It’s no Stranger Gong Show, but still—you will cringe and cheer and maybe even cry as Susan Boyle (nearly 48; “never been married, never been kissed”; lives alone with her cat, Pebbles) sings Les Miserables.

Really. Click it. It will break your heart and make your day.

Eli Sanders was The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won...

38 replies on “Britain’s Got Talent”

  8. Because I heard about it on Dlisted, I was hesitant to watch it, but she was amazing. She got up there, killed it, and walked off. LOVE HER.

  10. Eh … I liked Paul Potts better. I find it annoying that the producers are so obviously going back to that well.

    She did sound great, though. But why play up what an ugly duckling she is?

  11. Did they make such a huge movie production out the American version too? Yikes.
    But I also would have given her a big YES.

  14. I never watch American Idol. I hate all that crap. That being said, I bawled like a freaking baby and had to watch it twice. Screw all the people that prejudge others for whatever reason.

  17. I don’t think I’m overly-cynical, but this seemed completely contrived and put-on to me. Mostly because it was exactly like the Paul Potts thing in every detail. I mean, good for her and all, but reality TV, eh.

  21. It was real and I’m a cynic at heart. Don’t be an ass because someone else happened to be prejudged on appearance in the past and proved them wrong. I looked up the Paul Potts one before you posted the link. While that was very cool too, it doesn’t detract from Susan Boyle. The judges are so jaded from having to deal with people that think they can sing (I wish I had a tenth of this talent, heck a fifth) that they assume most are crap. This proves that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

  24. i just watched the other dood and while he was good, the impact wasn’t nearly what it is for this other woman.

    1. her personality and the banter before she sings sets it up better than paul’s interview pre-thingy
    2. her age and appearance are more at odds with her voice than Paul’s
    3. the audience reaction was better
    4. the judges reactions were better

    you guys just want to say FIRST! without having to say FIRST!

    old woman from village beats fat dude with gnarly teeth easily

  26. @20, Damn you, Matt Fuckin’ Hickey. You have fully awakened my semi-latent love of musical theater and opera. How am I supposed to get any work done when my eyes are all misty from listening to Turandot and various bits of Broadway schmaltz??

  28. i’m every bit as cynical as y’all when it comes to exploitation, orchestration etc etc of this reality program… but this shit gave me shivers up and down my body for extended amount of time.

  29. Whether or not the show is genuine, Susan Boyle was the real thing. It was wonderful to see someone’s dreams come true no matter what the dream.

    That being said, you would have to tie me down to get me to watch a full episode of that crap.

  30. Many thanks, slog, for making me get all misty- eyed over something that is now being featured on Yahoo news, and that my mother will probably email to me in about a month when she finally hears about it from someone in her church group, along with some inspir-irrational blurb about never losing faith. eech.

  32. God damn it…I haven’t taken my prozac in a few days, and I when I started crying while watching this I thought the stuff was wearing off. Glad to see I’m not the only one. I hope we hear more from her. Best wishes.

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