MANILA, Philippines - After she won the hearts of many around the world through Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle released a record under Sony Music and continues to amaze people with her voice.
Get to know more about Susan in the following Q&A:
How do you feel about the worldwide reaction?
I didn’t know what YouTube was until I was in the record offices and saw the clip and the number of hits and thought oh my God. I’m still trying to come to terms with it. The fans have been amazing and the mail I have received, phenomenal. I have been sent beautiful gifts including books, toiletries and a vintage dress from the 1950s that had been in a family for generations and they wanted me to have it. It’s indescribable that someone would want me to have something so precious. Everyone has shown me such kindness and support. I’ve even had offers of dates!
After your first audition on the TV show went out you became more famous than anybody could possibly have anticipated. How did that affect you?
I have no idea how that happened. Honest to God. It was absolutely unbelievable if I’m being honest.
What do you think it was about you particularly that people became so instantly fascinated by?
Put it this way... a woman who went on with mad hair, bushy eyebrows and the frock I was wearing had to be noticed. Come on! That particular frock was a good choice at the time, I thought. I’d bought it for my brother’s wedding. It was a dress to impress. But I don’t know whether it did or not. It’s a hard one to put into context, probably the fact that I’m an ordinary person who came from a poor background and through fate and the help of a great team of people I was able to rise up from that, I know it’s a cliche but it’s a bit of a Cinderella story really.
How did the live shows feel for you?
Good. Everyone was ever so good in my semifinal. I didn’t think there was anyone you could pick out as better than the others. It’s a very hard show to judge. Then the fan mail snowballed and the whole thing went a bit chaotic. Everyone was very kind to me on the show. Ant and Dec were ever so nice. Piers and Simon were lovely.
Some of the papers were less than lovely. How did that feel?
You can’t really get annoyed by it. People will write things about you. It is part of the territory you’re in. It felt a wee bit hurtful and I’m sure if I read everything I would’ve become a wee bit paranoid but you have to take it all with a pinch of salt. I’m getting used to it now and I get lots of advice. Back then we all were a bit shocked by the interest I think but I had a good team to get me through that unexpected patch.
The kind of instant fame you had is very hard for the media to deal with because you are still one of us rather than one of them.
I’m the wee wifey with the mop and the cat next door. I went from being an unknown, nobody bothering me on the streets to all these headlines with things like “the hairy angel.” The pressure of that I found a bit suffocating as anyone would because it all happened in such a short space of time.
You had a short spell in the Priory, why?
I don’t really remember much about it after the final I went there with extreme exhaustion. I hadn’t slept properly for about a week and I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was in there for three days and I’ve never felt so tired, but I look back on it now and it was a necessity. I wanted to get a rest and a break at the time without all the cameras you know.
Describe the feeling the first day you walked into the studio?
When you go into the studio you see all these plaques on the walls of different artists and I said to myself “You’re going to make an album and eventually if you’re good enough you’ll be there.” I felt quite shy but was determined to do my best. The album was so important to me and it was very important to have songs that personally appealed to me. I sat and listened to music and heard songs and thought about things that would suit my voice and songs that meant something to me when I heard them.
What was the first song you recorded for the album?
It was I Dreamed A Dream first and then Cry Me A River. I remembered it being the theme tune from the TV show McCallum. I’d been through to Edinburgh to a wee studio to see how my voice sounded on tape and that was the song we’d sung there. I went into the booth and sang the song and that was that. I found it easier than you’d think. It’s a Julie London song, with a lovely 1950s feel about it. I like that era. It seems so tame and innocent now.
Obviously I Dreamed A Dream had to be on here.
Obviously. But a lot of the ones that moved me surprised me a lot. Wild Horses was a song like that. I just didn’t expect it to suit my voice as much as it did. I’d never tried singing that song before. It was all new territory for me. I’m used to singing music from the musical theater and this was rock music. But the lyrics drew me into the song and as the story unfolded I got it. I felt drawn in by the words. The same thing with You’ll See.
This is quite something, isn’t it? Susan Boyle takes on Madonna!
It’s just a song. And it’s a song about determination. I am a determined woman, despite the bullying I’ve had in the past. It’s a song about proving yourself as your own woman. I instantly loved that song. It’s a song about knowing that whatever happens to you, you’ll be alright.
What about the new songs: Who I Was Born To Be?
This is fate telling me what I should be doing with my life. I heard that song and instantly I knew. It’s a brand new song. A very powerful song. It was a very moving song to sing.
Tell me about the significance of some of the other hymns you sing on the record.
Amazing Grace is a beautiful song. Just beautiful. It’s a song I try to learn from, about how grace influences your life. I’d sung it as part of choral work and I think it is one of those songs that appeal across the ages.
You’ve undergone a bit of transformation, when you look in the mirror now what do you see?
I brush up quite well! It’s a bit like a signet to a swan, now I see a sophisticated lady even though the outwardness has changed, inside I’m still the same, but a bit more refined now in some ways. The whole process has been good for me. I keep reading that I’ve had all this botox, the teeth whitening but I haven’t had that at all! I’ve been working hard and lost a bit of weight which has been good for me.
What’s the dream now, Susan? Would you like a boyfriend?
Och, there’s no time for that now! I’m far too busy! What a laugh. No, there was a TV company that wanted to set me up with a man. Apparently he was a nice man, but I’ve got my living to do now. I don’t mind being friendly, but no marriage plans as yet!
How proud do you think your parents would be of you now?
I think they would be very proud of me. I hope they would. I’ve done a lot of wrong with my parents, there’s no-one around that hasn’t, frankly, but hopefully I’ve made up for that now and they’re smiling down on me. I can feel it, sometimes.
Do you think that there’s something in your story that has changed the perception of fame in Britain?
No, but I think that I have turned the ordinary woman upside down. The wee wifey with the bottle of Flash doing her cleaning? She’s gone now.
Don’t lose her altogether, Susan.
No I won’t. That’s what keeps me grounded. Remembering that I am just that wifey. My story is what you see is what you get. There’s no airs and graces with me.
How does it feel to be Susan Boyle now?
I feel very content within myself as I’m finally achieving my dream. I feel so lucky and very privileged actually.
What is your biggest fear?
Well everybody has fears but mine is probably that this will all disappear, I want it to keep on going as long as possible. If it did all go away tomorrow I know that I’ve enjoyed every moment of living the dream now.
The girl that dreamed a dream, what does she dream about now?
I dream about security, I dream about one day finding the right person and continuing to make people happy with my music. My advice to those who dare to dream is don’t give up. If I can do it anyone else can to.