Lady GaGa's Sizzle Sells, But Susan Boyle's Talent Will Endure
When Susan Boyle comes to mind there are two adages that seem immediately appropriate: 'never judge a book by its cover' and 'cream always rises to the top.'
No less a maven than music industry whiz Simon Cowell was initially flabbergasted at Susan's appearance on Britain's Got Talent - but then he heard her sing and became one of her biggest fans. When one ignores Boyle's rather stodgy, stumpy, and plain appearance as well as her lack of stage presence and focuses on her singing, it becomes apparent that there is no keeping this woman down - she was simply destined to rise to the top. As she herself has said "... why should it matter as long as I can sing? It's not a beauty contest."
Boyle is truly a modern day phenom - completely amateur and without any serious musical background or training - she burst onto the international music scene courtesy of the TV talent show mentioned above and is now a big star. She sings beautifully and clearly, you can hear her every word and unlike the bulk of today's so-called talent she is not over-produced; there is in fact no need to over-produce her since she has a great voice all on her own. This charming and unassumingly modest lady, who spent more than her first 45 years in total obscurity, made it to the top without all the bells and whistles we almost always associate with top musical acts these days - no internet - no Twitter - no Facebook - no media hype - no outlandish costumes - just standing up there with total emphasis on the song itself.
Let's contrast Boyle with another one of today's big stars - Lady Gaga. These two performers couldn't be more different from each other if they tried. For Lady Gaga the expression 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' seems apt. There has never been a bigger media monster than this woman, who apparently will stop at nothing to gain attention.
At the VMA Awards ceremony on September 12th, Gaga not only won what seemed like half of the awards, but appeared in the most outlandish costumes imaginable - even to the point of being unimaginable! At one point she appeared clad in an outfit that looked as if she was wearing raw meat for her dress and shoes (including a meat purse she asked icon Cher to hold)! There is nothing El Gaga will not do for attention.
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