According to several news reports the video of Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent has been seen over 100,000,000 times. That’s a lot. On You Tube she is featured in 7 of the top 11 videos this month. That’s domination.
Consider this math exercise for a moment. If the video is 6 minutes long and the average worker puts in about 2,000 hours at work per year, we have watched the video for over 5,000 work years. So far it has been reported that nobody has monetized the traffic. If they had, it is estimated that it would have generated $500,000. If not already, it will soon be the top You Tube video of all time.
There are over 30 Susan Boyle fan sites that have sprung up since her April 11th performance. So far most of them seem careful not to cross the line separating a fan site from an income site. One unexpected beneficiary is Arizona artist Susan K. Boyle who exhibits her art on www.susanboyle.com. No surprise her traffic is up significantly. I hope her art sales are up as well!
It is curious that the the domain SusanBoyle.co.uk was registered on April 10th. The day before her performance aired. It is well done and is selling ad space. It is curious that the first post is dated April 6th and the topic of the second post on April 7th is Elaine Paige. Somebody is psychic or creatively dating the posts.
There are more than a few critics of the show claiming the Susan Boyle phenomenon is an orchestrated set-up by the producers of the show. Their arguments are enough to trigger the skeptic in all of us. Each year the producers of the show find a remarkably talented contestant with a compelling story. The show is necessarily scripted to ensure it’s entertainment value making it hard to believe anybody was truly surprised by her performance. And there is the web site domain reserved the day before the show.
The new Susan Boyle
They also point to Susan Boyle’s ‘makeover’ as a set-up. In her initial appearance she was as dowdy and unfashionable as possible. That provided a dramatic contrast to how she looks after her makeover. Some even fear she is hurting her chances of winning because of her new look. It seems odd to me that she is being criticized for improving herself. That is hardly a crime.
A lot of us would be disappointed if it becomes clear that she is part of conspiracy by the producers to create interest and draw viewers. If true they have succeeded.
On the other hand, the message of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ remains valid regardless of how the Susan Boyle phenomenon came to be. The obvious joy shared by so many will not be diminished if the skeptics are correct.
I am sure we’ll learn more as folks dig into her life and activities. They have already posted a grainy video from nearly 25 years ago. They’ll find out more as they continue to dig. Meanwhile we must wait until May 23rd to enjoy Susan’s next appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.
Many of us will be rooting for her.
Over the last day this video and this lady have been one of the hotter topics on the Internet and TV. I have watched the video a handful of times and my reaction is the same each time. I smile. My eyes get a little watery. I root for her and enjoy the enthusiasm of the crowd. And it makes me feel guilty about my initial judgement which set my expectations so low.
Boomer 4664 