In a vicious act up there with The Poll Tax, the massacre at Culloden and Clive Tyldsley, the bastard English have been at it again with the news that Scotland’s lovely and talented Susan Boyle failed to win Britain’s Got Talent. Or so the media would have you believe up here, anyway. Leaving aside the facts that;
a) she’s been massively over-exposed
b) she’s fucking terrifying and
c) she really isn’t that good
our free press collectively wailed and gnashed teeth as we contemplated the tragic news that she’d been beaten.
News comes today that the unlovely singer – who’s clearly somewhat shy of the required amount of sandwiches for the proverbial picnic – has checked into the Priory for treatment for depression and exhaustion. Serious hat on here, it surely should have been apparent to anyone that this woman was struggling to cope with the huge changes in her life over the last few weeks, and Simon Cowell’s management company SyCo have a duty of care to her. Christ, she said she fancied Piers Morgan, did that not set alarm bells ringing?
Simon Cowell being a money-mad megalomaniac is not exactly news, but when people are publicly crumbling in the face of a situation they are clearly not mentally ready for, you have to question when the moral dimension will kick in. This is not, incidentally, the same set of rules which should apply to a fame-hungry crew of overly ambitious talent vacuum girl or boy bands who would lick Satan’s ballbag for a five minute slot of GMTV. This is about a middle-aged spinster who might kindly be described as ‘eccentric’ (or totally hatstand, if we’re being honest) being used by a multi-millionaire for the purpose of making more money. That can’t be right.
If we are cynical about the record business in this country, it’s because of things like this. It’s why the moral issue of filesharing or illegal downloading was never going to be a winnable one for the industry; how dare you preach to us when you are such moral black holes yourself?
We wish her well and hopes she makes a few quid then ends up back in Scotland with her cats and her memories. Because right now, the woman is being pushed and pulled around in a thousand different directions and no-one appears to care.
Filed under: General Stuff | Tagged: britain's got talent, les miserables, music, Shite Music, Simon Cowell, susan boyle
Whilst I think Simon Cowell always has one eye on the cash register, I also think he does have a lot of integrity. At the end of the day, people will always chase their 15 minutes of fame regardless of whether they have any talent or not. At least he’s honest about whether they have any chance of making it as a serious singer or entertainer and doesn’t keep them deluded. I think his comments are sometimes cruel but often echo exactly what we all think.
So I’m afraid I’m not so much inclined to think poor Susan Boyle, she put herself forward for the audition and whether she has learning difficulties or not, she wanted to have the chance. Whether she is able to cope with ithe fame / defeat / media backlash or not is another matter, but I don’t think you can lay the blame for that on one person. Its just as much Demi Moore’s fault she’s as famous as she is than Simon Cowells. Anyway hopefully she will make a quick recovery and have some fun being a professional singer and following her dream – at least she will die knowing she gave it a shot.