Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage

graysea

We're very excited to announce that Susan will be in HMV Glasgow at 5pm on 20th Nov and Edinburgh at 5pm on the 22nd Nov for her album signing! Come pick up a copy of 'Standing Ovation' and meet Susan!

http://www.amazon.it/dp/B009G7ZYPY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Amazon's Susan Boyle Store

Music

Photos

Videos

An introduction to Someone To Watch Over Me

Biography

She catapulted to international stardom overnight with 500 million YouTube hits, smashed music records around the world with her triumphant debut album and now Susan Boyle returns with her eagerly awaited second album, 'The Gift'.
‘The Gift’, sees Susan Boyle and world acclaimed producer Steve Mac reunited to present a breathtaking seasonal album. Featuring yule time favourites ‘The First Noel’ and… Read more in Amazon's Susan Boyle Store

›

Visit Amazon's Susan Boyle Store

for 7 albums, photos, videos, discussions, and more.

graysea

graysea

Telegraph, Sydney, NSW, Australia 5th November 2012

A MUSICAL based on the life of singing sensation Susan Boyle is headed for Sydney next year. British production I Dreamed A Dream, starring Elaine C. Smith, will be staged at the Royal Theatre after a run in Melbourne.

It will be the first time the show has been performed outside Britain, where it has toured since premiering in Newcastle in March. Australian producer Paul Dainty said it was a ‘‘ fascinating and moving story’’. Boyle became an overnight celebrity as the unlikely star of reality TV show Britain’s Got Talent three years ago. At 48, the awkward-looking singer with frizzy hair and a daggy dress stepped on stage to reveal a voice that left her audience gobsmacked.

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

graysea

Susan Boyle Backstage Interview With Donny Osmond - Watch Now

Friday, 02 November 2012

Written by Jon Stickler

Susan Boyle had her dream opportunity of duetting with Donny Osmond on her new album '
Standing Ovation'. The pair teamed up on two songs: 'All I Ask Of You' and 'This Is The Moment'.

Susan flew over to the US last month to perform with Donny on CBS show 'Dancing With the Stars'.
The pair were filmed backstage talking about working together in this exclusive footage.

‘Standing Ovation’, sees Susan Boyle and world acclaimed producer Biff Stannard join forces to
present a sensational album that will span the generations.

'Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs From The Stage' tracklisting is as follows:

1. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
2. The Winner Takes It All
3. Send In The Clowns
4. The Music Of The Night featuring Michael Crawford
5. Bring Him Home
6. Memory
7. As Long As He Needs Me
8. All I Ask Of You featuring Donny Osmond
9. Out Here On My Own
10. You’ll Never Walk Alone
11. This Is The Moment featuring Donny Osmond

Known best for her element of surprise and a powerful and heart stopping voice, Susan has become
a global top selling artist. The phenomenal album sales, record breaking achievements and multi platinum
chart domination - Susan has come a long way from the Britain’s Got Talent stage in 2009.

To date her previous three albums, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, ‘The Gift‘ and ‘Someone To Watch Over Me
have sold over 18 million copies and stormed to the top of the charts in over 30 countries.
Pre-order the new album here.

Source: http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/175707/9#ixzz2BLs50Flz

Susan Boyle Backstage Interview With Donny Osmond - Watch Now - Stereoboard UK

graysea

SuBo story set for dream run

Sally Bennett
From:Herald Sun
November 05, 2012 12:00AM

THE MUSICAL ABOUT SUSAN BOYLE'S LIFE "I DREAMED A DREAM" IS COMING TO MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY. PICTURE: AP AP

A MUSICAL based on the life of singing sensation Susan Boyle is coming to Melbourne next year.

British production I Dreamed A Dream, which stars Elaine C. Smith, will have a five-week run at Her Majesty's Theatre from May 31 before shifting to Sydney's Theatre Royal.

It will be the first time the show has been performed outside Britain, where it has toured since premiering in Newcastle in March.

Australian producer Paul Dainty said it was a "fascinating and moving story".

