The Susan Boyle Effect: When Average Isn’t Ordinary

Yes, ok, fine…. I’ve been suckered into writing about the latest “big sensation”. But it’s on topic, dang nab it! The phenomena of this British singer is apparently a bit of a mind tweak for millions of Americans.

For those of you who live under a rock, Susan Boyle is a contestant in a British reality TV/talent show. She’s become an overnight sensation - not just in Britain, where the program airs, but in America, where the YouTube clip of her performance has made waves.

She’s a singer. And yes, she’s a good singer.

But what makes her (and the YouTube clip of her performance) so notable is that she doesn’t *look* like a great singer - or rather, she doesn’t look the way we’ve been conditioned to expect “great singers” to look.

Her appearance is overwhelmingly, extraordinarily average.
She’s middle aged, roundish, and plain faced. Her hair is mousy and naturally frizzy, and no one would accuse her of being a clothes horse or fashion forward. In fact, her style is a bit frumpy.

I’ve seen people call her “ugly,” but she isn’t ugly…. Susan Boyle is what average often looks like when the bell curve isn’t skewed by an obsession with supermodels, plastic surgery and beauty magazines. And her story is one of challenges - deprived of oxygen at birth, suffering from a learning disability and childhood bullying, she’s never dated

But when she opens her mouth to sing, the sense of her being of “average” falls away, and, people are unexpectedly moved to tears.

Why? Why are so many people (especially Americans) crying over this ordinary-looking, exceptionally-voiced catlady songbird?

It goes a lot deeper than the quality of her voice, or even her ability to pour herself into the song. It’s what she represents that brings us to tears. It’s the way she shakes up people’s assumptions, not only about her, but about themselves.

Here in the US, we’ve been so over exposed to perfectly packaged, primped, plasticized performers that we’ve learned to judge performers by their headshots. Stars are criticized or lauded more for what they wear, and how much weight they’ve gained and lost, than for their actual performances and talents. The reality TV competitions have only intensified it with their popular audition episodes which usually feature a wealth of average looking, awkward and frumpy wannabes, with hysterically horrible performances.

An unintended, underlying message is sent… don’t step into the spotlight if you’re average or over the hill, because we will mock you, and we will mock you with glee!

And that’s what people were expecting when the saw Susan Boyle step onto the stage… someone to laugh at, another average person, deluded about their ability, who could be mocked. But her talent wasn’t laughable or average, and she wasn’t deluded at all… from the first notes it was clear this woman had a gift.

And that gives us hope for our own gifts.

Because even though we’re not all shiny, packaged and perfect, even though we may be aware that in most respects, we’re quite average and ordinary…. we all have a quiet, brilliant gift within us.

And Susan Boyle gives us hope that when we have the courage to step up and put our hidden talents on display, the world will be capable of recognizing our gifts, too… even if they are wrapped up in a brown paper, scotch tape and string.

We may all be average,
but like Susan, we’re anything but ordinary.

And that is a MindTweak.