Happiness Boyles down to a perm for Susan

graysea

Great interview! Good to watch it again. Enjoy!

graysea

Susan was on "Children In Need" in London tonight (Nov. 18) and she sang "Enjoy The Silence" absolutely stunning. She has now become a very classy, amazing, outstanding professional singer who she has always wanted to be. I am thrilled with her performance. What a star!

Tommy of Susan Boyle is Amazing has produced this "choppy" he said, version. It is lovely.

graysea

graysea

Susan Boyle Rewrites UK Chart History

by Sony Music Entertainment on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 5:50pm

Susan Boyle Rewrites UK Chart History

Record breaking Susan Boyle has made UK music history again by becoming the first female artist ever to have three successive albums debut at No.1 in the UK album chart in less than two years.

No other female solo singer in the 65 year history of the Official UK charts has achieved this in the first week of the albums being released.

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=293160257374419

graysea

On Forum link, ITV at 2:00 EST

graysea

graysea · 16th November 2011

Susan’s Top 10 Books Pt.1

16th November 2011

Susan has picked 10 of her all time favourite books to share with you. The first part of the list features the childhood classic What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge, and George Orwell’s political allegory, Animal Farm. Click the book covers below to find out more about Susan’s choices.
1. What Katy Did - Susan Coolidge

2.The Thorn Birds - Colleen McCullough

3.Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell'

4.Animal Farm - George Orwell

5.Cider With Rosie - Laurie Lee

This is my favorite book

http://www.susanboylemusic.com/gb/news/item/susans_top_10_books_pt.1/

graysea

graysea

Yesterday someone posted that they didn't get the CD yet. How could you wait! In case you didn't get it yet, here is a track list. I sure you who have the CD, will agree it is marvelous.

graysea

Happiness Boyles down to a perm for Susan

News article in the Sun with two beautiful pictures of Susan.

Here is the Link

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3939638/Happiness-Boyles-down-to-a-perm-for-Susan.html

graysea

About Susan Boyle. What spirit and determination this little lady had. Jumped over many hurdles for many years to be where she is today.

Susan Boyle: The Story of a Bullied Girl who became a Music Diva

Susan Boyle: The Story of a Bullied Girl who became a Music Diva

Susan Boyle wasn’t the Queen at the School Prom. In fact, she was often bullied and mocked by her fellow students. In her childhood and teen years she wasn’t even successful at school. According to recent interviews with former teachers, she squeaked by with average grades. She recognizes her difficulties at learning: “'I'm just a bit slower at picking things up than other people,” she said in an interview with The Daily Mirror.

Susan grew up in Blackburn, Scotland, where she was seen as a bit of a quirky figure. Due to her reclusive nature, her learning difficulties, and her frizzy hair, she endured constant bullying throughout her entire childhood. “I was called names. I told the teachers, but because it was more verbal than physical, I could never prove anything,” she told the press after her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” at the Britain’s Got Talentmusic contest. After appearing on YouTube, that performance would rocket her to international stardom.

Her peculiar personality, caused in part by minor brain damage due to a birth defect, caused her to adopt several eccentric routines, including keeping her money in a whiskey bottle. After her mother died, Boyle’s shy nature deepened. A neighbour revealed to the press that Susan practically imprisoned herself at home for over a week after the tragic loss, not going out even to buy groceries.

Susan’s story has a happy ending, however. Ever since her debut, she has become a star. But how has this shy, bullied woman managed to become such a hit? It all started in the 80s.

After Boyle’s father died, she lived alone with her mother, immersed in a deep depression. Her mom encouraged her to express her sadness through her God-given talent for singing, and so she enrolled in her church’s choir. From this humble beginning, Boyle challenged herself further, performing at pubs and karaoke bars all over town. These early performances have been recorded, and, since being acquired by a Scottish tabloid, can be seen on YouTube.

Among this early footage is an old recording of Boyle’s audition for the game show My Kind Of People with Michael Barrymore. The video shows the comedian mocking Susan mercilessly as she gave her performance. This video went viral as soon as it hit the internet, and Boyle’s fans take great satisfaction in the knowledge that Boyle has succeeded in spite of Barrymore’s criticisms and her own difficult life.

Susan is, as the saying goes, “a tough skinned girl.” She has proven both her talent and courage to the world after having such a difficult life, and is a living testimony to the truth that anyone can achieve his or her dreams, no matter how impossible they first seem.

