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EWTNews
17-Apr-2009 -- N
Parish Choir Singer Becomes Overnight Sensation

London, England, Apr 17, 2009 (CNA).- A middle-aged Scottish woman who sang in her Catholic parish’s choir for decades has become an internet sensation after a stunning performance on a British talent show. Susan Boyle, 47, appeared on the show Britain’s Got Talent before judges and a live audience skeptical of her ambition, her age and her plain appearance.

The audience laughed derisively when she said she wanted to follow the example of West End star singer Elaine Paige.

However, Boyle’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Miserables won over the crowd and the judges.

Her performance was broadcast on April 11, the day before Easter. A video of her performance posted on YouTube on the same day had received more than 13 million views as of Thursday afternoon.

Boyle, reportedly a devoted Catholic from Blackburn in West Lothian, was born with a learning disability but dreamed of becoming a professional singer, the Times Online says.

She credits her mother for advancing her musical education.

“I was always musical - yelling when I was a baby, singing into a brush and singing in the shower,” she told Deadline Scotland.

“It was my mum who got me into singing properly - she knew I had to do something with my voice because she knew I was talented.

“She was the one that pushed me into joining a choir all those years ago, when I was about 12. I remember she told me to start with the choir and just see where it took me,” she added, saying it was hard to believe her success.

Boyle limited her singing to church choir and Karaoke in order to care for her aging mother, the Times says. She stopped singing after her mother died two years ago.

“I thought I would take a break - it seemed appropriate,” she told the Times.

Boyle, one of eight siblings, has never married and claims she has never been kissed.

Discussing the Britain’s Got Talent audience’s initial hostility, she said “Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances.”

“There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.”

According to the Washington Post, Boyle received a standing ovation at her parish’s Easter Sunday Mass.

"We let out a wee bit of a cheer for her. We are quite proud of her," Boyle's parish priest, the Rev. Ryszard Holuka, said in a telephone interview. He described Boyle as a "quiet soul."

"At gatherings and anniversary parties, she'd stand up and give a song," he said. "She never flaunted her voice; this is the first time it's been publicly recognized."


www.ewtn.com [ewtn.com]

I was horrified at how people laughed at her at the beginning. People really are cruel, aren't they?

A bit like high school, but without the excuse of immaturity. Or is it the same?

BOB

Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation. In just one week, the video of her appearance has been viewed nearly 20 million times around the world on YouTube. She’s appeared on talk shows, been interviewed by papers and magazines. Oprah has invited her on to be a guest.

“I did this,“ Susan told a reporter, “for my late mother. I wanted to show her I could do something with my life.”

I thought of Susan Boyle on Wednesday, when Archbishop Timothy Dolan climbed the pulpit at St. Patrick’s at his installation mass and declared in his first homily:

“Everybody is somebody.”

Susan Boyle certainly proved that. No matter what others may think, the beautiful truth is that everyone carries the spark of the divine. Every life has meaning and dignity. Everybody is somebody.

That is why the greatest Somebody, Jesus Christ, surrendered himself on the cross – and why he rose from the dead. And when he finally appeared before his followers after the resurrection, his first message was a word of consolation to all those who feel frightened, or insecure, or alone – whether in that upper room, or in a village in Scotland, or in a walkup in Queens: “Peace,” he said. Peace. It was his first gift after he had risen.

In that same spirit, God continues to offer us another gift -- the one that gives this Sunday its name: Divine Mercy.

God’s mercy says to us, very simply, “You are loved -- no matter what. Because everybody is somebody.”