The phenomenal popularity of Britain’s Got Talent competitor Susan Boyle, and the furor over the disparity between her angelic voice and her "homely" appearance, has got me thinking, oddly, about David Bowie. I interviewed the Thin White Duke a few years back, asking him such questions as, "Is Mick Jagger a good kisser?" (Answer: "You’d have to ask someone else.") While Bowie was in highly entertaining form, all I could think during the encounter was, "That damn fool has gotten his teeth fixed!" Bowie, you see, was famous for having a set of "gnashers" that looked like an untended graveyard after a nuclear holocaust. Yet here he was, telling tales with a set of teeth that made me wish I had worn dark glasses.
As someone from the UK myself (and as someone whose own dental work appears to have been conducted by Mike Tyson’s fist) this came as a big disappointment. Britain is a country with a history of producing music stars more talented than toned, or even possessing of the right number of teeth. Look at Elton John, who even in his ’70s heyday didn’t exactly set female hearts a-flutter (of course, that actually worked out okay for him in the end). Or Van Morrison, who briefly toyed with early svelteness before becoming the shape and size of the moon (yes, Van the Man was raised in Northern Ireland, across the water from England, but you’re basically talking about the same diet and dental plan). More recently, the UK has given birth to such female singers as Amy Winehouse, Adele, and Lily Allen, all of whom have enjoyed global acclaim but none of whom spend too much time working on their six-packs (unless said six-packs have "beer" written on them).
Okay, so Susan Boyle is not going to be confused with Miley Cyrus or Christina Aguilera anytime soon. But to me, that’s not a source of hilarity (thank you, Jay Leno!) but of national pride. Well, maybe not pride, exactly. But you get my point…
So, what do you think Music Mixers? Are British music stars less conventionally attractive (but maybe a smidge more actually talented) than their American counterparts?
More on Susan Boyle:
Susan Boyle interview: ‘I’m happy the way I am’
Susan Boyle recording of ‘Cry Me a River’ surfaces on YouTube
Piers Morgan on Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle: How attractive does a pop star need to be?
More from EW’s Music Mix:
‘Hannah Montana’ holds six spots on the Billboard Hot 100
Flight of the Conchords get laughs, smash things at Radio City Music Hall
EW’s 50 Most Heartbreaking Songs of All-Time
Coachella ‘09 Friday: Paul McCartney Burns Slow
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I have a feeling some people will be upset by you calling Van Morrison British.
The thing about this is that the British judges and audience had a kneejerk reaction to Susan Boyle’s appearance, too. The same kneejerk reaction that all us Americans had. I think it’s safe to say the video wouldn’t have gone viral if the Brits DIDN’T have that reaction first.
OMG -
This just shows what an unhealthy obsession the media has with the way someone looks.
Here is a woman who devoted her entire life to caring for her mother – never had a job or a boyfriend for that matter, but dreamed of a singing career.
From the TV clip she was extremely confident even though the audience and judges thought she was a kook – until she sang.
I cheered, cried and gave her a standing ovation too. There is something wonderful about a woman twice the age of the normal contestant – a woman who can sing a song that captures your soul.
The lesson here is Susan never gave up on her dreams to have a singing career. And we should not give up on our dreams either.
Holy sweeping generalisations, Batman!
I think every country has it’s beautiful people and not so beautiful people. For every Amy Winehouse or Lilly Allen, you have an Adele or Boyzone or Take That. Same in America, for every Britney or Christina there is a Huey Lewis or ZZ Top.
If someone who looked like that and sang like that and got the judge/audience response that Boyle did showed up on America’s Got Talent, people would be just as excited and moved. Well, perhaps not people in the UK who are forever unimpressed by Americans.
Sorry Clark, but the people in that Scottish auditorium seemed to be having quite the same reaction when Susan first appeared that you proffer as being so American. I think the emphasis on appearance etc… is just part and parcel of the modern world culture, despite Europeans wanting to offer it up as evidence of American shallowness.
I think the press has missed it. How women are treated in middle age, our cultures obsession with youth, and all sorts of discrimination such as classism has created a fertile ground for a greiving world that cannot measure up.
Guys, guys, guys! We ARE the media. This is the Internet, not some static page of one perspective. We make the media as we write our comments.
Susan Boyle – what makes him tick? Sorry, her tick… she may indeed look like a Scottish builder in a dress, and all, but we were all laughing before we heard her sing and after I felt a bit ashamed of myself for judging her so shallowly.
She touched all our hearts.
We can’t just blame the Yanks for having stunning looking women as well as talent. They have their fat b******* to.
She trancended our shallow judgements and showed the world something fantastic. Good for him! Sorry her!!
And another thing, it’s no good anyone criticising the Yanks because she’s spent her whole life here and got nowhere and inside a week in the States she’s been offered a recording contract, TV interviews Larry King etc..
So there! Go Team America!! At least dreams can come true somewhere even if they are filled with silicon and botox
I think it’s generally true in Europe (okay – in the past people in England didn’t seem to think they were “Europe” – but I am thinking maybe the EEC has changed that view) movie stars look more like “real people” (warts, bad teeth and all) than their US counterparts – but I am not surprised that even a British star like Bowie – after gaining great success, material and otherwise, would would retrofit himself in “international” context.
It happens here in the US as classes are upwardly mobile. Look at an adult wearing braces (the kind on your teeth – not trousers’ suspenders) in the US, and you’ll likely find a person whose family growing up was simply unable to afford it. Now they have achieved some “success” and feel their looks should match it. Good success = good straight teeth to many.
I don’t know many people who, if they had the time and resources, wouldn’t choose to improve something about themselves. None of us is perfect – and fewer of us still think we are.
The only question is how long will this last and what next? Like this guy…
http://jefftompkins.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-susan-boyle-means-to-world.html
I’m not her biggest fan, but Christina Aguilera is an EXTREMELY talented singer.
I remember Bowie in his prime, as well as the Beatles, The Stones, Eric Clapton (a god) and also Elton John, they deserve there place in music history. Elton John once said, do I think anything is as good as it was between 1970-76? ..no I don’t. Rod Stewart is still mad at himself for selling out. America needs some of Britain’s talent, and Britain has plenty of it.
I remember Bowie in his prime, as well as the Beatles, The Stones, Eric Clapton (a god) and also Elton John, they deserve there place in music history. Elton John once said, do I think anything is as good as it was between 1970-76? ..no I don’t. Rod Stewart is still mad at himself for selling out. America needs some of Britain’s talent, and Britain has plenty of it.