Susan Boyle concert in Abu Dhabi cancelled

graysea

Susan Boyle concert in Abu Dhabi cancelled

“Logistical production difficulties” cited as the reason behind last-minute change of plans

By Marwa Hamad, Staff Reporter
Published: 12:13 December 9, 2013

Image Credit: EPA
A file picture dated January 30, 2010 shows Scottish singer Susan Boyle performing the song 'I Dreamed a Dream' at the Danish relief show 'The Denmark Collection' at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dubai: Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle will no longer be making an appearance in Abu Dhabi, organisers have announced. The Scottish singer who amazed audiences worldwide in 2009 with her stunning audition performance on the TV talent show, was set to make her debut in the UAE this Friday.

Organisers released a statement today stating that the show, which was set to be the first stop of her first solo tour, has been cancelled.

“AUH Live and Susan Boyle’s Management sincerely regret to announce the cancellation of Susan Boyle’s show at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on the 13th December 2013, due to logistical production difficulties that prevent the show going ahead at this time,” the release read.

AUH have confirmed that refunds will be made through ticketmaster.ae, and said that Ticketmaster will be contacting each ticketholder individually to inform them of this sudden cancellation.

When asked for further details on the logistical problems have prevented the show from taking place, AUH CEO Craig McMahon told tabloid! that no further details will be released at this time. A decision on whether or not the show will be rescheduled has not yet been made, he added.

Just last month, Boyle spoke to tabloid! about visiting the country for the first time.

“I am so excited to come [to the UAE]. I have never been there before,” she said. “And it will be a whole new experience for me. I want to see a bit of the place. I want to do a bit of shopping.”

Aside from the Abu Dhabi cancellation, the rest of Boyle’s tour will go on as planned.

http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/susan-boyle-concert-in-abu-dhabi-cancelled-1.1264898

graysea

HELLO! Exclusive: Susan Boyle reveals she suffers from Asperger's

09 DECEMBER 2013She was brought up to believe that she was slightly brain-damaged after being starved of oxygen at birth, but in this week's HELLO! magazine, singing sensation Susan Boyle reveals that she has just been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome – and talks movingly of the relief she feels to finally have a proper explanation for the "emotional outbursts" and "acute anxiety" that have plagued her throughout her life.

"Ever since I was born, I've been living under the mistaken belief that I was brain damaged,” says the 52-year-old Scot, who found worldwide success after being discovered on hit show Britain's Got Talent.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW TO FULL GALLERY

"Doctors told my parents that I was starved of oxygen at birth and that this had caused me brain damage, leaving me with learning difficulties and a lower than average IQ.

"At school I was pushed aside as if I didn't matter, while the brighter pupils got all the attention. I was mocked and bullied.

"As a result, I spent my whole life in a bubble, felt inferior to others and had problems forming proper relationships.

"Now that I know the correct reason why, I understand myself better and can move on. It feels as if an enormous weight has been lifted."

A form of autism, Asperger's sufferers typically struggle with their emotions, find it difficult to understand non-verbal social cues and feel anxious in social situations.

It has been Susan's crippling anxiety that has prevented her from embarking on a tour since she shot to overnight fame four years ago. This week a special ITV documentary There's Something About Susan follows her as she attempts to fulfil her ambition to perform a live concert for the first time.

"The message that I hope my revelation will give others is, if I can do it, so can you. No matter what your condition, you can do whatever you want."
See the full interview with Susan in HELLO! magazine, out now.
http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2013120916042/susan-boyle-aspergers-hello-exclusive/?fb_action_ids=623486924376754&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1417588168476503%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

graysea

Astounding Songstress Reveals Shocking Aspergers Diagnosis

"Britain's Got Talent" star Susan Boyle shares life-long struggle with form of autism.

12/08/2013

Breaking News from ABC | ABC Sports News

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/astounding-songstress-reveals-shocking-aspergers-diagnosis-21143322?tab=9482931&section=1206836&playlist=2898870

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Susan Boyle Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

For Story click link below:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20764150,00.html

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Save the Children/PA

Susan Boyle is supporting Save the Children's 2013 Christmas Jumper Day campaign (Save the Children/PA)

Singing sensation Susan Boyle has donned an ugly but well-loved Christmas jumper with tinsel to match in a bid to save children's lives.

