Overrated?

Brokey is unmoved by the hype surrounding Susan Boyle:

everybody all shocked that homegirl can hold a note.  why?  is it cause she’s a bit dumpy, is in desperate need of brow work, and says she’s never been kissed?  how insulting!  ‘you look like a troll!  i didnt think you’d be able to do anything but grunt and hiss into the microphone!’ the nerve!  gimmie a break.  if this song was sung by a contestant during Miss America’s talent portion, id be like, ‘…eh.’

Basically. This seems like one of those weird ‘cultural’ moments where people pat themselves on the back for being open-minded, like the fashion world does all the time to Beth Ditto. But good for Susan Boyle.

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.

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  • i agree, wholeheartedly. when i first HEARD about this story on NPR, i thought, ok, well he has a good voice. then i watched the video on youtube and didn’t know what the big deal was. i also think that because of crap reality tv like american idol and autotoned pop music, most people are unable to tell if someone actually has outstanding vocal abilities

  • Ron

    Reality shows are presumed to only uncover “talent” in the form of people who are suitable for magazine airbrushing.

  • Steve

    When she hit the big notes in the middle I was impressed…that kinda singing is technically difficult with this kinda song..

    and besides the story is cute…whatever..

    it aint like she the next superstar…

    its just a nice story.

  • ladyfresshh

    i think it’s because there is so much horrible singing out there.

    My eyes watered i’m always happy for links to good singing.

  • blackink12

    Yeah, I’m co-signing with Steve: it was a nice story and all but I wasn’t blown away by her ability.

    And “American Idol” isn’t necessarily about rewarding the most talented vocalist either. They’re trying to find people who can be stars, which as we all know, has as much to do with the packaging as the voice.

    Either way, I’m sure Ms. Boyle is gonna come out of this with some buzz and maybe a record deal. Good for her.

  • Jon

    I think it’s mostly a matter of people having had incredibly low expectations for her to have had any talent, based solely on her appearance, which to the shallow audience for this show, at home and in person, is essentially the criteria with which to appraise someone’s value, and also having had incredibly high expectations for something so ear-splittingly bad that they could then make it a pleasurable experience by laughing and mocking her, that when she did turn out to be vocally talented, they all felt so guilty for their previous judgment, that it was perceived as a brilliant performance when juxtaposed with their assumption. She sings well, very well, but I think they hype is that it’s moving to see someone being at first mistreated, only to succeed, especially such an endearing figure.

  • corlake

    i was waiting for someone to write this. thank you. i agree wholeheartedly. way overrated.

  • Disagreed. First of all, overrated compared to what? Compared to your average person with no formal musical training and no access to a recording studio?

    Second, despite the nastiness of the judges (“everyone laughed at you”), she actually seemed to me to get a pretty good round of applause even before she started singing. Yeah, the camera panned to the girl rolling her eyes, but ime, Brits rather admire and appreciate their dumpy middle-aged mum-types in a way we Americans don’t. The laughter to me sounded mostly appreciative of her chutzpah rather than hostile.

    Plus, voice aside, it’s just damn charming to see a woman, of middle age and average appearance, with that sort of confidence and humor refusing to back down or self-denigrate. And again, the humor and confidence of middle-aged women has seemed to me a lot more common and valued in the UK than here. That kind of persona compels affection, regardless of whether or not her voice surprised people.