Susan Boyle reaction 'like the Pope arriving' says Elaine C. Smith

graysea · 18th September 2012

http://www.susanboylemusic.com/gb/news/item/a_message_from_susan142/

News

Personal Message from Susan

18th September 2012

Hello,

Well it’s been a very exciting and busy few weeks but first I want to say sorry for not keeping you all up to date more regularly.

I have just returned from a girls holiday in Benidorm which was great fun. Our holiday motto became, ‘What happens in Benidorm, Stays in Benidorm!’
It was a really great holiday with two of my closest friends. It was lovely to have some hot sun and be able to just relax by a pool, read books or visit the spa for some beauty treatments. We were staying in a very posh hotel in Benidorm (yes they exsist!) and we were thoroughly spoilt by the wonderful staff. I managed to get a wee tan from the sun so I was happy with that. Our scottish skin isn’t the best when it comes to going brown!
There was lots of laughter and I have some great memories. I had a ball and really enjoyed every moment. I’ve booked another little break in January so I can have a little winter sun.

As well as Benidorm I have had a few visits to Stobo Castle, I recently went with my sister in law and had a great time. Again, it’s lovely to just take a couple of days away and have a bit of pampering. The hotel and the grounds are just beautiful and although close to home you feel like you are in another world.

I’ve become a real fan of the theatre again. Especially now I’m a patron of the local Bathgate Regal Theatre.
I went up to Dundee on Saturday to watch a production called ‘Mill Lavvies’. That was an enjoyable evening and I also went to watch the local Bathgate showcase at the Regal a couple of weeks ago. There is so much untapped talent in West Lothian and it’s good to watch and support them. There was lots of speculation about what I was going to be doing there, but I just like sitting in the theatre and watching the performances without any fuss and to cheer people on.

It hasn’t all been a holiday! I have been busy at work as well.
The album recording is now finished. I had the opportunity to listen to some of the music today and I was really happy and excited by the songs I heard. It’s been a great experience recording this album and working with a new producer, in a new studio was also an exciting step.

Personally, I can’t believe that I’ve just made my fourth album. Where has the time gone? It’s flown by. I think if you’d said to me at the beginning of 2009 that by the end of 2012 I would have my fourth album coming out around the globe I would have said you were pulling my leg! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. This one has been a lot of fun to do.

As well as finishing recording I have also done a couple of photo shoots for the album and it’s great to be back in the swing of it again.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the road so to speak and visiting America. That feels like a second home to me, so being welcomed back with open arms, I can’t wait. I’m also planning on visiting some other places this year, so hopefully I will see more of you all.

I’m not going to give too much away at this point in terms of the album. Somethings need to be kept as surprises, but it won’t be too much longer before you find out more. However what I will say is watch this space…. It’s an exciting few months ahead and I can’t wait for you all to share this time with me.

graysea

Susan with the chef of the Balbairdie Hotel in Bathgate, which is owned by Susan's friend Lorraine.

graysea · 18 September 2012 17:50 BST

Susan Boyle reaction 'like the Pope arriving' says Elaine C. Smith

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/190817-susan-boyle-reaction-like-the-pope-arriving-says-elaine-c-smith/

As Edinburgh and Glasgow audiences look forward to I Dreamed a Dream coming to town, Elaine C. Smith has been speaking about her joy at being part of the show and what it’s like working with Susan Boyle.

While the Rab C. Nesbitt star has received standing ovations each night for her portrayal of singing sensation Susan, it’s the Britain’s Got Talent belter herself who has received the most incredible reaction of all.

Elaine joked: “It’s like the Pope arriving. All she needs to do is come on and wave and they go crazy. She doesn’t even need to sing.”

Susan often comes on stage at the end of the show, but this varies depending on her schedule.

Throughout the incredibly successful run of the musical, which tells the story of Susan’s early life through to her overnight BGT success, Elaine and Susan have grown close and the actress admitted she feels very protective towards Ms Boyle.

She said: “She asked me to her 50th birthday party and I was watching her and it was lovely.”

Indeed, after the night of celebrations, which included a performance from Susan’s BGTbuddies Stavros Flatley, Elaine told how she was inspired to go home and write the opening speech for I Dreamed a Dream.

With Scottish fans gearing up to be wowed by the musical, Elaine admitted: “There’s a mixture of terror coming back to your own city.”

And while there are talks of the musical then travelling on to America, Canada and Australia, and the prospect of musical maestro Cameron Mackintosh getting involved, Elaine maintains that Susan’s happiness remains key to her.

She said: “All I want is for Susan Boyle to go and have a happy life.”

