Susan Boyle (15 page)

In a radio interview, Morgan added, ‘You could see the nerves almost crippling her on the semi-final show, and I just think it’s time that everyone slightly backed off,’ adding that she had been ‘incredibly upset this week. She’s been in floods of tears.’

Morgan was even interviewed by ITN about the state of Susan’s mind. ‘On Wednesday she was actually going to leave the show, packed her bags to go, because she couldn’t see the point in going on if all she was going to get was all this sniping,’ he said. ‘I think there’s a lot of cynicism now building up about Susan, a lot of unnecessary criticism about her and we should give her a break. She’s two days away from the biggest show of her life, the biggest moment of her life… She is beginning to realise that her life will never be the same. But, you know, I feel very, very sorry for her.’

Morgan added that talk of Boyle’s hotel outburst had been ‘massively exaggerated.’

‘She is getting this ferocious attention and my heart does go out to her a bit. She is really upset about all this and apparently she’s really upset that she may have
offended me. You know what, Susan, all you have to concentrate on now is doing an amazing performance on Saturday. You’re the red-hot favourite. There are people who want you to fail. There are people who want to snipe at you, who want to kick you because now suddenly you’re so popular. All she has to do is do a great performance.’

Morgan was keen to defend the programme, which was now coming in for some criticism, telling the
Radio Times
that it was the opposite of
Big Brother
, the massively popular reality show. ‘Big Brother is about celebrating the talentless.
Britain’s Got Talent
is 100 per cent about celebrating talent. It not only provokes genuine debate in a tough time for the country, it’s put Britain back on the map as a producer of talent.

‘I think that Susan Boyle has come as the antidote to the recession. In one little old lady from Scotland we have the cure to all known financial ills.’

He also spoke out about cynicism over the show’s auditions. Morgan assured fans that judges have no contact with acts before they go on stage: ‘I can tell you that on
BGT
the moment the acts walk in front of the judges is absolutely pure. We genuinely have no idea what is coming our way.’

Susan’s brother John, 59, complained that his sister did not have any of the support and back-up that is given to major celebrities. ‘Susan is finding it very difficult at the moment. She has become a global
sensation and is finding that she doesn’t have any of the protection and support that big stars normally do. She is just a normal woman from a small village in Scotland, who all of a sudden is being forced to cope with this on her own.’

Dr Linda Papadopoulos, who had appeared as an analyst on the reality show
Big Brother
, admitted there was a concern that the experience was damaging the singer. ‘Somebody who is unprepared for this type of celebrity will find it hugely difficult to deal with. Part of being a celebrity is trying to control your emotions rather than your emotions controlling you and I don’t know how capable she will be of doing that,’ she said.

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman, author of a book about that damaging effect TV has on people’s lives, said the changes that someone like Susan was going through might be ‘very damaging and very hard to cope with.’

A situation such as the one that Susan was now in, where a routine of relative solitude was suddenly ended, could provide a person with ‘a great deal of anxiety’ and stress, he said. Dr Sigman pointed out that even established celebrities sometimes crack up from the pressure of show business, despite having been accustomed to it for years. He added, ‘So is it very surprising that somebody that is very ill-suited for this kind of fame shows the signs of instability?’

Susan’s brother John said, ‘She has been constantly hounded by fans for the past seven weeks. Like anyone
she has a breaking point – she is only human after all.

‘If I were in Simon Cowell’s shoes I would tell Susan she wouldn’t be allowed on the show unless she got her act together. Celebrities have professional people who insulate them from these stresses, but she hasn’t had this protection. The show’s producers should have been looking after her more.

‘Susan used to get picked on and bullied when she was younger. She never reacted. This is a completely one-off incident and won’t affect Susan in the slightest.’

Brother Gerry said Susan seemed to be coping despite the pressure as she prepared for the final, where she was favourite to win. ‘Susan is under tremendous strain, but she seems to be coping. She would be inhuman not to be nervous. She realises she’s a contestant in an open competition.

‘She’s slightly bemused that people think it’s a Susan Boyle show. Her background teaches her not to think that, although she desperately wants to win and have a career around it.