Few could forget the moment Boyle became an overnight celebrity as the unlikely star of reality TV show Britain's Got Talent three years ago.

At 47, the awkward-looking singer with frizzy hair and a daggy dress stepped on stage to reveal a voice so extraordinary that it left her audience gobsmacked.

She became an instant YouTube sensation, touching hearts around the world, and was catapulted to rock-star status.

Boyle's fans and theatre critics have lapped up I Dreamed A Dream, which has earned five-star reviews and high praise for Smith in the lead role.

One said: "The actress's eerie impersonation of the singer strikes all who hear it dumb with awe."

Co-written by Smith and Alan McHugh, it is based on Boyle's autobiography,The Woman I Was Born to Be, and features songs from her top-selling albums.

It traces Boyle's rags-to-riches tale from birth, through her working-class upbringing, the pain of loss, and finding solace and then success in music.

For some UK performances, Boyle appeared at the curtain call to steal the show, but it is not known if she will be coming to Australia.

Dainty said the Australian cast would be a mix of stars from the UK production and local talent.

------------

I DREAMED A DREAM
Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre
Five-week season from May 31
Tickets: ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Sydney's Theatre Royal
Five-week season from July 4
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 723 038

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts-books/subo-story-set-for-dream-run/story-fn7euh6j-1226510506300

graysea

This beautiful poster by Canadian Bill was on my Facebook today. Could not let this one get by. I want the world to see this. What an amazing series of events Susan has accomplished in just a short time. I am so proud to be Susan's fan. Her mom must be smiling down on her. Wonderful! You are fabulous Susan.

graysea

Susan Boyle's puppy love

04 November, 2012

Reporter: Rahni Sadler

Producer: Sandra Di Girolamo

Susan Boyle is proof that there are no time limits on achieving a dream. This unassuming, middle-aged spinster in sensible shoes has an incredible voice that’s captured the hearts of millions.

Discovered by the Britain’s Got Talent television contest in early 2009, Boyle’s ambition was initially scoffed at, with audience members and judges alike rolling their eyes as she took to the stage. It was only when she started singing a powerhouse rendition of Les Miserables’ I Dreamed a Dream that her star truly shone.

Since that fateful audition, the unassuming 51-year-old has become a music industry powerhouse. Her first three albums have each sold millions of copies worldwide, while her latest,Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage, takes her back to the musical theatre standards she so adores.

It’s released in Australia on November 16 and features classics such as Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Send in the Clowns, and the first single: a stunning take on ABBA’s timeless ballad The Winner Takes It All.

Video Player Controls

Susan Boyle's puppy love

Susan Boyle takes Rahni Sadler backstage in Las Vegas before a performance alongside her teenage idol Donny Osmond.

But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Boyle, who had previously lived a quiet life in rural Scotland. Tabloid intrusions, rumoured breakdowns and the glare of the world’s media have all taken their toll.

In her most candid interview yet, Boyle takes Rahni Sadler backstage in Las Vegas before a performance alongside her teenage idol Donny Osmond. Growing up, the songstress never imagined she’d meet Osmond, let alone sing alongside him.

And don’t miss the funniest rendition of Gangnam style you’ve ever seen: it’s Gangnam, SuBo-style!

Susan Boyle fans can rejoice, because I Dreamed a Dream, the new musical based on Susan Boyle's life story, will run for limited seasons next year in Melbourne at Her Majesty’s Theatre from May 31 and in Sydney at The Theatre Royal from July 4. Tickets go on sale from November 26 - check the OFFICIAL WEBSITE for details.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/article/-/15272181/susan-boyles-puppy-love/

graysea

Information and tickets on I Dreamed A Dream in Australia.

See link below:

http://susanboylemusical.com.au/

I Dreamed A Dream, the new musical based on the life story
of the global singing sensation Susan Boyle, starring
UK actress Elaine C Smith in the title role, will run for
limited seasons next year in Melbourne at Her Majesty’s Theatre
from May 31 and in Sydney at The Theatre Royal from July 4.

graysea · 3 Nov 2012 00:01

Actor Andy Gray who was in I Dreamed A Dream" was in New York during the storm

For full story click link below:

By George Mair

Scots comic Andy Gray unfazed as he is caught up in Superstorm Sandy

3 Nov 2012 00:01

THE City Lights star said growing up in Perth prepared him for 'a wee bit wind and rain'.

