Rants and Revelations

I was browsing the news, and I'm still not really sure how I came up with this one, but I did.

Apparently on Britain's Got Talent (the UK answer to American Idol) a 47-year-old blew everyone out of the water. Great you say, why the fuss? Well, the lady had a very tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and frankly appeared to be a joke. All the jokes, however, were on the audience as soon as the woman opened her mouth and proved she could, indeed, sing. Yeah, she missed one or two low notes, but yeesh, she gets an A for effort in my book!

While I was watching the clip I was both incredibly delighted that the woman was basically giving the middle finger to a lot of people, I was mad that her appearance and age set her up as a joke. It's unfortunate that Hung Po (or whatever the hell his name is) and every other idiot who wants 15 seconds of fame for being horrible have to ruin it for people like this lady. I'll be the first to acknowledge that I certainly don't know her story and circumstances, etc, but what makes me mad is that these shows have made a joke out of real people and even worse, people making a joke out of themselves.

The real shame in all this is the Britney's, Madonna's, Beyonce's, Rihanna's, other cutie pies and Boybands have made it very difficult for people like this lady, who can truly sing, but aren't necessarily easy on the eyes to be successful in pop music. No, she wasn't a toad, but she certainly wouldn't win a beauty contest. But neither would Patsy Cline, Kate Smith, Billie Holliday, and many other woman who weren't knock-outs but were talented. It's astonishing to think how many people who are considered legends wouldn't even get a chance in today's MTV and Entertainment Tonight society. It just makes me angry!

So, Susan Boyle, I tip my hat to you. Will she make it, probably not, but maybe (hah) it could be a stepping stone.