Return to Susan Boyle

http://www.eurochannel.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=748&catid=11&lang=en

graysea

NOTE Nov 18, 2011: Chook's blog is on SUSAN BOYLE REAL FANS "Keeping it Real", not on the Official Site as I had listed. Chook has two more installments in the works: the fan meet in Sydney just after the XFactor appearance, and the Today Show, both of which she attended. This is expected by the end of next week. She'll have at least one of those completed and posted, which I will try to post when they come out.

DID I DREAM A DREAM?

Part 1 - Cruising with Susan

After a couple of false starts – a cancelled trip in May 2010 and a rumoured visit not forthcoming in November 2010, Australian fans were thrilled to bits when it was announced on Monday October 24th, 2011 that Susan would be visiting Australia for the very first time in November 2011.

What opportunities would there be to see Susan perform? would there be any for the average fan to meet her and would Susan be able to mix business with pleasure whilst staying in the magnificent city of Sydney?
Our questions were quickly answered. Susan would be flying into Sydney from Los Angeles after promotional appearances for ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ in New York and LA. Susan would be staying an incredible 6 days in Sydney fitting some sightseeing in between her promotional engagements and performances.

(MORE ON SUSAN BOYLE REAL FANS "KEEPING IT REAL" SITE)

http://susanboylereal.ning.com/profiles/blogs/did-i-dream-a-dream-by-chook-part-1-cruising-with-susan

graysea

graysea

I find this article to be very good.

"Susan Boyle, Andy Rooney, Steve Correll, Lucille Ball Teaching Us What It Means to Be Human" Join Dr. Carol Francis

Talk Show Radio Host, Dr. Carol Francis, will challenge this era of the Goddess Beauty of size 00. She will challenge the traps of the Beauty Industry and Media Glamour that creates depression, eating disorders, body-image distortions, infidelity, relationship-shopping and loss of natural, healthy living. Psychologist Dr, Carol Francis hopes to create a new era when we celebrate the Beauty of Health and the Freedom of Genuine Living. Join her on Make Life Happen Radio Talk Show with Dr. Carol Francis

ShareThis Email PDF Print

We must create a new era when we celebrate the Beauty of Health & shun the ingeunine and dangerous "Eye-Candy" of modern Beauty Industry and Media-Perfect Ill Models.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/11/prweb8942128.htm

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) November 16, 2011

Susan Boyle, Andy Rooney, Lucille Ball and other bigger-than-life iconic humans prove invaluable, helping others remember the value of being genuinely, naturally human. When Steve Correll portrays Michael on The Office, he speaks the minds of so many, confused and insecure yet with a rather unpleasant mirror to humans.

In contrast,Susan Boyle admits her flaws, her wishes and insecurities and then sings with the voice of an angel. TLC's Sunday special on Susan Boyle captured her frankness and also her radiance so honestly. Dr. Francis suggests, "The world celebrates Susan Boyle's perfectly real way of being herself in her story because people are looking for authenticity. Our troubled world has been too often exposed to facades in its leaders and icons. We are now seeking those who dare to be real, genuine, sincere.

graysea

Amelia Lily Receives X Factor Support From Susan Boyle

Britain's Got Talent Star Is Backing Returning Act For Win...

By David Renshaw on Tuesday 15th November 2011

Amelia Lily has received the public backing of Susan Boyle as she battles to win The X Factor 2011.

Teen star Amelia returned to the competition last week after being voted in by the public as Frankie Cocozza's replacement. She then made it through her first live show after delivering a confident performance of Queen's 'The Show Must Go On'.

http://popdash.com/news/7729/amelia-lily-receives-x-factor-support-from-susan-boyle

Speaking to Digital Spy, Susan Boyle revealed that she has been keeping tabs on the show, saying: "I'm supporting Amelia this year. I think she's great and I'm glad she is back in the show."

Boyle, who went straight to number one with her latest album this past weekend, also said she is not missing her boss Simon Cowell's presence on the programme.

"Well, it's different this year but it always was going to be. I wish they'd bring back Dannii Minogue. I thought she was a great judge." said the BGT star.

graysea

SUSAN HAUNTED BY HER OLD LIFE

Posted by Adam

Wednesday November 16, 2011

SUSAN Boyle has told how she’s being haunted by her old life and so-called friends.

The Scottish singing sensation has found fame and fortune since being discovered on Simon Cowell‘sBritain’s Got Talent but its not an entirely easy ride.

“I am very fortunate and I’m having an amazing time but I’ve never changed as a person,” says Susan.

