Never before has there been a more striking incongruity between a person’s voice and the individual’s physical appearance than in the case of Susan Boyle. Judging from her mere physical appearances, once does not expect anything remotely inspiring or transforming to come out of her mouth. Not so much as a word. Yet, when she sings, it is next to impossible not to suppose that one is hearing the voice of an angel. To hear Susan Boyle sing “I Dream a Dream” is to have a transformative experience. This was the surprise of Britain’s Got Talent.
From the very first note, she sings with an angelic beauty that leaves one in awe. Indeed, it is very easy to entertain the thought that though her lips are moving, it is really another being who is doing the singing through her—as if she were but a mere vessel for a greater more transcending force. It is no wonder that as of this moment her 7-minute YouTube video has been viewed by more than 19 million individuals (more than 36 million as of 21 April); and it is striking, as it is beautiful and humbling, that in the YouTube video, we see Boyle walking off the stage after she has finished singing, seemingly unaware of the absolutely extraordinary impact that she has had upon the audience. For an edited 2.5 minute version that can be downloaded: View windows media player file here: Susan Boyle
Before she began singing, it is not implausible to say that Boyle approached the very nadir of what we might think of as someone who is owed no more than basic human respect. Being a law abiding person she is deserving of basic human respect. Many no doubt supposed, judging from her appearance, that there is nothing more meritorious about her.
This, alas, also tells us all something very disconcerting about ourselves. In a world driven by images and sound-bites, we are rapidly losing the will to judge people by the content of their character. Our focus, instead, is none other than the person’s physical appearances. What is painfully true is that at the outset the audience had almost no interest whatsoever in hearing her sing; and there can be no doubt that all were prepared to take delight in her making a fool of herself. What else could a frumpy-looking 47-year old woman do but make a fool out of herself. So the very idea that Susan Boyle wanting to sing like Elaine Page was at best amusing to the audience and, at worse, a sign that Boyle was nothing more than an idiot.
Presumably the thought was that if God had wanted Susan Boyle to have a voice like Elaine Page, then God would have made her beautiful—or at least less far less frumpy looking.
Now, if Susan Boyle had been stunningly beautiful her voice would not have been any less amazing. But we would have been far less surprised; and there is the rub. This is because there is simply no connection whatsoever between the quality of a person’s voice and the individual’s physical beauty. Indeed, what no one can reasonably think is that all the top female vocalists who are drop-dead gorgeous also have stunningly beautiful voices. That is demonstrably false.
In fact, the difference between Susan Boyle and any number of the top female vocalists is that Boyle’s voice is indeed absolutely angelic. Without any aids or special effects to prop up her voice, the quality of Boyle’s voice is absolutely mesmerizing, eliciting an emotional response that one rarely experiences in hearing a person sing. Within a mere four seconds of Boyle’s singing, there was not a shadow of doubt on anyone’s part that her voice was none other than a human treasure.
Here are the remarks of Amanda Holden, one of the judges from Britain’s Got Talent:
I am so thrilled because I know that everybody was against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical and I think that’s the biggest wakeup call ever. And I just want to say that it was a complete privilege listening to that (my italics).
I could not agree more. And it is to Holden’s credit that she did not exempt herself.
Susan Boyle stands as a defining moment and a resounding reminder to all of us that neither talent nor moral and special excellences have anything to do with physical beauty. The issue is whether will we applaud her today and then tomorrow go back to our old ways of privileging physical beauty of above just about all else.
The issue is whether we have become so morally vapid that we are no longer able to learn from and so to refashion ourselves by what on every account is a defining moment. Thus, the question is this: Is it merely that we are caught up in the moment? In other words, are we capable of becoming a better person on account of having experienced—nay, being a part of—so dramatic and defining moment?
Susan Boyle stands as most poignant reminder that necessarily there is a certain duality to humanity. We can all agree that there is much to be said for looking fit and excellent. Just so, a person’s physique alone cannot reveal the depth of the individual’s real character—not the person’s hopes and dreams, nor the ideas that animate the person’s soul nor the wherewithal which the person has to persevere in the face of hard-times.
These are the qualities of excellences that distinguish us from non-human animals. Susan Boyle has been none other than a moral gift to all who have viewed her; for she stands as a most majestic reminder that human excellences at their best are neither defined nor reducible to exterior appearances. This is the explanation for the profoundly visceral response that Susan Boyle has occasioned.
And my hope is that Susan Boyle will also not forget the marvelous moral lesson that she has taught all of us. Angles are not beautiful people. Rather, they are gifts from God.
Disclaimer: Of course, we know that a great deal of staging goes on in with talent-reality shows, as Kyle Buchanan has so forcefully reminded us. After all, there is always an interview involved. So, it was already known that Susan Boyle could sing, just as it is already known that others cannot sing. Accordingly, none of this takes away from the reality of actually singing well or poorly before the audience. Applying to the situation George Orwell’s words from Animal Farm: All pigs are equal, but some are more equal than others.
