Music mogul Simon Cowell has sensationally admitted Britain’s Got Talent failed Susan Boyle as she cracked under the pressure of fame.
The 49-year-old’s admission comes as runner-up Susan, 48, pulled out of two more live shows.
Despite wowing fans in Glasgow last week, the Scottish singer — who recently spent four days in a London clinic, where she was treated for exhaustion — took a “rest day” and missed gigs in Nottingham.
Writing in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, Cowell admits he could have helped Boyle cope with her overnight stardom better.
He writes:
Sometimes I go too far, I admit it. And sometimes you just can’t predict how events will unfold. Which brings us to Susan Boyle.
Looking back on it all, it has become clear to me that we didn’t handle the situation with Susan as well as we could have.
Yet to be honest, when I analyse exactly what happened, I don’t know that I could have done it any differently.
I had never met Susan Boyle before she walked on to the stage in the Glasgow auditions. I remember vaguely thinking ‘I hope she is not another singer’, as we’d had so many that day.
Then after she sang, I thought she had come over well, but not sensationally.
I certainly didn’t think: ‘Here comes a phenomenon who is going to become the most famous woman in the world, I wonder if she can mentally cope with it?’
I thought she looked a bit eccentric and certainly a character, but that was all.
Then, several weeks later, after Susan had become a global sensation, we were on a satellite link to the Oprah show together.
She seemed fine with all the attention – I thought she was utterly charming and really thrilled with what had happened. I thought – perhaps naively – that she was in control.
When I asked her if she was enjoying herself, she replied: ‘Simon, I am having the time of my life.’ I was pleased. I thought whatever happens, we have changed this lady’s life.
Then, in the semi-finals, the pressure and her nerves were beginning to get the better of her. As the final approached, I started getting calls from the production team.
It had become clear that Susan was finding the experience difficult to cope with. So I said ‘make sure she has a friend with her all the time. Make sure she has any help that she needs’.
Just before the final, I went to see her. She looked tired, but had one of her closest friends with her who was being a great support.
I said: ‘Susan, are you sure this is still all OK?’ And again she said, yes, she was fine. I told her the most important thing was that she enjoyed the experience; that it had to be the best night of her life.
Even then, I didn’t pick up on any unduly troubling signs. She was nervous, yes, but no more nervous than Paul Potts had been before his live final two years previously. She understood the significance of the night.
Then, during the final show, at the crucial point when the dance group Diversity won, I looked over at her face and thought: ‘Christ, she doesn’t know how to deal with not winning.’
It was a bad moment. Afterwards, I went over and gave her a hug and tried to reassure her. ‘Susan,’ I said, ‘my offer to record an album with you still stands.’ And we agreed that we would work together; that it wasn’t the end of the road for her.
After that, I left the studio. I remember having a drink that night and trying to relax, but still feeling a bit strange. Something just didn’t feel right. And sure enough, it wasn’t.
No need to repeat the details here – that wouldn’t be fair to Susan.
On a practical level, the question was whether she wanted to go ahead with the Britain’s Got Talent live tour.
I wasn’t sure, so we gave her the opportunity of not taking part. But, after a few days at home in Scotland, Susan was determined that she wanted to do at least some of the dates.
It was agreed that it would be under her terms, and whenever she felt it was too tiring she could choose not to participate. The nights she has performed have been incredible.
She has had some fantastic reviews and I think it was a huge boost for her when she did the live dates in Glasgow and Edinburgh and had thousands of her own Scottish fans cheering her on.
There are still ups and downs, yes. She didn’t make the final line up at Liverpool on Thursday or Cardiff last night.
But, when she does perform I am thrilled by the reception she gets. Suffice it to say that whatever happens in the weeks ahead, I will continue to support her.
But the question remains: should we have done things differently? Perhaps the ones who can best answer that are Susan Boyle’s family.
Last week, I met them in my London office and I asked them: ‘Tell me honestly; did we do right or did we do wrong?’
What I meant was, was it right to allow Susan to carry on performing in the show once it became clear that she was finding it stressful?
And they said, unanimously, that we did the right thing.
They said that Susan has always wanted to sing and had sat at home for years, wishing that she had a chance.
We had given her that opportunity. Even so, all this has raised some serious issues about the show, primarily about who should be on it and who should not.
Should children be on it? Should someone like Susan Boyle, a woman who was naive dealing with fame and that kind of exposure, be on it?
Should we impose a minimum entry age and introduce some form of stricter psychological screening for applicants?
I’m not so sure. How could that work? There is no easy way of achieving fame, and no guaranteed or trusted way of dealing with it.
Recent Comments