park, July 28.

Race 3: The Receptionist, 2nd Ascot Park, July 28; Esweetashoney, 1st Ascot Park, Aug 4.

Race 4: Expressionist, 2nd Ascot Park, Aug 4; Kaylea Bolter, 1st Ascot Park, Aug 4; Hey Hardie, 1st Ascot Park, July 28; Major Deed, 1st Ascot Park, Aug 4, 1st Ascot Park, July 28.

Race 5: Artfilly, 2nd Ascot Park, Aug 4.

Race 6: Jaccka Creek, 2nd Ascot Park, Aug 4; Capitol Drive, 1st Ascot Park, Aug 4; The Fiery Ginga, 1st Forbury Park, Aug 4.

Race 7: Arden's Attack, 3rd Ascot Park, Aug 4; Cherokee Charlie, 3rd Ascot Park, July 28.

Race 8: Sudden Flush, 2nd Ascot Park, July 28; Susan Boyle, 3rd Ascot Park, Aug 4, 2nd Ascot Park, July 28; Bella Regalo, 3rd Ascot Park, July 28.

* Stipes' file

Race 7: Lord Marmaduke, Oamaru, Aug 5: Held up in the concluding stages.

- © Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/racing/7457934/Invercargill-HRC-tips

graysea

Notice the CD in hand
Susan Boyle hits the thigh note

Riding high ... Susan Boyle

By KENNY ANGOVE

Published: Today at 01:28

SINGING superstar Susan Boyle could have another hit with Thigh Dreamed A Dream — if this snap is anything to go by.

The Britain’s Got Talent star unwittingly showed off her pins as her multi-coloured dress rode up too high when she got into a car at her home in Blackburn, West Lothian.

But SuBo, 51, was in good form as she warned snappers not to over-expose her... knee chance of that, Susan!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/4478648/Susan-Boyle-hits-the-thigh-note.html

graysea

graysea

Susan Boyle delights singing supermarket worker with karaoke duet

Su-Bo couldn’t resist returning to the karaoke at The Crown in Blackburn, much to the delight of one lucky local.

07 August 2012 16:45 GMT

Susan Boyle delights singing supermarket worker with karaoke duet

Susan Boyle could have her pick of just about any artist in the world to duet with, but the singing superstar was more than happy to perform alongside a local at one of her favourite Blackburn pubs last week.

Supermarket worker John Dickson couldn’t resist asking Su-Bo to sing with him when he spotted the Britain’s Got Talent star enjoying her favourite tipple - a lemonade - in The Crown bar.

He was shocked when the bubbly 51-year-old agreed and asked what he would like to perform.

The 23-year-old told the Daily Record: “I was surprised because I did not expect Susan to say yes but she’s a good sport.

“However, I am not so sure we will do it again even though it has become a talking point in the town.

“And a lot of folk have started calling me JoBo.”

The Blackburn belters rocked a unique rendition of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton favourite Islands in the Stream, much to the delight of the stunned onlookers.

And, of course, thanks to the wonders of technology, John himself is now enjoying his moment in the spotlight, after someone filmed the performance and uploaded it to YouTube.

You can watch the interesting duet here… not sure it will be making it onto Susan’s next album.
While Susan is one of the biggest artists in the world, with millions in the bank, she has stayed true to her Blackburn roots, choosing to live in the humble council home she grew up in and even bagging the odd bargain in pound world.

Earlier, this year, the star is said to have delighted locals by throwing a party to thank them for their support since she shot to fame in 2009.

She told The Sun: "It was to say thank you and show my appreciation for all their support over the last few years.

"We had a great time and it was lovely to be with the people who have helped me along this incredible journey." What a lovely lady.
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/311819-susan-boyle-delights-singing-supermarket-worker-with-karaoke-duet/

graysea

By Jack Mathieson
7 Aug 2012 06:3

0

Supermarket worker nicknamed JoBo after karaoke duet with Susan Boyle

SUPERMARKET worker John Dickson has been nicknamed JoBo by friends after a dodgy karaoke duet with Susan Boyle in his local pub, The Crown in Blackburn.

A SUPERMARKET worker has become a local hero – after a dodgy karaoke duet with Susan Boyle.

John Dickson plucked up the courage to ask the superstar to sing with him when she popped into her local pub.

He said: “I was surprised because I did not expect Susan to say yes but she’s a good sport.

“However, I am not so sure we will do it again even though it has become a talking point in the town.

“And a lot of folk have started calling me JoBo.”

SuBo popped into The Crown in Blackburn, West Lothian, for a quiet drink by herself on Saturday night.

She did one solo number after the regular karaoke got started.

And John, 23, who has lived in the same area as the singer all his life, then seized his chance to perform alongside her. SuBo accepted his invitation to join him in front of the karaoke machine.

John Dickson duets with Susan Boyle in local pub

And their version of the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton classic Islands in the Stream got a rousing reception.