The 52-year-old Home for Christmas star has backed Save the Children's plea to "make the world better with a sweater" by wearing the woolly seasonal fashion staple.

The charity is asking people to don a Christmas jumper on Friday December 13 and donate £1 or more to raise funds for its work across the globe.

Proceeds from their efforts will go towards preventing children from suffering deadly diseases.

http://celebrity.uk.msn.com/news/boyle-dons-fundraising-festive-top

Sign up here:

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day

graysea · 8 Dec 2013 07:00

Susan Boyle pledges to shed two stone after film debut in The Christmas Candle

8 Dec 2013 07:00

Breaking Hollywood is just one item on her list of New Year’s resolutions – top of which, as always, is the vow to lose weight

Susan Boyle has made millions of pounds since rising to fame – but now the singing sensation is determined to lose a few as she builds on her fledgling film career.

Susan, 52, makes her big-screen debut in The Christmas Candle, in cinemas on Friday.

She plays the wife of a church warden in the heartwarming seasonal tale, and the thrill of shooting a film has left her wanting more.

She told the Sunday Mirror: “I went to acting school years ago and have always wanted to act. I want to do more films and of course I’d love to get to Hollywood.

“Filming The Christmas Candle was immensely fun. I really enjoyed dressing up in the period costumes, so maybe I’d do more like that.”

But breaking Hollywood is just one item on her list of New Year’s resolutions – top of which, as always, is the vow to lose weight.

She says: “I’ve been dieting ever since I was a kid and I’ve tried everything you can imagine.

“I always have the same resolution every year – to lose weight. I just want to lose a bit off my bum. I’m over 12st now and I want to try to get down to 10st. I did lose some a couple of years ago then I put it all back on.”

In the past her good intentions have fallen victim to her sweet tooth.

She said: “I always end up stuffing my face with sweeties or something.

“I’m not supposed to have them since I was diagnosed with diabetes. It runs in our family, and I am on medication but I still haven’t been able to resist eating the odd chocolate.”

Christmas Candle movie competition — **Film role: As Eleanor Hopewell in The Christmas Candle**

But this time she will have help – from a new pet pooch she is promising herself.

She said: “I do know that a dog isn’t just for Christmas, though – I have thought long and hard about it. I’m not sure what kind, but a small fluffy one that I can take for walks to get all the exercise I need.

"That will help me to lose the weight.”

In addition to her weight-loss plan, single Susan – who has sold more than 20million albums and is worth £22million – has vowed to learn the piano.

She said: “They’re things that money and fame can’t give you.”

Her Christmas single, O Come All Ye Faithful featuring the voice of Elvis Presley, is released today, with all profits going to Save The Children.

Susan, an ambassador for the charity’s Christmas Jumper Day on Friday, also wants to go to Africa next year to see the organisation’s work there.

She said: “I don’t have any children of my own, but I have 16 nieces and nephews and my work with Save the Children is really important.

“Children living in poverty both here and abroad need help. I was lucky to have a secure upbringing but lots of children aren’t so lucky so I want to help them.”

SuBo's diet downfalls

Travelling: “I travel a lot for work and that means I have irregular meal times so even if I try to eat healthily I end up snacking... a LOT.”
Minibars: “When I get to a hotel room and see the crisps and nuts there, I can’t help myself from opening them up and having a nibble. It’s a big weakness.”
Sweeties: “I love sweets and I get given them a lot, which makes it hard to resist. In America it’s big bags of peanut M&Ms and in New York last week I was given a huge jar of jelly babies.”
Chocolate: “I’m not fussy when it comes to chocolate, I’ll go for anything and everything. I’m having to really cut down on all that stuff because of my diabetes but it’s so hard!”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/going-out/film/susan-boyle-pledges-shed-two-2903956?fb_action_ids=623031644422282&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B546299052124364%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/going-out/film/susan-boyle-pledges-shed-two-2903956#ixzz2mtGAvhsb
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graysea

Thank you Tommy.

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graysea · Published: Sat, December 7, 2013

Susan Boyle: Bullies made my life hell but I've had the last laugh

IN THE movies stardom happens like this: the most unlikely candidate imaginable steps out of the shadows and brings the house down with sheer force of talent.