‘We’re surprised and very happy she has got this far. This is exactly what Susan has wanted to do since she was a little girl. It’s amazing that her dream has become a reality. She didn’t imagine it would be on this scale. She has come from complete obscurity. I think in these times of depression, it’s wonderful to have a story that makes everyone feel great.’

Speculation over Susan was at such a peak that the
day before the final, a spokesman for the show felt compelled to say, ‘There is no truth whatsoever that Susan Boyle is leaving the show.’

It was a good job, as up in Blackburn preparations were underway for the Big Day.

Susan’s neighbours on Yule Terrace – where new wooden fencing been erected by the council shortly after her first television appearance – had already strung bunting across the street and were hoping to have a giant TV screen installed in time for a massive street party. At the nearby community centre dozens of friends were getting ready to celebrate long into the night if she could pull off her dream.

Manager Ralph Bell said, ‘We are expecting four or five hundred people to turn up and have had to move the party from the smaller hall to the basketball courts and have also had to get a risk assessment done. Hopefully we’ll have a homecoming party for her, too.’

The Happy Valley was also gearing up for action. ‘We are having a party from 7pm until 1am so we can watch the show and then celebrate afterwards once she has won,’ one member of staff confidently predicted.

Shops and houses in Blackburn were pasting her image on their windows or hanging flags and banners saying ‘Go Susan’ and ‘Blackburn’s Got Talent’.

The local Ladbrokes betting shop expected it to be a busy day. ‘People who don’t normally bet will have a go, Susan-mania has really hit and it’s great to see spirits so
high because little else has happened like this around here,’ a member of staff commented.

Letters from around the world had been flooding into the local Post Office. A neighbour collected them for Susan on occasions and once even took delivery of a cake made in SuBo’s image.

Two tourists from Philadelphia, who had been visiting Edinburgh, decided to drive to Blackburn and stand outside her home, waiting for a glimpse of Susan. Eventually a neighbour told them she was away, let them in to use the bathroom and made them a cup of tea.’

Provost Tom Kerr said the Boyle phenomenon was good for the area. ‘We are delighted by anything that promotes and publicises Blackburn and the West Lothian area worldwide. We always knew we had a lot of talent in the area. If Susan wins, we will be having some sort of civic reception,’ he added.

‘If she wins…’ She was the bookmakers’ favourite and, in spite of the somewhat bizarre incidents that week, it looked as though nothing would stop her from winning that £100,000 and singing in front of the Queen. But there were still many twists and turns left in the short, yet eventful, singing life of Susan Boyle.

CHAPTER NINE

T
he bookmakers had Susan as their firm favourite to walk off with the
Britain’s Got Talent
title, and bookmakers are not in the habit of making too many mistakes.

Despite the problems of the week leading up to the final, the outbursts – real, imaginary or exaggerated – the flight to the safe house and the strange behaviour, Susan was still the one to beat in the eyes of the men and women who set the odds.

One supporter from Devon backed her to win to the tune of £7,000. Over £3 million in total was placed on the outcome of the contest – an amazing example of how reality TV betting, which had taken off with the arrival of Big Brother, was now big business.

The FA Cup final 2009 between Chelsea and Everton coincided with the day of the
BGT
final and they were now equal in their importance to the bookmakers.

A spokesman for one of the large bookmakers said, ‘Five years ago the idea of a TV programme competing with the FA Cup final would have been laughable, but now we’ve given them equal space.

‘Big Brother got the ball rolling and that really changed betting in quite a big way,’ he said. ‘All the reality television that came after that, from your
Pop Idol
to
The X Factor
and now
Britain’s Got Talent
, brought in a completely new betting clientele. People who wouldn’t have dreamt of putting a bet on the horses or a football match, but reality TV was something they knew about.’

William Hill was offering odds of 10/11 after a surge in betting and a spokesman said, ‘We briefly offered Susan Boyle at 11/10 – a price that proved too tempting for punters. As far as we are concerned she just needs to turn up to win this.’

