Boyle-s down to reality

51-year-old singer’s fairy tale dream tempered by real life

LONDON: She dreamed a dream, and it came true. But what happened next for Susan Boyle ( pic)?

The middle-aged church volunteer from a small town in Scotland became an instant global celebrity in 2009 with her heart-stopping rendition of the Les Miserables number I Dreamed a Dream on a TV talent show.

A week is a long time in showbiz – and in our hyper-speed online age three and a half years is an eternity – but Boyle is still going strong.

She has sold millions of records, received an honorary doctorate, sung for Pope Benedict XVI and performed in Las Vegas.

A stage musical about her life has played to enthusiastic crowds in Britain and is headed for Australia, and next month, she releases her fourth album, Standing Ovation.

But the 51-year-old singer who entered the TV talent contest to make her late mother proud is remarkably unchanged.

She’s still a bit frumpy, though she’s acquired a new hairdo, more expensive clothes and a makeover.

She still lives in her down-at-heel home town, has outbursts of anger and struggles to overcome her nerves before live performances.

It’s a fairy tale, yes, but with dark shadows lurking in the corners.

“People can’t accept that you can dream a dream, but part of the dream is also a nightmare,” said Elaine C. Smith, a Scottish actress who knows Boyle and plays her in the biographical stage show I Dreamed a Dream.

“Fairy dust comes out, but shrapnel comes out as well.”

Boyle now has a car and chauffeur to take her to appointments, but she sticks close to familiar places and routines. She has bought a new house, a modern four-bedroom two-story in Blackburn that cost £300,000 (RM1.4mil), but locals said she often stayed in the modest row house she grew up in.

She still shows up occasionally to sing karaoke at The Crown pub.

As well as having the support of her community, Boyle is well protected by her manager, Andy Stephens, and a close circle of friends and family – a factor that helps act as a “psychological vaccine” against the pressures of sudden fame, according to Cary Cooper, professor of psychology and health at Lancaster University.

Boyle’s life changed in a few minutes when her first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent was broadcast in April 2009.

After the series ended, she checked into Priory, rehab clinic to the stars, to be treated for nervous exhaustion.

She still has outbursts of temper, and has said she still suffers anxiety when singing live before audiences. — AP