This remarkable lady now has Youtube viewings of over 9 million and over 51,000 comments. All in about 3 days which is unprecedidented and stll rolling in, from all over the world.

Some are even suggesting that she should perform at the opening of the London Olympics.

I just love to see an ordinary person do so well. Remarkable that she can start a singing career at 47 years old.

With the best wishes, go for it Lady!

For those that may be interested in the unremarkable and remarkable Susan Boyle.

The link below, from a Scotish paper, gives some information.

http://www.theherald.co.uk:80/features/featuresopinon/display.var.2501746.0.The_beauty_that_matters_is_always_on_the_inside.php

What I'd like to know is whether she would have got this level of attention if she had been good looking. Or would everyone have said, "Ho hum, just another good looking starlet with a so-so voice"?

You've asked a question Graham. It needs a response!

To the contrary; if this lady had been a 'looker', I suspect she would not have suffered the initial ridicule that she did, (though I think a lot of the rolling eyes etc., are for the camera. Those on the stage are not the only ones performing...).

If she had an hourglass figure with big eyes and...er,-twin peaks she would have been hired for a musical in a flash.

The nice thing is that she has none of these things; just a good singing voice. What a lovely change from the adolescent stick insects who all sound the same, yelling their songs;-but appeal to the mass market-so they get rolled out with instant record deals like a conveyor belt production line!

Ginx

Thanks for your excellent response to Graham. And a big welcome back.

Just for once, instead of a woman being chosen for her looks, she gets there on talent; in spite of all the ridicule and eye-rolling.

And not chosen as a 'token' which I believe Graham was trying to make out.

Irrespective of ability, appearance still appears at the top of the list when judging women.

Well done Susan.

Hi Ginx, good to have you back.

>>if this lady had been a 'looker', I suspect she would not have suffered the initial ridicule that she did<<

The real power of this performance is not the singing, but the twin impacts of i) having our preconceptions confounded in such a dramatic way and ii) the classic ugly-duckling-to-swan transformation happening before our eyes.

So in one sense GrahamY is right. While it may have been a pleasant surprise to find a good voice in an attractive package, neither of the "transformations" would have occurred, which are essential ingredients to a moving story.

As an aside, it was interesting to hear Peter Potts, who is out here at the moment (he won a previous contest with a similar mobile-phone-salesman-with-depression-to-riches story).

His journey from nervous neophyte to global stage-traveller has turned him into a confident, articulate person, with a wholesome and unspoiled outlook on life. I wish the same for Susan Boyle.