Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Bert Kommerij.
Susan Boyle is the only pop culture phenomenon in ages I've had in common with my parents. Last April, we gathered around my laptop and watched her bang it out of the park on
Britain's Got Talent. If anything, my mother was more into her than I was, although genuine surprise is far too rare in entertainment today, and there's no denying her initial performance was entirely astonishing. But at the time we got into a debate over whether she should have a makeover. My mother wanted to see her unvarnished charm preserved. I thought, perhaps with a fresher memory of high school, that anyone exposed to that much public scrutiny should be given as much help as is humanely possible to appear at their best. My view seems to have won out with the folks managing her career. And now they've got her
covering the Rolling Stones. That might not have been the unexpected step I'd have chosen for her next, but I think it kind of works. At this point, I supposed I'm less concerned with what songs Susan Boyle's recording, and more with her well-being. She gave people a lot of surprise and pleasure. As she transitions to a much more scrutinized life than one she ever could have imagined, I think she deserves to be happy.
