Susan Boyle by Alice Montgomery Page B

true, he said, ‘I don’t know who’s going to win this competition, but you know, you’ve had a weird seven weeks. You had every right to walk away from this, and you could have walked away. You could have had a lot of stuff coming your way in America, and a lot of people said you shouldn’t even be in this competition. That you’re not equipped to deal with it. For what? For you to sit at home with your cat and say, “I’ve missed an opportunity.” I completely disagree with that. Well, I do. And you know, win or lose, you have the guts to come back here tonight, face your critics and you beat them. And that’s the most important thing.’
    In the background, the cheers started again.
    ‘Whatever happens, Susan,’ Simon continued, ‘and you know, I’ve got to know the real Susan Boyle, which is not the person I’ve seen portrayed in the media, who is a very nice, shy person who just wants a break, you can walk away from this, win or lose, with your head held high, Susan. I absolutely adore you.’
    ‘That makes me feel really good, thanks very much,’ said Susan, blowing a kiss as she left the stage.
     
    Back in her hometown of Blackburn, the atmosphere was electric. Over a hundred locals had gathered in the Happy Valley to watch the show, and when Susan walked on stage, total silence descended. Throughout the village, almost everyone was glued to their TV screens, and when her performance ended, the place erupted. Susan was certainly a winner there.
    Back in London, though, it was a different story. To everyone’s surprise and consternation, Susan didn’t win on the night - that honour went to the dance troupe Diversity. Susan remained gracious in defeat though: ‘They’re very entertaining,’ she said. ‘The best act won.’ But even so it was hard not to feel cheated. This modern-day Cinderella had been at the heart of a fairytale, and the nation expected a fairytale ending. They didn’t get one.
    Everyone involved was shocked. ‘Susan was there at the top all along, but she was incredibly gracious,’ said Simon Cowell as the news sunk in. ‘She’s won a lot of people over and people have got to see the real Susan. She’s incredible.’
    ‘Can I just say on behalf of all of us that it was amazing to meet you,’ said Dec. Although he was far too professional to say so, it looked as if he thought they’d got the wrong result, too.
    Despite losing the competition, there was no question that it would put a stop to Susan’s meteoric rise - matters had gone too far for that - but it did underline some real concerns. Susan had seemed certain to win, and the fact that she hadn’t was ascribed in some quarters to the negative publicity she’d received in the run-up to the show. People didn’t seem to understand that her erratic behaviour was a direct result of her learning difficulties, and just thought Susan was being temperamental. The majority may not have thought like that, but a vocal minority did, and it had damaged her chances. That was almost certainly the real reason she didn’t win.
    And that led directly to the next question: with the weight of expectation lying heavy on her shoulders, how was she going to take it now that she’d lost? Was Susan going to go off the rails? As the judges had acknowledged, this had been a nerve-racking week for all the contestants, but especially Susan. There had never been a phenomenon like her before, and no one seemed certain quite what to do next. With the Britain’s Got Talent tour coming up, decisions had to be made, and the question on everyone’s lips was, would Susan be well enough to attend? She would be the biggest pull on the tour, but if she joined it would the producers be blamed for putting her under even more pressure when she was clearly unable to cope?
    Susan herself could be forgiven for not taking it all in. Asked what she’d do next, she replied bravely, ‘I hope to get an album out and I’ll just play it by ear. What a