I Dreamed a Dream is at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from September 21 and Glasgow’s King’s Theatre from October 1.

graysea

JUST last week, an East Yorkshire charity was on the brink of closure.

But now The Echoes Foundation has been saved – thanks to a nervous gameshow contestant and a question about Susan Boyle.

NERVY NIGHT: Alex Brooker, right, with Josh Widdecome on Channel 4's Million Pound Drop. Picture: Channel 4

TV presenter Alex Brooker won £25,000 for The Echoes Foundation on Friday night's Million Pound Drop.

Alex – who became a patron of the charity earlier this year – went on the live show with comedian Josh Widdicombe and the pair won £100,000.

Paralympics reporter Alex split his share of the winnings between two worthy causes – the Echoes Foundation and a US charity.

The Echoes Foundation founder Claire Stockton said: "Alex has saved the charity and secured our future.

"The £25,000 is fantastic – it is absolutely unbelievable.

"Alex knew Echoes was struggling but I didn't want to tell him how much before he went on.

"We had about six or seven months left, but now our future is safe."

Alex and Josh were teamed up as they were both pundits on The Last Leg show – which featured a mixture of comedy, guests and Paralympic highlights.

They had to answer eight questions during the Million Pound Drop in order to win the money.

Starting with £1 million, their money dwindled to £100,000.

On the last question – Which of these Boyles once auditioned to appear on Michael Barrymore's My Kind Of People? – they placed all their money on Susan Boyle, shunning the other option of Frankie Boyle.

Claire said: "My pulse was doing about 140.

"I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"When the answer came back that it was Susan I was jumping in the air screaming."

Claire, 39, set up the charity in 2008 after difficulties with getting support and therapy for her son Finley, 6, who suffers from a brain disorder.

Echoes now supports hundreds of families in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Claire watched the show in a bar room of the Hallmark hotel. She was at a wedding reception, but broke away from the party to tune into the show.

She said: "Our biggest ever contribution was about six months in, when the primary care trust gave us £20,000, so £25,000 is a lot of money to us.

"This money is to sustain the charity and keeps Echoes going.

"My hope is that, even though we won the money, people still support us.

"The amount of money is fantastic, but £25,000 won't last forever.

"We're so grateful to Alex for what he did."

The gameshow, hosted by Davina McCall, sees contestants answer eight questions.

They start with £1 million and place the money an answer they think is correct.

If they want to hedge their bets, they can place different amounts of money on different answers.

Alex was visibly nervous throughout the game, even joking to Davina: "When I play at home, Google makes it so much easier."

He later said, while nervously biting his fingernails: "It's a good job I only have a couple of nails to bite off."

After the show – which was aired live from 9pm to 10pm on Friday – Claire sent Alex a text to say thank you.

Claire wrote: "Alex, I can't believe it. You've secured the future of Echoes."

Later, Alex replied with: "That's OK. Hopefully, call you soon. My nerves are still shot. Was so nervous. £25,000, eh? BOOM!"

Susan's picture from my file
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Famous-friends-rescue-charity/story-16919967-detail/story.html

graysea · 17 September 2012 11:54 BST

Susan Boyle turns holiday entertainer as she performs in Benidorm bar

Singing superstar: Susan Boyle has become a global sensation in recent yearsKen McKay/Thames/Rex Features

Susan Boyle delighted Benidorm holidaymakers when she launched into an impromptu show at a bar in the holiday town.

The Scottish star, who shot to fame after coming second on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, was in Fratelli’s Fashion Bar in the popular resort when she decided to perform for around 12 lucky customers.

Susan decided to perform a couple of old classics for the lucky crowd after liaising with the bar manager, who was delighted to have a star of her calibre in the venue.

Sue Allen of Leeds was one of the delighted customers in the bar who got the chance to catch the intimate show.

“My friends noticed her first. She was sitting with two other women,” Sue told The Sun.

“The bar manager went over and I heard them discussing songs – then he announced Susan was going to sing for us.

“Staff closed the bar so that it didn’t get too mobbed and spoil the moment.”

But Susan’s impromptu gig suffered a slight setback when the pianist couldn’t get the hang of the notes for her opening song Blue Moon.

Undeterred, Susan pushed ahead anyway and gave what has been described as an “amazing” show.

“Susan moved onto Unchained Melody instead,” Sue explained.

http://entertainment.stv.tv/music/190561-susan-boyle-turns-holiday-entertainer-as-she-performs-in-benidorm-bar/

She added: “I asked her friends if I could record it but they said her record company wouldn’t be happy.”

According to Sue, Susan had a great time entertaining the delighted audience and even joked with them that “whatever happens in Benidorm stays in Benidorm.”

