Thursday, April 16, 2009

Britain's Got Talent

Almost two years ago, I posted a video here from Britain's Got Talent, the UK show on which American Idol was based.

That video was Paul Potts' first performance on Britain's Got Talent. Unless you were in outer space or hibernating in a cave, you've probably seen Paul sing on television. His voice could convince an atheist that God was in His heaven.

This morning, I saw the first performance of another unlikely contestant for Britain's Got Talent. Susan Boyle is a 47-year-old unmarried, unemployed church volunteer living in the small town of Blackburn in Scotland. Her first performance on Britain's Got Talent was Saturday night.

Susan was an unlikely contestant. Here's a portion of the entry on her on Wikipedia:
Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and because of her appearance. She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007, at the age of 91. Her performance on Britain’s Got Talent was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother's death.
Before she went out on the stage, Susan announced she wanted to rock the audience. Even though I'd been told her performance was amazing, the early mocking laughter from the audience made me feel anxious for her.

And then she opened her mouth to sing.

There's not much else for me to say. You just need to watch and listen. I've watched this video more than a dozen times, and it never fails to move me. The selection of the song "I Dreamed a Dream" was simply inspired.

Go here to observe Susan on YouTube.

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