Have you seen the YouTube video of Susan Boyle singing on the British television show “Britain’s Got Talent?” It just unbelievably popped up by a jaw-dropping almost 60 million viewers. Ms. Boyle, an unemployed, unmarried—she said she never be kissed by a man, unprepossessing woman from a remote village in Scotland, is a devout Catholic who spent the last few years quietly caring for her ailing mother who recently died at 91. She lives a simple life, being active in the church choir. And when she strode on stage to sing, “I dreamed a dream,” the judges with audience visibly smirked and showed some prejudice on her poor appearance and manner of talking until she opened her mouth. She literally silenced all with her glorious voice.
After the show, she has become the world star, being invited to sing before the Queen Elizabeth. What accounts for the astonishing interest in Ms. Boyle? A cheer for an unlucky person given a lucky break? Perhaps. But there may be more.