Susan, who became a global singing sensation after her time on BGT, has been recently working on the stage show I Dreamed a Dream, which tells the story of her amazing rise to fame.

Starring Elaine C Smith in the role as Susan, the show charts the star’s life from her humble upbringing to the moment her talent was discovered on national TV.

I Dreamed a Dream comes to Edinburgh Playhouse this Friday (September 21) until September 29, and Glasgow’s King’s Theatre from October 1-13.

graysea

Friday near Musselburgh, Scotland via mobile

graysea

SuBo’s hol of an act

Break ... Susan Boyle in Benidorm pub Scruffy Murphy¿s

By NEIL POORAN

Published: 8 hrs ago

SUPERSTAR Susan Boyle stunned holiday revellers when she treated them to an impromptu show in a bar.

The singing sensation belted out her favourite numbers while on the town in Benidorm.

One lucky punter told of SuBo’s “amazing” show for just a dozen gobsmacked customers at Fratelli’s Fashion Bar in the Spanish resort.

Sue Allen, from Leeds, said: “My friend noticed her first.

“She was sitting with two other women. The bar manager went over and I heard them discussing songs — then he announced Susan was going to sing for us.

“Staff closed the bar so that it didn’t get too mobbed and spoil the moment.”

But Sue revealed the I Dreamed a Dream star’s off-the-cuff set almost fell flat as the bar’s pianist couldn’t master opening tune Blue Moon.

She said: “Susan moved on to Unchained Melody instead. She was absolutely amazing. I asked her friends if I could video it but they said her record company wouldn’t be happy.”

SuBo — who’s been appearing in the touring musical of her life — told pub-goers it was her first trip to Benidorm trip, where she’d also been in Irish pub Scruffy Murphy’s.

Sue said: “She laughed and said ‘whatever happens in Benidorm stays in Benidorm’. She was in good spirits.

“It was an honour to have a private show, but it was so surreal.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4542549/SuBos-hol-of-an-act.html#ixzz26jTMLIgs

graysea

Well look at this classy lady! You have arrived! Love the look Susan.

graysea

CBill posted this picture with Susan's message on the Forum today. This can be found on the insert of her CD "Someone To Watch Over Me". Beautiful picture and a wonderful note from Susan. Lovely to see again.

graysea

Elaine C Smith describes

Susan Boyle role as a dream

I DREAMED a Dream, starring Elaine C Smith as Susan Boyle, beings its run in Edinburgh later this month, before coming to Glasgow in October.

THE biggest surprise for Elaine C Smith when she met Susan Boyle was that SuBo was just as nervous as she was. The actress and singer met to discuss the stage show telling Susan’s astonishing story.

And Elaine, who famously played Mary Doll in Rab C Nesbitt, says she was delighted to discover that 51-year-old Susan, who has sold 14million records, was a big fan.

The pair have now become firm friends and the I Dreamed a Dream show begins its run in Edinburgh later this month, before coming to Glasgow in October.

But Elaine said: “It was funny when we first went to the house, because she was a wee bit nervous about meeting me.

“It should have been the other way around and, of course, I was a little bit nervous too.

“But unknown to me, she had watched me over the years. She was a big fan of Nesbitt, she had come to pantomimes and had grown up watching me.

“I also think the nerves were because Susan hasn’t been around show business for very long. When you have been around for a long time, and have been part of lots of productions, you aren’t as fazed by these types of things.

“But she had such a different path from me, she was what we could call a ‘civilian’ who had got up one day and sung and found this incredible fame.”

Despite initial nerves, the pair made an instant bond and Elaine was able to put Susan at ease with her humour.

She said: “The first meeting was lovely. I had phoned up and told her that she’d handled everything amazingly. I told her that I had a thousandth of her fame and I still find it hard. She was very humble.

“We had a laugh because when I said I’d come round to see her, she said, ‘I’ve got two hooses, you know’ and I told her, ‘There’s no need to brag, Susan’.

“Of course I went to the new one, the posh hoose, so I could have a nosey. Her niece Joanne was there, and other friends, and I think that made her feel more comfortable. We sat and chatted and had a laugh, I told her some funny stories, and she told some.

“She has a beautiful grand piano and I play a bit of piano so I stupidly sang in front of her. She must have been thinking ‘shut up.’ But she said, ‘God, you have got a really strong voice’, by which I think she meant loud.

“And as I was leaving, she put her arms around me and said, ‘I’d be honoured if you played me, Elaine’.

“That was when I realised we had something quite precious to look after.”

The shows were met with standing ovations in England where Susan joined some of the encores.

Elaine explained how playing the singer has taken its toll on her social life - because she has to rest her voice.

