SuBo’s tears for her future
PALS’ CONCERN FOR HEALTH OF STAR AMID CAREER CRISIS’
TROUBLED singing star Susan Boyle fears her career is spiralling out of control and that she faces the chop by pop guru Simon Cowell.
SuBo, 55, is signed to Britain’s Got Talent boss Cowell’s SyCo record label and is set to release her seventh album later with them this year.
But feelings of uncertainty over the record launch and her future left her in floods of tears last week.
Friends of the Scottish star claimed she has been barred from talks about her much-anticipated collection of jazz standards, What A Wonderful World.
She also has NO bookings for TV appearances, promotional gigs or signings with the album’s scheduled release just weeks away.
Her management are to meet record label bosses without her to discuss their action plan. That has apparently prompted SuBo, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, to believe she has been frozen out.
Representatives of SyCo tried to calm her fears last night, insisting any lack of communication does not mean they want to stop working with her.
But although the label have made clear they have no plans to drop her, Susan claims she feels neglected.
Struggle
She now spends most of her time at home alone with her new ginger rescue cat Tess, which she bought for company after losing her celebrated pet Pebbles earlier this year.
The star broke down during a tearful heart-to-heart with one pal and said: “With my previous albums, SyCo couldn’t do enough for me. Now I feel like they are planning to get rid of me.
“They used to roll out the red carpet whenever I was in London. I was their big star. But now things couldn’t be more different. I struggle to get hold of anyone from the label by phone.
“I’ve been told to take three months off and relax but I’m starting to really worry about my future in the industry. What if I’m about to be dropped?
“All I know how to do is sing. It’s my life but I never get a chance to do it any more. It’s like going back to the days before I was famous.”
Fans have also expressed their fears that Susan has disappeared from public life of late. Her website has not been updated since February and she has not performed in public since last summer, when she appeared at the Glamis Prom near Dundee.
And despite being BGT’s most famous export, she was notably absent when former contestants took to the stage this year to mark the tenth anniversary of the ITV talent show.
Asperger’s sufferer SuBo has rarely appeared in public since an emotional meltdown at Heathrow in April and spends most of her time at home.
Sources close to the singer claim record label chiefs have told her the new album will be released i n early November. But as the time looms, she fears it is not a priority.
She told our source: “They’ve told me when the album is supposed to come out but nothing else. It’s now Septemb September and I’d have expected to have hadha some promotion lined up. “That’s always w what has happened before. People wo won’t buy the album if they don’t know it exists. “I’m completely in the dark. I’ve heard my managementmanage are meeting the label next week but I’m not allowed to go. Why don’t t they want me there? “Performing an and recording are my life. I’ve waited so long for this and I’ll be completelyco devastated if th they let me go. ““But they’ve done it withwit lots of others, so I Ic can’t help but worry thm that they’re going off me as well.” SuBo captivated the nation when she performed I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables at her audition for Britain’s Got Talent. And she won the hearts of viewers when she confessed she had never had a romantic kiss.
She came second but went on to become the show’s most memorable success story, with her debut album selling faster than any in UK history.
Today she has sold nearly 30 million records worldwide – but fears she has fallen out of favour with BGT judge Cowell and other key executives.
SyCo have parted company with famous signings before.
Upset
Most had been given recording contracts after appearing on Cowell’s TV talent shows.
Leona Lewis, who won The X Factor in 2006, left in 2014, citing artistic differences. Alexandra Burke, the winner two years later, also severed her ties.
Other famous faces from the show, including Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson and Sam Bailey, are said to have been dropped. Susan, who still lives in the council house where she grew up in Blackburn, West Lothian, fears the same fate.
There is also speculation that her long-time manager Andy Stephens is to retire, casting more doubt on her career.
Sobbing, she told her friend: “I’m feeling very unsure about what the future holds. The uncertainty has made me feel quite upset and emotional. I just want to know what’s going on.
“My fans are always coming up to
me in the street and asking about the album but I can’t answer them. I’m worried it won’t sell well if the record company doesn’t start promoting it soon. If that happens, who knows what position I’ll be in.”
The source added: “It’s sad. She’s a real talent and a rags to riches story. She was living the superstar life, being jetted everywhere.
“Now she spends most of her time at home with her cat.
Heart
“Susan can be hard to deal with but she has a heart of gold. She fears people are getting sick of dealing with her.” SuBo has endured a turbulent year. It is under- stood police were involved after she got into a row – at Heathrow, her second public scene at an airport in a month.
The pal said: “This is the last thing Susan needs. Everyone close to her is worried about the effect on her.
“We’ve tried to reassure her it won’t be the end of the world if she parts company with SyCo. She’s loved all over the world and would still sell records with another label. I bet others would snap her up.
“But any change is distressing for her. SyCo need to get in touch, take her out for lunch and have an honest chat about how things are going.”
SuBo’s official spokesman said: “Susan is not being dropped by her record label. She is looking forward to the next few months and is excited about promoting her new album.”
And a spokesman for SyCo added: “We are looking forward to Susan’s new album and continuing our partnership with her.”