Dream over: Boyle finishes 2nd in talent show

LONDON: She gave a final curtsey, a shimmy of her hips, and walked off stage, leaving the winners to perform an encore.

But it's unlikely that finishing second on Britain's Got Talent on Saturday night to a dance troupe called "Diversity" will be the end of Susan Boyle's showbiz dream.

The 48-year-old church volunteer became an Internet phenomenon after she auditioned for the television talent show, her show-stopping voice combining with her frumpy appearance to make her a must-see on YouTube.

For the finals, she returned to the song that made her famous, I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Miserables. She wore a glamorous but modest sparkly floor-length dress, and her once-grey frizzy hair was a soft brown halo.

She appeared more polished and animated than in previous performances, but seemed uncomfortable during banter with the judges after her song. Judge Simon Cowell said Boyle had a rough brush with fame, but that she was "a nice, shy person who wants a break".

The week leading up to Saturday's performance had been a tumultuous one for Boyle. She lost her cool during a confrontation with two reporters, and the police intervened. Another contest judge said Boyle had contemplated pulling out of the program to soothe her frazzled nerves.

"A lot of people said you shouldn't even be in this competition, that you weren't equipped to deal with it," Cowell said. "I totally disagree with that."

"You had the guts to come back here and face your critics and you beat them."

Asked about her career plans after the show, Boyle said she hoped to get an album out, and will "just play it by ear".

Millions tuned in to the live program and voted by telephone afterward.

Boyle's hometown of Blackburn, Scotland, a working-class village about 16km west of Edinburgh, rallied round her, stringing up signs declaring their support. Her defeat was greeted with shouts of "no" and gasps of disbelief at the Happy Valley Hotel, where neighbors and friends had gathered to watch the program.

"She lost because people didn't bother voting for her because they thought she was going to win it," lamented 21-year-old Gordon Mackenzie. "I didn't vote for her because I thought everyone else would."

Boyle was up against a host of everyman acts determined to find stardom on reality television, including a 12-year-old whose voice was compared to Michael Jackson's, an 11-year-old body-popping dancer, and a grandfather-grandaughter singing duo.

Winners in shock

Street dance troupe "Diversity" said it was still in shock after beating runaway favorite and Internet sensation Susan Boyle.

The Scottish spinster who joked Susan Boyle had never been kissed and who challenged people's notion of what a celebrity should be came second behind Diversity in a final which attracted a peak audience of 19.2 million people in Britain.

Although the average viewing figure will be lower, at its peak the ITV show commanded 72 percent of the total television audience.

Nearly four million people phoned in to choose a winner, and Diversity won 24.9 percent of the vote ahead of Boyle's 20.2 percent. Saxophonist Julian Smith was third with 16.4 percent.

The 11 dancers, led and choreographed by 20-year-old Ashley Banjo, had been the bookmakers' sixth favorite to win before the show, and said yesterday the result was still sinking in.

"I think I fell over," said Banjo. Diversity comprises three sets of brothers and friends aged between 13 and 25.

"I had my speech ready, you know, 'Well done Susan'," he told a news conference.

"Then they said 'Diversity', and honestly, my legs actually gave way. I'm really tall and there's a long way to fall. I hit the floor and honestly words can't describe how I felt."

Perry Kiely, who at 13 is the joint-youngest member of the troupe formed two years ago, said he was "gob smacked".

Diversity wins 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and will appear at the Royal Variety Performance before the Queen.

Financial future

How Diversity, and Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell, turn the success into cash remains to be seen.

Boyle's financial future is seen as secure despite coming second, as Cowell and his Syco music label are widely expected to sign her up for an album and there is talk of a Hollywood movie being made about her story.

"I don't think a street dance group, especially from the UK, has really come as far as we have," Banjo said. "So I think there's really a chance that ... we can almost create our own path. However he (Cowell) wants to make money out of us he can do it, I suppose."

Banjo said Boyle had been gracious in defeat. "She was so gracious about it, she said the best act won and behind (stage) she said she saw something special," he said.

"She was so nice about it. She has a great career. She's going to do really well anyway."

Despite expectations that Boyle will make a fortune from her fame and talent, there has been concern in the media and among show organizers about her ability to cope with pressure.

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 06/01/2009 page9)