The Tesco worker, who was with girlfriend Gemma Smith, 20, said: “As she walked by our table, I just said, ‘Any chance of a duet?’

“She said yes straight away and asked what I wanted to sing.

“My pal Kieran suggested Islands in the Stream, mainly because it’s a good duet that everyone knows.”

Despite some dubious dancing and vocals that frequently fell short of harmonious, even the pool players at the adjoining tables put down their cues to watch John and his singing partner.

It also gave warehouse worker John his own five minutes in the spotlight.

The performance was filmed and uploaded on to YouTube and SuBo fans, some as far away as the US, have sent him messages and asked to be his Facebook friend.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/susan-boyle-karaoke-duet-1229660

graysea

Very nice picture.

graysea

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

graysea

graysea

Bash is on the Boyle

Pals ... Boyle and Murs have swapped numbers

Last Updated: 04th August 2012

SUSAN Boyle wants a night out with Olly Murs and One Direction.

The Scottish star and the Essex boy have been bantering since they swapped numbers and now SuBo is angling for a tear-up.

She’s told Olly to bring the 1D boys along too.

A source said: “They’ve been texting since they swapped numbers.

“SuBo is well up for a night out with them. Susan loves a party. She’d be brilliant out with the boys.”

Olly should definitely take her up on it.

But they will probably struggle to keep up – I’ve seen SuBo in action and she’s formidable.

Perhaps they should drop round her gaff as she’s been having Olympic-themed parties.

The source said: “She’s really been getting into the spirit, having people round and laying on spreads.

“She’d be more than happy for the boys to rock up.”

They should – she’s bound to serve Tunnock’s Teacakes.

graysea

PROMISE ME YOU’LL TRY TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE

“Promise me you’ll try to do something with your life…”

Susan Boyle’s mother said that to her on Christmas day 2006 (her last Christmas). Susan Boyle was an ordinary person from Scotland who shot to international fame on April 11, 2009, when she appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, singing “I Dreamed a Dream”.

Since birth, Susan was labeled:
Susan will never come to anything. So, don’t expect too much of her.
I was diagnosed as hyperactive, and I was slower at learning things than other children because I was easily distracted.
Borderline.

As I read through Susan Boyle’s memoir, I see a parallel of my life and many lives that I have shared with. We have been labeled and that label stick with us for years and decades and made us feel small and think small, thus do small things. In the comfort of our smallness and ordinariness, we are stuck with the person we are not supposed to be. Most of us do not even realize this struggle unless we are exposed to the extraordinary.

After being labeled, we become disabled. The word able is now attached to a prefix, ‘dis’, which now makes us having the absence of being able. This will eventually lead to inaction.

In her own words to fight back on the labeling, Susan Boyle said:
“I’m sure they had the best intentions, but I don’t think they should have said that, because nobody can foretell the future. What they didn’t know was that I’, a bit of a fighter, and I’ve been trying all my life to prove them wrong.” I believe that fighting spirit has made her what she is today.

Where is our fighting spirit?
Should we just settle for what we were labeled?
Should we take action and move forward to what we are called to do?

Susan Boyle has impacted lives and I am sure she did not intend it that way. By her going through all odds, roadblocks, fears, uncertainties and ridicules and stepping up to pursue her dream, she has become an inspiration for many. She fought through and I am sure part of her success was tied to her seeking out the help of singing coaches. Her singing coach, Frank Quinn told her years before she became famous, “Susan, believe in yourself. You are the person writing your story.”

From Susan Boyle’s memoir, I have learnt the following:

You are responsible for your own life, so take actions to fulfill your purpose on planet earth
Focus on what you can do and not what you can’t do
You need a mentor/coach to get better in your trade
No such thing as overnight success
Our lives is worthwhile to the Creator, so make it worthwhile and impact others

In the final chapter of her book, Susan Boyle said, “If there is one thing I would most like to think I have achieved this past year, it is to have made life a little easier for people with a disability. In my dictionary there’s no such word as ‘disability.’ Those first three letters imply that you’re limited, that fence has been built around you – not by you, but by what people think of you. If you take those first three letters off, then you’ve got ‘ability’, and the gate is open.”

We have the abilities and our gate is open.

So what steps will you take today to change whatever you can change in your life?

p.s. I recommend Susan Boyle’s book ‘The Woman I Was Born To Be

http://www.bookkeepingwizard.net/promise-me-youll-try-to-do-something-with-your-life.html
’

graysea

By Stuart Macdonald
3 Aug 2012 06:3

0

Flashing the cash: Susan Boyle went on £1.7m spending spree last year

SCOTS singing sensation Susan Boyle went on a £1.7 million spending spree last year, getting through more than £32,000 a week, figures from the star's accounts reveal.

