had withdrawn his support by praising Shaheen had been very upsetting for her. The lady herself, however, kept shtum.
The pressure was certainly greater than ever before. Back in Blackburn, the locals were preparing a huge celebration, which was to be held whatever the outcome of the competition, while plans were afoot for the town to get together in The Happy Valley Hotel to watch Susan perform on the show. They were totally unfazed by Susan’s outbursts, not least because they’d seen them before: ‘I’ve known Susan all her life,’ said David Stein, the village butcher. ‘We know what Susan can do verbally; she can be pretty rough on you.’
Jackie Russell, the manager of the pub, agreed. ‘It’s the stress,’ she said. ‘It’s only natural. She’s used to just walking up and down to the shops and nobody bothering her, and all of a sudden she’s thrust into this limelight. It must be really hard for her.’
One thing was for certain, interest in Susan kept mounting, with speculation about what she would wear and sing increasing by the day. For a woman who had had to put up with a lot of stick about her appearance, she was now in the bizarre position of being treated as something of a fashion icon. She also remained the bookies’ favourite to win.
The stage was set for the next big act in Susan’s life, but Piers was right: whatever happened she was already a star. If she’d messed up the semi-final - and the speed of her recovery from that duff note was proof that she hadn’t - it’s unlikely her career would have progressed any further. Instead, however, her appearance had been a triumph, showing that she was no flash in the pan. As painful as it was for her to go through, Susan’s problems only increased the public’s fascination with her. Clearly, apart from a few strange souls, no one wanted her to suffer; everyone wanted her to thrive. But the fact that her battles weren’t entirely over kept the public glued to the soap opera, wondering what was going to happen next. Susan was a star, all right, but she was still going to have to battle on.
A Massive Upset
The final of Britain’s Got Talent was finally here - on 30 May 2009 - and tensions were running about as high as they could get. Susan had seemed like a shoe-in at first, but just recently doubts had been raised as to whether she would make it through - not that it mattered much. Susan’s musical career looked guaranteed, whatever happened on stage that night. Even so, she wanted to win, and the goodwill towards her remained palpable: the country wanted her to win, too.
The nation’s television sets switched on and the contest began. As the show started, they repeated clips of the earlier stages of the proceedings, and another interview with Susan, resplendent in a neat yellow blouse.
‘When I first applied to Britain’s Got Talent , I never really realized I’d be sitting here, in the final,’ she said. ‘If I win this people will see I’m not the person who’s just living at home with just the cat. They’ll see a new person, a new Susan Boyle, a Susan Boyle the singer. Through this I can walk down the street and be proud of who I am.’
Piers came up on the screen. ‘Susan Boyle has gone from being a totally anonymous spinster from a Scottish village to one of the most famous women on the planet in several weeks,’ he said as an array of international papers, all with headlines about Susan, flashed up on the screen. ‘That brings with it massive pressure.’
Back to Susan: ‘The pressure put on me this week has been overwhelming,’ she said. ‘But I’ve got to learn to put that aside.’ They were brave words, but it was easier said than done.
Now it was Simon’s turn. ‘For anybody, this is intense. Huge, huge, huge pressure,’ he said. ‘And now she’s got to sing.’
Back to Susan. ‘It’s the most important night of my life tonight,’ she said. ‘When I step on that stage, it will be the accumulation
The pressure was certainly greater than ever before. Back in Blackburn, the locals were preparing a huge celebration, which was to be held whatever the outcome of the competition, while plans were afoot for the town to get together in The Happy Valley Hotel to watch Susan perform on the show. They were totally unfazed by Susan’s outbursts, not least because they’d seen them before: ‘I’ve known Susan all her life,’ said David Stein, the village butcher. ‘We know what Susan can do verbally; she can be pretty rough on you.’
Jackie Russell, the manager of the pub, agreed. ‘It’s the stress,’ she said. ‘It’s only natural. She’s used to just walking up and down to the shops and nobody bothering her, and all of a sudden she’s thrust into this limelight. It must be really hard for her.’
One thing was for certain, interest in Susan kept mounting, with speculation about what she would wear and sing increasing by the day. For a woman who had had to put up with a lot of stick about her appearance, she was now in the bizarre position of being treated as something of a fashion icon. She also remained the bookies’ favourite to win.
The stage was set for the next big act in Susan’s life, but Piers was right: whatever happened she was already a star. If she’d messed up the semi-final - and the speed of her recovery from that duff note was proof that she hadn’t - it’s unlikely her career would have progressed any further. Instead, however, her appearance had been a triumph, showing that she was no flash in the pan. As painful as it was for her to go through, Susan’s problems only increased the public’s fascination with her. Clearly, apart from a few strange souls, no one wanted her to suffer; everyone wanted her to thrive. But the fact that her battles weren’t entirely over kept the public glued to the soap opera, wondering what was going to happen next. Susan was a star, all right, but she was still going to have to battle on.
A Massive Upset
The final of Britain’s Got Talent was finally here - on 30 May 2009 - and tensions were running about as high as they could get. Susan had seemed like a shoe-in at first, but just recently doubts had been raised as to whether she would make it through - not that it mattered much. Susan’s musical career looked guaranteed, whatever happened on stage that night. Even so, she wanted to win, and the goodwill towards her remained palpable: the country wanted her to win, too.
The nation’s television sets switched on and the contest began. As the show started, they repeated clips of the earlier stages of the proceedings, and another interview with Susan, resplendent in a neat yellow blouse.
‘When I first applied to Britain’s Got Talent , I never really realized I’d be sitting here, in the final,’ she said. ‘If I win this people will see I’m not the person who’s just living at home with just the cat. They’ll see a new person, a new Susan Boyle, a Susan Boyle the singer. Through this I can walk down the street and be proud of who I am.’
Piers came up on the screen. ‘Susan Boyle has gone from being a totally anonymous spinster from a Scottish village to one of the most famous women on the planet in several weeks,’ he said as an array of international papers, all with headlines about Susan, flashed up on the screen. ‘That brings with it massive pressure.’
Back to Susan: ‘The pressure put on me this week has been overwhelming,’ she said. ‘But I’ve got to learn to put that aside.’ They were brave words, but it was easier said than done.
Now it was Simon’s turn. ‘For anybody, this is intense. Huge, huge, huge pressure,’ he said. ‘And now she’s got to sing.’
Back to Susan. ‘It’s the most important night of my life tonight,’ she said. ‘When I step on that stage, it will be the accumulation
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