COMIC actor Andy Gray has told how he got caught up in superstorm Sandy during a break in New York.

The City Lights and Naked Video star thought being “fae Perth” would prepare him for “a wee bit wind and rain”.

But Andy, 52, and partner Claire could only watch from their Manhattan hotel as Sandy wreaked havoc.

The star of the Susan Boyle musical I Dreamed a Dream said: “I was getting texts all week from worried pals who were watching the news back home.

“The subway was down and we walked down Fifth Avenue, where all the big stores shut up shop. It was eerily quiet.

“The plan to take a helicopter flight went right out the window.”

More than 90 people were killed in the US by Sandy, the largest storm in the country’s history.

Andy added: “It was a bit of an adventure for us but sadly people lost their lives in the storm.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-comic-andy-gray-unfazed-1413987

Perth exiles escape Superstorm

Nov 2 2012 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser

Perth actor and comic Andy Gray usually gets his timing spot-on.

But the star of smash stage hit, the Susan Boyle musical ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, got it all wrong when he booked-up a break in New York.

Last night, he was safe and sound in the Fair City with girlfriend Claire after being caught-up in Superstorm Sandy, and relieved to be counting down to a November 10 ‘Perth in Buff’ show at the Mercure City Mills.

http://www.perthshireadvertiser.co.uk/perthshire-news/local-news-perthshire/perthshire/2012/11/02/perth-exiles-escape-superstorm-73103-32148527/

graysea · 2012-11-03

Home / Nöjesbladet2012-11-03

Susan Boyle: 'I only know of ABBA'

Only Swedish artists Susan Boyle heard of

Releasing new CD Susan Boyle, who is on a flying visit in Sweden, sings like ABBA - but it's also the only Swedish artists she knows.Foto: AP

Superstar Susan Boyle is on a flying visit in Gothenburg.

But she is uninterested in almost all Swedish music.

- I do not know any artists here except ABBA, she says.

Susan Boyle , 51, quickly became an international star after his now classic appearance in "Britain's Got Talent" three years ago.

Since the breakthrough she has sold a total of over 18 million records - and her debut album became the world's best-selling album 2009th

Yesterday Susan Boyle visited Sweden for the first time to record an exclusive television appearance to Bingolottos "New Year's Night."

"Played ABBA often"

Nöjesbladet got to meet superstar at her hotel, where she talked about her upcoming album that contains only the classics.

One of the songs that Boyle has selected is ABBA's "The winner takes it all".

- I like their music very much. When I was younger I played it quite often, she says.

But beyond that Boyle admits that she is not particularly interested in Swedish artists.

- I know of no other artists here, she says.

Boyle's fourth album, released on November 21, but of seeing 51-year-old is already the end of his career.

Want to please people

And superstar do not think she continues occur after she turned 60.

- I do not think I sing as much then. I probably have retired me, she says.

- But I like to think I can go a few more years and make more albums and delight people.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article15711852.ab?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

graysea

Saturday 10th November

The latest from Lottery HQ

Coming up next week…

Saturday 10th November

Susan Boyle performs her brand new track at Lottery HQ. Join her along with Scott Mills for The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws. Includes the Thunderball and Lotto draws and the Lotto Plus 5 results.

The latest from Lottery HQ

Draws shows

Don't forget to tune in and watch the all-important lottery draws on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights – have your tickets ready and then you'll know straight away if you're a lucky winner!

The National Lottery: Saturday Night Draws

Make sure you tune in to watch The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws Shows. As well as the draws, every Saturday in November we'll be bringing you some great music from Amore, Susan Boyle, The Overtones and McFly. You won't want to miss it.

Play Lottery Draw Games online

http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/results/tvshows/bbcone.ftl

graysea

Susan Boyle - Susan Boyle has Donny Osmond blanket

03 November 2012

Susan Boyle has Donny Osmond blanket

Susan Boyle sleeps under a blanket which bears an image of Donny Osmond.

