Susan Boyle

You have to watch this on YouTube. I can't embed it here since it's been blocked. Many of you have probably seen it already - it's all over the internet - but if you haven't, click on this link below and spend a few minutes watching this, you won't regret it. I'm certainly not the first person to blog or tweet about this (just tweeted this and it's one of the top trending keywords on Twitter, of course). Susan Boyle, a homely looking unemployed 47 year old takes the stage at Britains Got Talent 2009. Everyone rolls their eyes and chuckles to themselves. And then...

Susan Boyle clip on YouTube

Wow. I was blown away by this. And moved. (It doesn't hurt that Les Miserables is one my favorite musicals!) Nothing I'm saying here is original - seems like the masses have weighed in. Here she is - this person that is utterly unremarkable. I know that sounds mean, but you know it's true. I don't have all the facts, but from Eugene Cho's blog, which is far more developed than my thoughts here, it sounds like she's had a relatively uphill life. Then you have all these smug self-important people - Simon Cowell, and his cohorts, the audience, and certainly everyone watching on TV or on the internet - sitting in front of her, ready to just tear into her. She just didn't belong...and then the music plays. People continue to smirk. She opens her mouth to sing and...BAM. W-O-W. Maybe it's the proverbial underdog story. Maybe it's that the world all around us seems to be going to the crapper in a hurry. It's all of these things and more. And then this humble, utterly unremarkable woman - insignificant in the haughty world's eyes - comes out of nowhere and just floors us...and in the process, lifts my spirits. Thank you, Susan. I needed that right about now.

UPDATED: her behavior post-performance has put a real damper on this...