Guess which country I'm from? Susan Boyle looks the part in tartan jacket and beret as she takes on role of Chieftain at West Lothian Highland Games

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SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

11 hrs

"Met subo m8 #susanboyle"

No information on this photo, but it was posted on Instagram today.

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SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

1 hr

Are you debating whether you should go see Susan in concert when she comes to this USA this October - November? Here's some of the reasons why you should!

Poster by Canadian Bill. — feeling excited.

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Susan Boyle UK Concert Tour Picture

- Will do a USA Concert Tour Oct./Nov. 2014 -

Susan Boyle In Concert US Tour Presale Ticket Information

After announcing the US leg of her ‘Susan Boyle In Concert’ world tour last week, we can today bring you more details about how and when you’ll be able to get your hands on the pre-sale tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

As there are quite a few stops on this leg of the tour (twenty one to be exact), there are two sets of pre-sale dates. Click on the show below to see the pre-sale and general on sale dates:

8th Oct - San Diego, CA Balboa Theatre
9th Oct - Santa Barbara, CA The Arlington Theatre
11th Oct - San Francisco, CA SHN Orpheum Theatre
12th Oct - Sacramento, CA Community Center Theater
14th Oct - San Jose, CA San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
16th Oct - Costa Mesa, CA Segerstrom Center for the Arts
17th Oct - Phoenix, AZ Orpheum Theater
19th Oct - Midland, TX Wagner Noël Performing Arts Cente
20th Oct - Ft. Worth, TX Bass Hall
21st Oct - San Antonio, TX Tobin Center
23rd Oct - Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
24th Oct - Louisville, KY Whitney Hall
26th Oct - Atlanta, GA Atlanta Symphony Hall
27th Oct - Greenville, SC Peace Concert Hall
29th Oct - Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
30th Oct - N. Charleston, SC North Charleston Performing Arts Center
1st Nov - Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
2nd Nov - Melbourne, FL King Center for the Performing Arts
3rd Nov - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Broward Center for the Performing Arts
5th Nov - Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Wed
6th Nov - Jacksonville, FL Moran Theatre

Pre-sale ticket links will be sent out via a newsletter at 10am EDT on Friday 6th and 13th June. CLICK HERE to sign up to Susan’s newsletter and ensure you’re one of the first people to get your hands on them.

If you simply can’t wait until the pre-sale tickets go on sale - you can enter Susan’s ticket giveaway sweep stake right now on Facebook. CLICK HERE for more details on how to enter!

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This is a nice photo of tour members...
Susan Boyle
with
Annie Skates, Lance Ellington, Andrew Panton, Zoe Nicholas and Glesni Roberts.

Thank you for sharing Susanboylemusicuk!

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Below are just a few of the wonderful, informational tribute posters of the amazing Susan Boyle
produced by Canadian Bill, an artistic fan of Susan Boyle since 2009.

With appreciation and admiration, I present some of them here.

An entire history of Susan Boyle's events and achievements since 2009, as seen below,

is covered in brilliant posters by Canadian Bill on the SBFII at http://susan-boyle.com/.

Thank you, Canadian Bill.

Note: No further confirmed information is currently available regarding Album #6

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SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

2 hrs · Edited

"I had the privilege of photographing Susan Boyle the other day at such a wonderful event. #susanboyle #charity #raddison #glasgow #CHAS"

Posted on Instagram today.
http://instagram.com/p/o-qsUFK2ZB/

This was the event..
http://www.wlchamber.com/chas-ladies-lunch

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Be sure to sign up on this link and you will be sent a code to get concert tickets before they go on sale to the general public. Good luck to everyone!