The judges, too, were ultra-supportive. Simon Cowell revealed that he’d had a heart-to-heart with the nervous songbird, assuring her protection against any threat to her health, telling her, ‘You’ve come so far, don’t give up on your dream now. I have never known anything like this in my whole career.

‘I just wanted to make sure she was OK. I told her I would help her in any way I can. She has earned the right to be in that final and I didn’t want her to miss out on her big night.’

Amanda Holden said, ‘She will definitely be in the final. She won’t let the pressure get to her and she’ll do
a great job. Hopefully she will sing “I Dreamed A Dream”, which is what everybody would love her to do. She’s not going to quit. I think she did have her bags packed at one stage, but I think basically that was just because she was feeling so sad and upset.

‘You can’t train somebody in four weeks to handle this kind of attention. She is under a lot of pressure but no one can blame her – I still think she could win it.’

Piers Morgan was even more up-front. ‘My bet is that she will respond with the performance of her life. This is one tough lady who has had to fight since the day she was born, and there is no way she’s going to quit now, trust me. Susan’s going to be a major star whatever happens. And I hope she nails it on the night, and shoves all these vile critics’ disgraceful attacks down their throats.’

Demi Moore, who at one stage had been rumoured to be flying over to see the final, said, ‘The whole world is rooting for you whatever the outcome. You have nothing to lose – just keep sharing your light.’

Elaine Paige too was in Susan’s corner. ‘I’ll be watching with my fingers crossed for you,’ she said. Even Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State and wife of the former President, said Boyle was ‘an inspiration’ who was admired across America. ‘She has risen to fame, with millions of admirers here, all on her amazing talent and a prayer. In these trying times this should be a lesson and a shining example of substance over mere packaging.’

Royalty wasn’t immune to the attraction of the show,
either, although not totally in Susan’s favour. Prince Harry was on an official visit to New York when he was asked what he thought of Susan. He pulled a face and said, ‘Er, actually I really like the saxophone player.’

Susan was probably unaware of what the young prince thought – or of the fact that SuBo Mania had spread to eBay. On the day of the final there were 300-plus items linked, albeit it very vaguely, with her. There was an astonishing range of goods, from mouse mats to key rings, fridge magnets to clocks. Admirers could even buy a replica gold dress similar to the one she first wore at the Glasgow audition.

CDs of Susan singing ‘Cry Me a River’ during that charity recording were still fetching hundreds of pounds, while a Susan Boyle internet domain name was on the market for £327. There was a Susan Boyle novelty £1 million banknote for £1.27, fridge magnets for £1.99, ‘I Love Susan Boyle’ T-shirts for £7.99 and a kitchen clock for £3.99. ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ mugs for £9.35 from the United States, or even a 1934 Musical Powder Puff Box, programmed with her song, for £8.10. Pillowcases (£7.99), Susan Boyle ‘Hell Yeah’ car number plates (£9.95), a cuddly dog toy with Susan Boyle eyebrows (99p), leather jewellery cases from Malaysia (£9.97) and ‘Kiss Me Susan Boyle’ T-shirts (£10.99) were among the more unusual items.

There were a number of oil paintings of her too, usually based on her audition. By the morning of the
final, ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ had been watched more than 220 million times on YouTube and the frenzy showed no sign of abating: ‘Memory’ had already been viewed by 16.8 million people in the five days since it had been broadcast.

Those figures showed how the impact she had made dwarfed the interest shown in her rivals and the odds the bookmakers were quoting also showed how far behind Susan it was thought all the other competitors were in the race for the title.

The strange mixture of young and old who made up the nine other acts who all hoped to defeat the favourite in front of an anticipated audience of 20 million was as follows:

S
TAVROS
F
LATLEY: 8/1

Third favourites to win, Demetrios Demetriou, 41, and son Mikalakis, 12, the father-and-son Greek comedy dance act from north London, had built a large fan-base with their spoof dance act.

S
HAUN
S
MITH: 25/1

A handsome, rugby-playing 17-year-old from Lichfield, Staffs, tipped as the dark horse of this year’s competition. His rendition of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ at his audition was stunning and he swept through to the final with U2’s ‘With or Without You’.