“People around me have changed. That’s been hard. There’s people who I haven’t seen for years who suddenly want to become friends. I have had to deal with that and it’s not easy.”

http://www.showbizspy.com/article/240287/susan-boyle-haunted-by-her-old-life.html

graysea

Don't know much about this picture, but Susan is having fun and I am happy to see this.

graysea

RADIO LIVE Ewing Stevens Report part 30

Susan Boyle Report with Ewing Stevens. Jason may be at home recovering but he managed to sneak this information to Ewing. Susan Boyle has added another chart record, making it three. Boyle's number one record I Dreamed A Dream in 2009 and The Gift in 2010 have helped Susan become the first female artist to ever have three successive albums debut at No. 1 in less than two years.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Susan-Boyle-Report-part-30/tabid/506/articleID/24502/Default.aspx

graysea

Terry George – Tellin’ Stories

"...I also bumped into Susan Boyle, who was there to pre-record an item for transmission later in the week and I thought, well I’d love to get a photo with her… after all, a lad can dream a dream can’t he? A BBC production person, who had worked with her before, was adamant that she didn’t like having her photograph taken and probably wouldn’t cooperate. She could not have been nicer and when I put my arm around her she was as tight as anything. Whatever she was strapped into I need to know… it may come in handy if I end up doing any other TV appearances. In fact, she’s appearing near my home town in the play about her life story – yes you’ve guessed it – I Dreamed A Dream, I’ll nip along to see it and ask her then. After the photo I said in my best Scottish accent “Thanks a lot Hen.” To which she gave an enormous snort of laughter that turned everyone’s head. I guess she must have liked me after all."
http://mag.bent.com/2011/11/terry-george-tellin%E2%80%99-stories/

graysea

Susan’s Top 20 Songs (Pt.2):
Here we have the second edition of Susan’s top 20 songs, a selection which includes tracks by David Cassidy and Diana Ross. Click the links below to hear ten melodies that have inspired Susan as a singer. If you missed the first part of Susan’s top 20 songs, you can listen to to the original list here.

Daydreamer - David Cassidy

Young Girl - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap

Believe - Cher

Tony Orlando & Dawn - Tie A Yellow Ribbon

Daydream Believer - The Monkees

Sugar Baby Love - The Rubettes

Your Baby Aint Your Baby Anymore - Paul Da Vinci

Tammy - Debbie Reynolds

When Will You Tell Me That You Love Me - Diana Ross

Band On The Run - Wings

graysea

Digital Spy

Exclusive: Susan Boyle interview: 'I'm backing Amelia Lily to win The X Factor'

Here at Digital Spy we love a success story, and one rags-to-riches tale that never fails to tug at our heartstrings is the rise of Susan Boyle.

Since finishing second on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, her list of accolades includes scoring a trio of chart-topping albums, cracking America and signing up to guest star in a musical about her life next year.

http://www.digitalspy.com/music/interviews/a350959/susan-boyle-interview-im-backing-amelia-lily-to-win-the-x-factor.html

graysea

The X Factor: Susan Boyle backs Amelia Lily

Scottish star Susan Boyle has given her backing to returning singer Amelia Lily to win The X Factor – and said she wishes Dannii Minogue was back on the show!

http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/279279-the-x-factor-susan-boyle-backs-amelia-lily/

graysea

Susan Boyle breaks records with album triple whammy

by Heather Greenaway, Daily Mirror 14/11/2011

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/11/14/susan-boyle-breaks-records-with-album-triple-whammy-115875-23560759/

graysea

Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle has made chart history once again with her third album Someone To Watch Over Me. The 50-year-old, who also topped charts with her records I Dreamed A Dream in 2009 and The Gift in 2010, has become the first female artist to ever have three successive albums debut at number one in less than two years. Someone To Watch Over Me beat competition from boy band The Wanted and Florence and the Machine. No other artist in the past 65 years of the UK charts has had so many albums go straight to number one in such a short period of time. According to British newspaper the Daily Mirror, Boyle said: "This is fantastic news! I am delighted, excited and overwhelmed. "One thing is for sure, I'll be cracking open the champagne tonight and celebrating. This is just wonderful. Wow."

http://www.metrolyrics.com/2011-susan-boyle-breaks-chart-record-news.html

graysea

Susan Boyle shoots to top of UK album chart

LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish singer Susan Boyle, a worldwide sensation since appearing on a TV talent show in 2009, shot straight to the top of the British chart on Sunday with her new album, "Someone to Watch Over Me," the Officials Charts Company said.

Boyle, notching up her third No. 1 album in a row, has sold some 14 million albums worldwide and has been No. 1in 30 countries.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-britaintre7ac16f-20111113,0,5025621.story

graysea

Susan Boyle goes platinum, scores No.1

Singing sensation Susan Boyle has returned to the top of Australia's albums chart, almost two years since her recording-breaking debut.

http://www.skynews.com.au/showbiz/article.aspx?id=684918&vId=2847038

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