Susan Boyle

After announcing the US leg of her 'Susan Boyle In Concert' world tour last week, we can today bring you more details about how and when you'll be able to get your hands on the pre-sale tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/1rDmHKA

Below are the Florida concert dates and some helpful information for booking tickets:

Planning for Florida notes:

Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
1st November 2014

Phone (727) 791-7400
Email info@rutheckerdhall.net
Website http://www.rutheckerdhall.com
1111 N McMullen Booth Rd., Clearwater, FL 33759 727-791-7400
Pre-sale tickets:6 - 8th Jun 2014 via Susan’s newsletter CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
General on sale: 9th Jun 2014

Melbourne, FL King Center
2nd November 2014

Center tickets. Buy in person, at kingcenter.com, or call 321.242.2219
http://data.logograph.com/KingCenter...ER-SEATING.pdf
Pre-sale tickets:13 - 15th Jun 2014 via Susan’s newsletter CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
General on sale: 16th Jun 2014

Ft. Lauderdale, FL Broward Center
3rd November 2014

Broward Center's Auto Nation Box Office Hours
General orders 954.462.0222
Toll-free 877.311.7469 (SHOW)
Group sales 954.462.0222
Hours Mon–Fri 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sat & Sun 12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Call Center Hours
General orders 954.462.0222
Hours Mon–Sat, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sun, 12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m
https://www.browardcenter.org/online...FAxE25YeStk%3D
Pre-sale tickets:13 - 15th Jun 2014 via Susan’s newsletter CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
General on sale: 16th Jun 2014

Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
5th November 2014

Phone: (941) 953-3368, Toll Free (800) 826-9303
Summer Hours:
Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm
Sunday Closed
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
777 N. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota FL 34236
(941) 955-7676
Pre-sale tickets:6 - 8th Jun 2014 via Susan’s newsletter CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
General on sale: 9th Jun 2014

http://www.tickets-official.com/?s=V...Fc1QOgod-jgAuQ

Jacksonville, FL Moran Theatre
6th November 2014

(904) 633-6110
howcanwehelp@jaxevents.com
300 West Water Street., Jacksonville, FL 32202 - See more at:http://www.jaxevents.com/venues/time....KtRZxK9L.dpuf
Pre-sale tickets:13 - 15th Jun 2014 via Susan’s newsletter CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

General on sale: 16th Jun 2014
http://www.jaxevents.com/venues/time.../general-info/

http://www.jaxevents.com/events-cale...=16&month=&yr=

http://www.tickets-official.com/ticket/?evtid=2345211&event=Susan+Boyle

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Published on Apr 11, 2014

Susan Boyle Stage door Stoke, Uk April 2014

Lovely picture of Susan posted on SBFII. Thank you!

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Published on Jun 3, 2014

Grammy® nominated singing sensation Susan Boyle is embarking on her first US tour in October 2014. Presented by AEG Live, tickets start to go on sale on Monday, June 9, at 10am local time. Tickets can be purchased at the venue or www.AXS.com.

Further information and exciting updates can be found on www.susanboylemusic.com.

For the very first time in her phenomenally successful career, Susan will be holding her own on American stages performing a sensational and contemporary repertoire of iconic album tracks and never-heard-before classics that will captivate and enthrall her audiences.

Speaking about her first US tour, Susan Boyle said, "This is a brilliant moment for me. I am so very proud to be announcing that I will be performing in my very own tour in the USA. This really is fantastic. 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 USA 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."

Susan Boyle earned rave reviews for her sell-out Scottish and UK Tours in 2013 and 2014, and begins the first part of her world tour in the USA.

Visit SusanBoyleMusic.com for a list of all tour dates in the United States.

(C) 2014 AEG Live LLC, Marshall Arts Ltc., and Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.

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SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

27 mins

"Jo Elvin @jo_elvin
Well this is a damn awesome thing.pic.twitter.com/Dq8aWKOm3"

Photo tweeted today by Jo Elvin, the Editor of Britain's number one women's magazine.
http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/

The Glamour Women Of The Year Awards was held Tuesday night in London.

graysea

‏@DeputyMCO

1271 (Bathgate) Squadron meets Highland Games Chieftain Susan Boyle. pic.twitter.com/H7jpkeyEMU

Thank you for sharing!

graysea

SusanBoyle Fansinternationalinc

5 hrs

There have been several photos of Susan taken yesterday posted on Instagram today, but this one is too adorable not to post!