Susan Boyle sleeps with Donny Osmond every night.

The 'I Dreamed A Dream' singer has had a huge crush on the 70s heartthrob most of her life and tucks up to him whenever she goes to sleep as she has a blanket with his face on.

Susan - who recently performed alongside Donny at a show in Las Vegas - said: ''I have a blanket with Donny's face on it. And yes, I sleep underneath it at night. We presented Donny with a blanket with my face on it, too. Does he sleep underneath it? Not with his wife there! I've met Debbie and she's a lovely lady.''

When she met Donny, Susan said he was the ultimate gentleman and even helped her walk on to the stage as she was struggling with her high heels.

She told Britain's HELLO! magazine: ''I wasn't nervous. My only problem was trying not to trip on the polished stage in my six-inch heels. I've never worn a pair that high and could hardly walk. Donny was helpful - he put his arm around me and held my hand. But I was too shy to say anything.''

graysea

graysea

FASHION

Friday, 2 November 2012

Trendy Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle is ''borderline'' trendy.

The 'I Dreamed A Dream' singer says fashion plays a big part in her life and she loves getting her hair and make-up done to make her feel glamorous.

She said: ''I'm borderline trendy, really. I've always worn frocks, but I'd like to wear a suit if I could. Yes, I love dressing up and having my hair and nails done. I'm a woman.''

Susan - who shot to worldwide fame when she auditioned for UK TV show 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2009 - also says she likes to show off her fun personality when's she's in public, while remaining shy in private.

She told Britain's Hello! magazine: ''I'm a bit of a show-off, a bit outrageous and enjoy making people laugh. That's the public Susan. The private me is shy. I like the split between my two lives. I keep myself grounded by switching off as soon as I get home. But I'm not a diva; my parents taught me manners.''

http://www.tv3.ie/entertainment_article.php?locID=1.803.811&article=87191

graysea

graysea

Susan Boyle is ready for the New Year Bingo

TV4 star liked our idea

Nöjesbladet can reveal that Susan Boyle participates in "Bingolottos New Year's night" on TV4.

In the same program makes Leif "locomotive" Olsson comeback as bingo leaders.

- Boyle liked the idea and wanted to be with, says Niklas Vestberg, Executive Producer on TV4.

The international star Susan Boyle , 51, will be guests' Bingolottos New Year's night "on TV4.

"Mixture of artists'

She will not be present in Bingolotto studio just in time for New Year celebrations. Boyle's performance is recorded on 1 november.

- We want a mixture of different artists and it felt like it was nice to have an artist of international beauty, and she has after British "Talent". We felt it was a good addition to the program to invite the viewers, says Niklas Vestberg , Executive Producer on TV4.

At present, it is unclear how extensive Boyle's appearance in "Bingolotto" special will be.

- It is not necessarily a nyårslåt. But something that fits, something ballad attractive. That much I can say, says Niklas Vestberg.

Hostess for special is January Bylund . At his side he will have the classic bingo profile Leif "locomotive" Olsson , who is making a comeback.

Jill Johnson will

In addition to Susan Boyle will more artists to perform, among others, Jill Johnson and Erik Hassle .

In April 2009, sent Susan Boyle's audition for "Britain's Got Talent."Before that she was unemployed. A week later, she was a hot topic.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/tv/article15692082.ab?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

graysea

Kerstin picture of Susan who is in Sweden doing a performance.

Just a short recap of what Kerstin posted on the Forum about seeing Susan record in the studio today. This will be shown on New Year's Eve in Sweden so a long time to wait, but another thing to look forward to.

Susan did 3 takes of 'The Winner Takes It All'. She said her last was the very best. "Susan sang with such a warm coloured and strong voice. WOW!!" She was accompanied by Andy, Lorraine and a younger woman Kerstin didn't recognize. Kerstin was able to present Susan with a bouquet of flowers and send her the love from her Swedish fans as well as the members of the forum.

Kerstin is officially in heaven!

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