By: Anna Pukas

Published: Sat, December 7, 2013

Susan Boyle's journey began on Britain's Got Talent [REX]

And Susan Boyle's life has followed the script exactly.

When she stepped out on to the stage in 2009 to audition for Britain's Got Talent, she was a frumpy, dumpy, middle-aged woman in sore need of a good stylist. When she left the stage some minutes later, she was still frumpy, dumpy and middle-aged but she was not the same. The song she performed - I Dreamed A Dream from Les Mis©rables - was well chosen, for her dream was about to become true, turning her into an overnight sensation. Susan Boyle was about to become SuBo.

Within days, the YouTube clip of her audition went viral and has now been viewed more than 350 million times. Her debut album also titled I Dreamed A Dream became the UK's best-selling debut album ever.

She was invited on to all the big network shows in America and was mobbed in Japan. She has sung before 90,000 people at the final of China's Got Talent and for the most select of audiences at Windsor Castle.

She sang for Pope Benedict XVI in Glasgow, duetted in Las Vegas with her teenage crush Donny Osmond and has just made her acting debut as a vicar's wife in a period tale called The Christmas Candle. And she didn't even win BGT.

Now four-and-a-half-years later she has her eye on the Christmas No 1 with another first: a duet with Elvis. To do it she will have to beat the X Factor winner as well as the man who launched her career, Simon Cowell. Does she think she can manage it? "Anything can happen," she says.

She is the first British artist ever to record with the King. The chosen track from her new album Home For Christmas is the traditional carol O Come All Ye Faithful and Susan says she felt inspired by Elvis as she sang it with him.

"I felt his presence in the studio - everybody did who was there. My dad was a great fan of Elvis. We had to write to Priscilla to get permission to do the duet and she said yes so I hope that means she approved. It was certainly an honour for me."

AND why shouldn't Priscilla give her blessing? The whole world approves of Susan Boyle - for singing like an angel and more importantly for showing the music industry that you don't have to be a skinny size 6 with fake boobs and hair extensions to sell heaps of records.

At the 2010 Grammys, the host Stephen Colbert told the audience: "You may be the coolest people in the world but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes." Theatre impresario Cameron Mackintosh has said that if Susan had not sung I Dreamed A Dream there would have been no film of Les Mis. That's Subo-power.

susan boyle, subo, boyle, christmas, elvic, elvis presley, home for christmas, carols, britain's got talent, x factor, priscilla presley

Susan with her parents, front row, and siblings [REX]

I still can't drink it all in sometimes. You can sense the warmth from people and it's been a very pleasant surprise

Susan Boyle

She hasn't bypassed the stylists completely. On the day we meet she has come straight from an appearance on Loose Women and is looking extremely chic in an ivory silk top and black velvet trousers, her hair arranged in an elaborate bun. When she sees that we are about the same height she puts her arm round me and declares "I like you - you're wee".

She seems relaxed and friendly but making eye contact doesn't come easily to her. Her eyes remain half-closed as if the light were too strong. In fact the only time she seems to open them properly is when she sings.

Susan is still astonished by the change in her life and circumstances.

"I still can't drink it all in sometimes. You can sense the warmth from people and it's been a very pleasant surprise."

People were not always warm or kind. She is the youngest of nine - her nearest sibling is seven years older - and her mother Bridget was 47 when Susan was born on April 1, 1961. The birth was difficult and Susan was briefly deprived of oxygen. She dislikes being labelled disabled but she was undoubtedly affected which led to vicious bullying at school. There was namecalling (Simple Susan was a favourite) and cigarettes were stubbed out on her arms. "It went on all through my schooldays till I was 16. I was a shy, withdrawn sort of girl and it ruined my confidence," she says quietly. "It was very physical bullying. I didn't tell anyone.

"In those days they didn't have mentors you could talk to or who would protect you. If I'd had a mentor it would have made life a lot easier. For a long time I couldn't talk about the bullying at all. The people who did it still live close by in the same town, with kids of their own. I met one of them and she said 'You regarded me as a bully, didn't you?' I just said 'You know what you did and I hope you've grown up'. She just laughed it off. It was a guilty laugh. I don't know why she did it. I knew her parents and they were decent people. But you can't hold on to it. Life has to go on."