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Mail OnLine

Guess which country I'm from? Susan Boyle looks the part in tartan jacket and beret as she takes on role of Chieftain at West Lothian Highland Games

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 11:05 EST, 31 May 2014 | UPDATED: 13:40 EST, 31 May 2014

28

View
comments

No one was in any doubt where Susan Boyle was born and raised on Saturday, when she stepped out for the West Lothian Highland Games 2014.

The singer was dressed in purple tartan as she made her way through Bathgate, after being asked to be Chieftain of this year's event.

The 53-year-old - who grew up in Blackburn less than 10 miles away - looked proud with her new role as she met some of the topless competitors.

+16

Scottish and proud! Susan Boyle led the march at the West Lothian Highland Games 2014 in Bathgate on Saturday

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Looking the part: The talented singer was dressed for the occasion in a plaid purple jacket, while clutching her handbag

The former Britain's Got Talent winner looked to having a ball as she posed with the Games' mascot Hamish.

More...

Speaking prior to the day, Susan told Bathgate2014.com said: 'This is such a big event for West Lothian. I’m really looking forward to the Championships and hearing all the bands play. It will be one noisy weekend in Bathgate.'

The star's outfit was perfectly coordinated with her plaid blazer, which featured some pretty flowers on the lapel.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2644713/Susan-Boyle-looks-tartan-jacket-beret-takes-role-Chieftain-West-Lothian-Highland-Games.html#ixzz33OsmDuDo
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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Susan Boyle looks the part in tartan jacket at Highland Games

www.dailymail.co.uk

No one was in any doubt where Susan Boyle was born and raised on Saturday, when she stepped out for the West Lothian Highland Games 2014.

Susan Boyle is this year's Chieftain at the West Lothian Highland Games and British Pipe Band Championships

Thousands of competitors have now signed up for the EFR British Pipe Band Championships in Bathgate next weekend.

The Championships, which attract competitors from across Scotland, the UK and beyond, will run alongside West Lothian Highland Games in the town with the day’s events being called Bathgate 2014.

And West Lothian superstar Susan Boyle has been named chieftain of the event which takes place on Saturday, May 31.

One ticket, priced at £10 for an adult and £5 for a child, will offer access to both Meadow Park and Burgh Muir Park where there will be fun for all the family including Highland dancing, heavy athletics competitions and pipe band competitions.

Matt Purdie, who is on the organising committee, said: “We are absolutely delighted that, for the first time, these two fantastic events are being held on the same day offering a whole day of fun and entertainment for all the family.

“It is going to be a fantastic day out in Bathgate for fans of Scottish music and culture.”

The EFR British Pipe Band Championships, the second biggest pipe band championship in the world and the first major of the year, is set to attract around 4000 competitors. Bathgate hosted the event last year for the first time as part of a three-year deal.

Councillor Tom Kerr, Provost of West Lothian Council said: “It’s a real coup for West Lothian to host the British Pipe Band Championships and we are very excited about the event for 2014 and of course welcoming West Lothian’s very own Susan Boyle – it’s great to have her support for such a prominent event for the region.

“We are very much looking forward to welcoming bands and visitors from all over the world to West Lothian.”

The Calor Scotland West Lothian Highland Games are now in their 43rd year and attract thousands of people to Bathgate each year from across Scotland.

Tickets are available at www.ticketweb.co.uk. For more information visit www.bathgate2014.com.

A full list of competing bands can be found at http://www.rspba.org/html/contestdraw.php?id=21.

Another article:

http://news.uk.msn.com/in-pictures/braveheart-subo-encounters-muscle-men-and-pythons-at-highland-games293877?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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Graeme Shinwell

Susan Boyle is this year's Chieftain at West Lothian Highand Games and British Pipe Band Championships in Bathgate.

Susan looks might proud leading her countrymen, as we all are of Susan.

Thank you Graeme for the wonderful pictures.

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