A middle-aged spinster in an outdated dress, greying hair and eyebrows like GT stripes, walks on stage.She's never been kissed, says she lives alone with her cat and then, horror of horrors, wiggles her hips in an attempt at flirtation that reminds everyone of every time they've ever been laughed at or rejected.A member of the Pussycat Dolls she is not, but from the moment Susan Boyle broke into song, she proved that while beauty may be skin deep, talent goes all the way to the soul.
Homer Simpson admits he's a Susan Boyle fan VIDEO: Watch Susan Boyle stun the judges on Britain's Got Talent Susan Boyle more popular online than Barack Obama Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle is an internet hit Susan Boyle becomes a YouTube sensationBoyle's appearance on the TV show Britain's Got Talent on April 11 has got the world talking, while sparking an internet phenomenon. To date, hits on a YouTube video of her performance and associated interviews has exceeded 100 million - and counting.Actors Demi Moore and husband Ashton Kutcher are among her fans. Oprah Winfrey has invited her onto her talk show and Catherine Zeta-Jones reportedly wants to play her in a movie.So how does a frumpy woman from a small town in Scotland manage to out-rate every known celebrity in the universe without any spillage of cleavage or raunchy dance moves?Social commentators have asserted the need for a modern-day hero, the love of an underdog and a celebration of natural talent over manufactured pop stars.Lecturer in media and cultural studies at the University of Wollongong, Dr Kate Bowles, believes Ms Boyle has been a pick-me-up at a time of grim economic circumstances."People are confronting a disastrous change in fortune, the loss of their house, their job and income," Dr Bowles said."We would like to believe in an equally dramatic change for the better. That we might experience an equally sudden, but certainly deserved, change."After decades of obscurity, there is no doubt Boyle, 48, has waited a long time for her reversal of fortune.Until her television appearance, she lived a mediocre existence in a terrace house with her cat, Pebbles, in the small town of Blackburn in West Lothian, one of Scotland's poorest regions.The youngest of nine children from a staunch Roman Catholic family, she cared for her widowed mother, Bridget, until her death in 2007, has never married and hones her amateur singing career in the church choir and at karaoke nights in the town pub.Her talent was no surprise to her friends, according to Happy Valley Hotel manager Jackie Russell."Susan can't help herself. She just sings whenever she can sing," Mr Russell said last month. "We weren't surprised ... but we were surprised by the reaction around the world."Part of that success story has been the total unexpectedness of her talent. As she made her way to the microphone on Britain's Got Talent, the camera panned the audience, capturing sniggers as people wondered why Boyle had not availed herself of some simple beauty measures, like a pair of tweezers and hair dye.But she had the last laugh. Her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream, from the musical Les Miserables, not only drew misty-eyed admiration from the judges; it had the audience on their feet, applauding and the world clamouring for more of her genuine personality."I did this for my late mother. I wanted to show her I could do something with my life," Boyle said, adding it was her mum who had encouraged her to enter Britain's Got Talent. But it was only after her death that she mustered the courage to do so.Many have applauded the fact a genuine star was born without music studio intervention. Dr Bowles said footage from the YouTube clip suggested a level of stage-management that may yet override the fairy tale."I think it's a very clever piece of television. When you look at the clip, there's something about it that's just a little too perfect," Dr Bowles said. "Those cut-aways, with (judge) Piers Morgan gulping ever so slightly, the girl who turns to her friends and rolls her eyes, you can't have that kind of detail without some degree of planning."I don't think it's an entirely cynical exercise, but I do think it is one that has quite exceptional pay-offs for the production company."(Judge) Simon Cowell is now crafting a new kind of conflict and drama for the show, by suggesting she's really got to work hard to win it, because that's going to make people want to see what happens."There's no doubt the woman now dubbed as the Hairy Angel in some quarters will be paying dividends for some time to come, the latest chapter being her much-publicised makeover.Many of her new-found fans, including Michael Hanlon of Britain's Daily Mail, have lamented the change."As soon as fame came calling, she got a makeover and a new hairdo. Soon she'll be just like everybody else on television and the magic will have gone," he wrote.Regardless, Dr Bowles said the public would be hooked because Boyle provided the same tonic as watching a "regular Joe" win $1 million on a game show."I think the reason why the YouTube clip has been so successful is because we want potted versions of transformation, for the exact reason that we watched The Biggest Loser over a longer format."We want to see people's lives change - it gives us hope we might experience the same."If only we could turn this interest to global warming, because clearly we are capable of concerted global action."All we needed was a woman in an unflattering dress to prove it."Boyle will face the TV show judges again on May 23.