She said: “Sadly, because of the singing, I don’t get to drink on tour. It’s like being a nun. I’ve got to go to my bed early and not talk after a certain time because my voice gets knackered. You have got to look after it.

“A Saturday night is great for me now, because I have a couple of glasses of prosecco and a sly puff of a fag and that’s my night out. Rock and roll isn’t it? It’s hardly Ozzy Osbourne stuff.”

Elaine admitted she was apprehensive about bringing the show home to Scotland.

She said: “There’s a bit of terror about coming to the home turf because there’s expectation there. We’ll not get away with much. But in 78 performances, we have had a standing ovation at every single one, whether Susan has been there or not.

“It’s always daunting to come back. Glasgow audiences will be a bit sceptical, they will be like, ‘We’ve heard this is good, well, let’s see.’ Glaswegians also want to be on the stage with you.

“Edinburgh audiences are a bit different, because they don’t express themselves as much. But they are more likely to give you a standing ovation in Edinburgh.”

And she’s keeping tight-lipped about whether Susan will make a guest appearance during the Scottish dates.

She said: “It’s a golden ticket because she might very well appear. It just depends on her other commitments.

“But I’m sure if she’s just sitting at home watching the TV, she might think to herself she could come through and sing a wee song for us.”

Elaine admits that she almost didn’t get involved with the project, even though she loved Susan’s work.

She explained: “My initial reaction to playing Susan was ‘no way’.

“I thought everybody was jumping on the bandwagon and trying to make a fast buck out of her, and that was never what I wanted to do.

“So many people said to me, ‘Oh you’re playing Susan Boyle, you will make a fortune,’ and I just thought no.

“But it was my sisters who convinced me. They pointed out to me how great a story it was, and how good the part was.

“I was standing on a beach when I finally decided I would do it.

“I had to make the decision to make the commitment.”

Despite a gruelling schedule of eight shows a week since the musical began its tour, Elaine has

enjoyed playing the part.

She said: “It’s been an amazing couple of years seeing the reaction to her and the affection for her.

“The Susan I play is an amalgamation of me and her.

“People keep saying, ‘Oh God, you have her walk absolutely perfect,’ but I never tried to do that because it’s not an impersonation we are doing.”

Susan’s worldwide fame and hardcore fan base has brought some of the attention to Elaine’s door.

She said: “I have had a glimpse of the mania that follows her.

“As much as it is fantastic for her, I wouldn’t want that.

“It’s quite a challenge for anybody to deal with that sort of adulation. People project their own dreams on to her, they project their own hopes and that must be quite a thing for Susan to carry. There’s a lack of privacy for Susan.

“I mean, I can go out for dinner and be able to eat it in peace.

“With Susan, it’s one person after the other coming up and asking for a photo or an autograph.

“I have never understood what that’s about. If there’s someone having their tea, why not wait until they’re finished?

“It’s like if you are in a public place, you should be public property and I don’t envy that. She deals with it really well though and the people are good people who just love her story and what it represents.

“We have had around 200 fans from Texas, Switzerland and all over the world.

“They say I’m now their second favourite person because I am playing Susan.

“Susan’s story fits really well into the American dream.

“The one that everybody writes off, that nobody gives any hope to, with this magical talent that eventually comes through.

“It’s a lovely message.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/elaine-c-smith-describes-susan-1326751

graysea

Someone wrote a report on UKmix blog.

Not sure how accurate it is.

No official word on CD#4 yet!

Susan Boyle :: The "Standing Ovation" ERA

Susan Boyle is of the defining story’s of the new millennium, selling over 14 million albums in three years. Her 4thalbum Standing Ovation is in some says her defining album, Themed around some of the most heartfelt and emotional songs from the world of musicals spanning decades, these songs are some of the most important and personal moments in Susan's Life; Featuring duets with Donny Osmond and Michael Crawford. This album is almost personal thank you from Susan to her fans in the UK and around the World.
http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=3970925

graysea

WOW!!!!!! Lovely Susan. WOW!!!!!

graysea

graysea

Susan Boyle and Tony Hamilton at Celtic Park

graysea

This article was published Published: 05th September 2011

Posted here for the beautiful picture of Susan in pink.

Susan Boyle’s in the pink

Published: 05th September 2011SUSAN Boyle enjoys a real cardie-o workout — as she steps out for a stroll.

SuBo, 50, donned the pink woolie for a walk in Blackburn, West Lothian.

An eye-witness said: “She looked happy.” The singer is set to star in her own reality TV show later this year.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/3796399/Susan-Boyles-in-the-pink.html#ixzz26YRVSdv3

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