Susan Boyle and the Price of Fame

Susan Boyle's introduction to the world stage started on a high note. Her audition for Britain's Got Talent, a soaring rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream,"  upended the notion that talent must conform to a certain standard of beauty, one that doesn't
include middle-aged, matronly-figured women with untamed eyebrows and
frizzy hair.  A You Tube clip--viewed by 280 million people--sparked worldwide media attention and within days the 48-year-old church volunteer from a tiny village in Scotland, was catapaulted to global celebrity. 

But there wasn't a Hollywoood ending to her seven-week run on the show. The heavily favored Boyle came in second, losing to an 11-member dance troupe. The next day, she was hospitalization for mental exhaustion.

The finals came at the end of a week of intense media scrutiny and a barrage of negative press. After being provoked by tabloid reporters, she reportedly lashed out with expletive-deleted language. The media went into overdrive, "SuBo Goes Loco," screamed The Sun's headline. British celebrity gossip columnist Neil Sean demonstrated just how mean-spirited the commentary had become when he told abc.com, that if she were to win, "She wouldn't last more than three months. She's ugly, she's not marketable. What are you going to do with her?"

Before the finals, Boyle said, "The pressure put on me this week has been overwhelming." Well, Saturday night she proved she could perform under pressure. She walked onstage, elegantly dressed in a blue-gray sequined gown. She once again sang "I Dreamed a Dream," from Les Miserables. Her voice was strong and confident, and the the stress she had worn on her face vanished as her voice scaled octaves in another glorious performance that brought the audience and the judges to their feet. Asked if it was worth it, she said, "Well worth it. I really feel at home on stage. Of course I do, I'm among friends. Am I not? "