Susan Boyle Read Online Free PDF Page A

easier.’
    That wasn’t the end of it, either. While Susan wasn’t a creature to be pitied, her life had clearly been harsh, not least because she lived alone. ‘I lived with my mum up until she died two years ago from old age,’ she went on. ‘Now I only have my cat Pebbles for company, but when I sing I know my mum is still listening.’
    As all this and more came out, the atmosphere surrounding Susan shifted. When she’d first walked out on to that Glasgow stage there had been an unmistakable sense of mockery in the air; a feeling that an ungroomed woman from the sticks who compared herself to Elaine Paige was setting herself up for a fall. But as Susan’s vulnerabilities became clear, there was a pervading sense of shame about people’s initial reactions. Susan had clearly been bullied all her life in one form or another, and now here she was, having the guts to stand up in front of 3,000 people in an auditorium, 11 million on television and, courtesy of YouTube, 33 million worldwide and show what she could do. Why shouldn’t this woman be given a chance? Why shouldn’t she be allowed to achieve her full potential? And above all, what right had others to mock? She was only human. Didn’t she have feelings, too?
    Nor did it seem right to be unkind about someone who had led such an exceptionally sheltered life. ‘I’ve never been kissed,’ she reiterated to the Mirror as the newspapers fought with one another to see who could get her life story first. ‘If someone even pecked me on the cheek it would be nice, but I’ve never even got that close. My parents didn’t want me to have boyfriends so I’ve never been on a date. I suppose I’ve accepted it’s never going to happen. The only thing I really do regret is not having children. I love kids and would have liked to have been a mum.’
    That crush on Piers - whose long-term girlfriend is the journalist Celia Walden - was making itself felt, too. ‘He’s gorgeous,’ Susan repeated. ‘I remember when America’s Got Talent first came on and I saw him and thought, He looks really nice, I wonder who he is? I was too embarrassed to tell him how I felt when I was at my audition, but I had my hair curled especially for the show and wore a dress I’d bought a few months back for my nephew’s wedding. I like Simon Cowell, too. He is beautiful but he’s the boss. I’ve got too much respect for him to have feelings like that. I used to have a crush on Terry Wogan, too, but he’s a bit old for me now.’
    No one with a heart who heard any of this could have failed to feel for Susan. Although it was later to emerge that she had been on television once before and had had at least one suitor, her sheer artlessness as she described her background and life was as powerful as anything she said. There was no agenda here; it was quite simple. Susan wanted to be a singer, had never had any real opportunities before and was taking advantage of getting noticed any way she could. She was a modest, straightforward woman who had nursed her mother in old age and who lived alone with her cat. Who could fail to be moved by that?
    It was all of these elements - Susan’s modesty, lack of self-pity, dignity in the face of bereavement and bullying and, of course, her beautiful voice - that made it clear early on that she would become a sensation. Furthermore, she was attracting a huge amount of attention in the United States. As well as Oprah , a string of American talk shows and channels had expressed an interest in her, including Larry King Live , Good Morning America , NBC and CBS.
    Meanwhile Elaine Paige, who had noted Susan’s ambition to emulate her own success, promptly provided her with another celebrity endorsement. Indeed, she went a step further by suggesting they work together. ‘Ever since Susan’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent my Radio 2 inbox has been flooded with emails,’ she wrote on her website. ‘It seems her performance has captured the hearts