This is too funny. My husband sent me that video and I just finished watching it. I am wiping a few tears. I do wish there wasn't so much applause and whistling, and chatter from the two hosts, while she was singing. It was very sweet that the audience was so enthusiastic but it can distract. She does have a beautiful voice. Good for her.

Yeah, she's got a great voice and seems like a nice lady besides. Glad she got to do that.

The OMG on the show's part is a bit manufactured, though, isn't it? The surprise here is not that a plain-looking middle-aged woman has a great voice, it's that they let a plain-looking middle-aged woman have a star turn, yeah? Complete with a clear emphasis that plain-looking women walking out on that stage and not getting laughed off it is an exceptional case?

I hate to be a downer, but it feels like a Very Special Episode, which makes it hard to feel good about anybody other than Ms. Boyle and hard to feel like she's not getting kind of a fucked-up deal herself.

Yes, very manufactured and cheesey. I cringed when they said everyone was laughing as she walked on stage and similar crapola.

What an amazingly beautiful voice...such power, so clear, and I also wish that the audience and hosts were quiet so I could hear it better.

The surprise here is not that a plain-looking middle-aged woman has a great voice, it's that they let a plain-looking middle-aged woman have a star turn, yeah?

Bingo.

Yeah, it's clear they play up the doubt and disapproval for the purposes of their narrative. Meh on that score.

I love things like this because it reaffirms my belief that every single soul on this planet has a gift/is a diamond in the rough.

I am happy she has been discovered.

Yeah, I am sure they knew she was a great singer ahead of time, and the producers did what producers do and manipulated the audience or whatever. The part that makes me happy, and that I believe, is that this woman hasn't felt adored a whole lot in her life, and that this was probably her best day ever.

Yeah, the way they played that up is incredibly stupid. They should have just put up a big banner over the stage while she sang that read:

UGLY OLD WOMEN CAN DO STUFF! OMG!

Great song, though. One of my favorites.

The big attraction of these shows is the 'train wreck' aspect of the auditions. It's the same with Idol too - you can usually guess from the focus on the participants that they're either going to be terrible or great, but occasionally there's a surprise in there. Susan Boyle is indeed a diamond in the rough. A couple of years ago Britain's Got Talent was won by this guy, who, again at the audition was an unlikely star until he opened his mouth.

That being said, the producers of these shows do like to focus on the side-show aspects of the performers, some of whom have absolutely no idea that they're being put out there for the mockery (and sometimes vilification) of the nation.

Case in point.

Wow, compared to what I see on a daily basis here in the US, they barely qualify as fat.