Susan always knew she could sing. When she was five she could carry a tune and first sang in public at 12. She sang in church, in choirs and on karaoke evenings in pubs around the village of Blackburn, West Lothian where she grew up.

In 1995 she auditioned for Michael Barrymore's My Kind Of People when it was filmed in East Kilbride but the YouTube clip shows Barrymore was more interested in making fun of her than listening (at one point he lay on the floor to look up her skirt).

Susan is far more gracious about him. "He was cheeky and tried mocking me but I won't put another professional down. That was just Barrymore being Barrymore."

Encouraged by her mother Susan entered local singing competitions and in 1998 spent her savings on cutting a professional demo disc she sent to radio and TV stations and record companies. The following year she sang a track on a charity CD which got rave reviews locally and on the internet. But after her mother died in 2007 she couldn't sing a note for two years.

Susan is now singing a duet with the King of Rock and Roll himself [REX]

She entered BGT only because her mother had always urged her to. Within weeks of her audition being broadcast she was on Oprah Winfrey's show.

However Susan's fragility showed after the final when she came second to dance group Diversity and feared her dream might be snatched away from her. A spell in the Priory clinic calmed her down and Lorraine, a friend from home, was drafted in as her companion.

Susan said: "I believe in being grounded. It is easy to lose your identity but I've known Lorraine for years and she keeps me grounded. A stranger would unnerve me."

Next spring she is going on tour for the first time, having dipped her toe in the water playing seven concerts in Scotland in July.

"I've got to take things at my own pace and I wasn't ready before. The time feels right now."

With record sales of 20 million she has made a good deal of money. She bought the council house that was the family home and another flashier, £300,000 house half a mile away but never settled there and her niece now lives in it. She doesn't seem very good at spoiling herself, I say.

"In the beginning I was frightened to. I wasn't used to it, but you should see me in Marks and Spencer now. I just spent £1,000 in there on clothes. I've had new wardrobes put in and a new bed with a built-in TV, things like that."

She gets home to Blackburn most weeks and will be there for a family Christmas with her siblings and 16 nephews and nieces. "Anything can happen," she repeats.

So many wannabes who enter talent shows say they want nothing less than world fame. When Susan entered BGT her stated ambition was simply to be a professional singer. But the arrogant ones have disappeared and it is Susan with her modest aspirations who is the world star. Anything can happen? For Susan Boyle, everything has.

Susan Boyle's new album Home For Christmas is out now. She begins a UK tour in March 2014.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/447277/Susan-Boyle-Bullies-made-my-life-hell-but-I-ve-had-the-last-laugh

graysea

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The story below:

Andy Steven and Susan Boyle received knitted throws from Grits, who created them.

We captured Susan opening the gift and then using it. Watch how clever and quick thinking Susan is while she is viewing it. She admires it, then she wraps it around herself like an Indian papoose. Then she opens her arms to receive Grits for a nice bear hug. How wonderful of Susan!

And only Susan's quick action made this wonderful appreciation hug happen.

I loved being there to see it.

graysea

Susan Boyle

Like This Page · 9 minutes ago

It's Friday which means... Susan’s charity single, ’O Come All Ye Faithful’ featuring Elvis Presley is out in TWO days time!! There’s still have time to pre-order everyone http://smarturl.it/OComeAllYeDigi

graysea

Susan Boyle

We have a Christmas message from Susan to share with you today. She wrote it just before heading off to New York for the week. What a lucky lady!

Enjoy http://smarturl.it/HomeForXmas

graysea

Please be sure to add your holiday message to Susan and her Team! Just click on links below, and add your greeting.

Posted by GritsT

SBFII

Christmas 2013 Group Cards

For Susan:

http://www.groupcard.com/c/DfFDgQjPbtw

For Andy:

http://www.groupcard.com/c/GNiZac2OFKL

For Nicola:

http://www.groupcard.com/c/YEq2XUHrPir

For Sadie:

http://www.groupcard.com/c/cU3GGXcKhpM

For Lorraine:

http://www.groupcard.com/c/ALJGNknBk6j

Covers by our beloved CB! Cards are set for delivery 12/20/13.

As always, PM me with your problems or concerns.

Sign away!!!

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