Susan Boyle appears on stage at the end of the opening night of The Susan Boyle Musical

And the Scot – who was known for her thrift and said she got by on weekly pocket money of £500 – was getting through more than £32,000 a week.

Accounts for the 51-year-old’s business show that their assets were significantly down in 2011 from the previous year.

It is believed that SuBo used the money to splash out on a string of luxuries – including a new designer wardrobe for herself and gifts for family and friends.

She also bought a fancy people carrier car and hired a chauffeur to ferry her around.

Accounts filed this week show that her main company, Duil, had net assets of £2,895,402 in October 2011. That is more than £1.7million down on the previous year.

The spending spree coincides with SuBo getting personal control over her massive fortune.

The former church volunteer, who lives alone with her cat, has amassed an estimated £11million after selling more than 14million copies of her three studio albums.

She bought a new-build £300,000 house in Blackburn, West Lothian, in summer 2010 – but ended up moving back to the council house in the same town where she grew up because she missed her
old life.

Her second firm, Speur, had assets of £577,524 in October 2011 – a rise of more than £300,000 from the year before.

When the companies were set up to run Susan’s finances in October 2009, they were run by her niece, lawyer Kirsty Foy and Irish showbiz accountant Ossie Kilkenny, who helped turn U2 into multi-millionaires.

However, their appointments as directors were terminated in March last year and Susan and her manager Andy Stephens, 61, now have direct control of the money.

Kirsty and Ossie were criticised by SuBo’s brother Gerry, leading to a bitter rift in the close-knit Boyle family.

Gerry claimed his sister only had access to a few hundreds of pounds a week allowance and didn’t have a credit card.

Kirsty, 43, hit back in a letter to Gerry, saying she and Ossie had helped Susan get a “massively improved” deal with record label Sony.

In a TV interview with Piers Morgan in 2010, SuBo said she wasn’t interested in splashing out on luxuries like expensive cars.

She said: “I’ve only just learnt how to go in a taxi. I don’t flash the cash. I’m always careful with money. I’m not saying I’m mean, but I’m always careful.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/susan-boyle-splashes-32k-a-week-1209143

graysea

beff‏@wiidzyy
Me and @takeherbackk met subo http://pic.twitter.com/edJELmxp

graysea

Susan Boyle’s got talent for managing her £3.4m - Entertainment - Scotsman.com

Susan Boyle’s got talent for managing her £3.4m

Published on Friday 3 August 2012 00:00

COMPANIES owned by Scottish singer Susan Boyle have more than £3.4 million in the bank, new figures have revealed.

Records filed with Companies House show her main company Duil Limited has net assets of £2,895,402.

That is more than £1.7m down on the previous year, but that money is thought to have been paid to the star.

Her second firm, Speur Limited, has assets worth £577,524 – a rise of more than £300,000 from the year before.

Miss Boyle was given full control of her financial affairs for the first time last year, and the 2010-11 accounts cover the period up to 31 October, 2011.

The 51-year-old from Blackburn, West Lothian, was made a director and the owner of all the shares in her firms which handle income from her music and merchandising.

Financial experts said the cash held in the accounts would not represent the full value of Miss Boyle’s wealth.

A source said: “These figures are very impressive and show Susan has more than £3m  she can dip into whenever she likes.

“The director’s account has less in it than last year but that just means she has taken some money out of it over the last 12 months and does not indicate a drop in income.”

graysea

Article about Olly Murs. It seems that Susan went to see his show when he appeared in Glasglow.

For full aritcle: http://www.metro.co.uk/music/906921-olly-murs-my-fans-aren-t-as-obsessed-as-one-directions-mine-are-chilled#ixzz22KSgdVby

Olly Murs: My fans aren’t as obsessed as One Direction's, mine are chilled

Xtra Factor host Olly Murs, 28, talks to Metro about One Direction, Susan Boyle, falling down the stairs at Guilfest and his upcoming gig at this year's iTunes festival.

Heart Skips A Beat singer Olly Murs has just finished touring with One Direction in the US (Picture

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/music/906921-olly-murs-my-fans-aren-t-as-obsessed-as-one-directions-mine-are-chilled#ixzz22MG92MaS

Have you got any unexpected showbiz fans?

I did a gig in Glasgow and my tour manager said: ‘Susan Boyle’s at the box office.’ We didn’t have any free tickets left for the show and apologised. She said: ‘That’s fine, I’ve come to buy tickets.’ She bought four and sat in the audience with her friends and watched the show. She came backstage afterwards. Subo’s a fan. We got a picture together and she was very complimentary.

What was she like?

She’s such a nice person. There are all these perceptions of what she’s like but she’s lovely. We had a chat and she said she liked what I did and I was like: ‘Susan Boyle is standing here saying she likes my stuff and she’s sold 12million records.’ It was surreal.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/music/906921-olly-murs-my-fans-aren-t-as-obsessed-as-one-directions-mine-are-chilled#ixzz22MFo83i6

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