You remember what a pepperpot is, right? Anytime the Monty Python crew dressed in drag and screeched, "well, I never!" playing the part of a middle-aged church lady.
Those were the pepperpots.
The first time I ever saw a pepperpot in real life (okay, on TV), I cried.
After months of being shot down by potential employers, working as a waitress at a soul-eating restaurant and getting ready to emerge from college into a jobless market, Susan Boyle's performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserabes was the only thing that cheered me up.
Boyle, an authentic 47-year-old Pepperpot from Scotland, unmarried, unkissed, unemployed and unattractive, wowed Britain and the rest of the world with her stunning performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britian's Got Talent, shattering the preconceived notions viewers and the all-important snarky judges had of her.
I normally don't look into YouTube sensations (especially after Two Girls One Cup...ewww), mostly because I hear so much about the video from from friends that when I finally see it I don't get what all the fuss is about.
I did this time, and Boyle's good humor, ability to laugh at herself and most of all blow-me-away musical talent is just what the doctor ordered for the recession blues.
So if you haven't seen this video yet, see it.
Apparently, i'm not the only one who loves Susan Boyle, as fans, reporters and photographers have been barraging her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland for weeks now. Though she's given in and gotten a makeover, Boyle has become a global symbol of inner beauty.
She told the Washington Post:
"Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. [...] There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example."
She's scheduled to go on the next round of the reality show late next month, and I plan to cheer her on.
Update
In the semi-finals, an eyebrow-plucked Boyle gave a less-soulful performance of "Memory" from Cats. I was really dissapointed, she stood almost still through most of the performance, and the emotion from her previous performance was all but absent. She loosened up a bit towards the end, though, and I can't help but think that the special effects, as in clouds of mist billowing from all corners and a spinning light behind her head that made her look like one of those kitschy Virgin Mary strobelight-statue combos, had something to do with it. Nonetheless, she's advanced to Saturday's final round. Watch for her.
Have you checked out12 year old Shaheen Jafargholi? He appeared on Britain's Got Talent a week after Susan Boyle did. Adorable, too, and I think he just might give her a run for her money!