Search results matching tag 'Susan Boyle'

My thoughts on the twins

1704826 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:12:00 GMT

Gordon Brown, who apparently can't be bothered to get in touch with the families of British soldiers killed in action but was able to express concern to Simon Cowell for Susan Boyle's welfare, has weighed into another crucial topic that is dominating the media.

Apparently he thinks the twins 'aren't very good'.

The beloved leader, once again, is wrong. The twins are great and my favourite is Christina Alessi on account of Caroline's slightly wonky mouth. End of.

Wear your Poppy with pride this weekend.

What’s your poison?

2347496 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:07:00 GMT

For malicious virus writers it’s virtually anything that’s breaking news. Most recently it’s been Google search results for the hype-rumoured death of rapper Kanye West and the managerial status of Harry Redknapp at Spurs, but in the past we’ve seen everyone from Michael Jackson to Barack Obama succumb to their wicked ways. Of course, their real tour-de-force was purporting to offer anti-virus software which was actually a virus in itself! If nothing else, should us marketers have a sneaking admiration or perhaps even learn something from their wily ways?

The sheer speed at which they appropriate and hijack today’s talking points and turn them into evil deeds? Any self respecting web designer would surely envy their click-through rates. Obviously they’re going for the lowest common denominator, but it’s the seemingly instant ‘tapping into’ the zeitgeist that’s most impressive.

The fact is, by the time many organisations latch onto to a web trend, it’s already upped and left the building. Take the way that ITV, YouTube and Simon Cowell missed out on the potential windfall from selling advertising against clips of Susan Boyle. Act in haste and reap the benefits, indeed.

Boyle edges closer to porno, claims BBC

1704826 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:47:00 GMT

This was one of the most popular stories on the BBC News website yesterday and after reading the headline I clicked on the story with a mixture of horror, disgust and morbid fascination.

But then it was a slightly disingenuous headline. The story in fact referred to the fact the director Danny Boyle is considering making a film of the Irvine Welsh novel Porno, which would be the follow-up to his 1996 film Trainspotting. And that's according to Robert Carlyle, rather than Boyle himself.

So not quite as disturbing and therefore interesting as first thought. Still all credit to the headline writer for ensuring that the non-story gets lots of traffic because that's all that counts.

I dreamed a dream as well...

1704826 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:49:00 GMT

OK, I'm going to admit to being one of the 20m-odd people who watched the final of Britian's Got Talent and I'm surprised to say that I quite enjoyed it, mostly because the Boyler didn't win and some dancing chavs did.

Residents of her home town in Scotland, overcome by nationalism, blamed a backlash against her caused by the London media. Really? Was it not just because that she is rather an unappealing character? And isn't that the same excuse that was used when the Speaker Gorbals Mick Martin was forced to ungraciously step down?

Still at least there was an element of a democracy, which is more than can be said for her similarly emotionally-flawed compatriot, our incumbent Prime Minister, who is in power by virtue of 30,000 or so people in Cowdenbeath. It would be nice if he put himself forward for a similar vote sooner rather than later.

This is the last time I'll talk about Susan Boyle or Britain's Got Talent. Promise.

LEAVE SUSAN BOYLE ALONE ! ! !

2154489 — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:53:00 GMT

I had to lol at the radio this morning. They were screaming how the stressed out Susan Boyle story is all over the news. Well, it is everywhere because mainstream media loves singing the same tune. Old media's own re-tweeting system means bits of sensationalized gossip gets relayed from outlet to outlet, building up an ephemeral thundercloud of noise.

But why the rush to judge and jump on the unlikely celebrity they helped build up? Why must everybody have an opinion? Amanda Holden — who has buffed, blonded and botoxed her own naturally beautiful body — even had the nerve to tell this less genetically blessed woman not to change a thing.

Personally, I think the clever chaps behind Britain's Got Talent have manipulated this whole song and dance. Rather than allow the Susan phenomenon to destroy the drama of the final show, they gushed about the other contestants. Anything to avoid viewer perception of a Ms. Boyle fait accompli win. So the new stars are an adorable little boy, then a darling little girl, then a lovable father and son. (Who strangely are allowed to celebrate flab and funny hair.) Now Susan is on the brink of quitting the show. Or so says Piers Morgan. Oooh noz.

OK, it is admittedly none of my business what Susan Boyle does. But as a fan and another person with an opinion, I hope she follows her Elaine Paige dream into musical theatre. She’d be perfect as Mother Superior in the Sound of Music, don’t you think? No need to dance around or act up. Just look good in black and sing your heart out. Climb ev’ry mountain, Susan. FTW.

Follow me on twitter as I root for #SusanBoyle

Susan Boyle goes loco

1704826 — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:08:00 GMT

I've worked for some unutterable articles (or as the prospective Tory candidate for Gloucester might say 'councillors') in my time and I've never had any desire to work for either Simon Cowell or Sir Alan Sugar.

It seems that the nation's sweetheart, the pie-faced foul-mouthed religious Scot Susan Boyle, has finally realised the same after apparently flipping out at, as the Daily Mirror describes it, 'her new-found stardom'.

According to the paper, ITV executives are so worried about her mental condition they are seeking medical advice for the Boyler to ensure she can cope with tomorrow's final of Britain's Got Talent.

If this is spin, then it's in appallingly bad taste but if it's true then it's even more worrying. What is it with the media industry that we need to find some ill-adjusted nutcase to put on a pedestal and then relish in their subsequent mental disintegration? I'm sure it's not what the blessed Jade would have wanted - if only she could find some way of speaking to us...

Have a good weekend.

At least The South Bank Show escapes the Susan Boyle treatment

1704826 — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:06:00 GMT

One of the most moving pieces of television that I have ever seen was The South Bank Show's interview with playwright Dennis Potter who was riddled with terminal cancer and clearly in a lot of pain, filmed shortly before his death in 1994.

In between injecting himself with morphine, and chugging on a constant stream of cigarettes, Potter's determination to finish the remarkably frank interview revealed how powerful and important the medium was to the interviewee and therefore by extension to the viewer, gripped at home.

The South Bank Show, launched in 1978, has often been derided as ITV's mere fig leaf of arts programming, and that it's place on the schedule was a hangover from when the LWT days when its appearance guaranteed that it would be allowed to make all the tat for which it made so much money.

But this is unfair. It was laudable that a populist commercial broadcaster was willing to spend money upon something that it would never see a return on investment in order to educate the masses.

The show's demise has been a relatively long time coming - gradually edged to the fringes of the schedule from its Sunday night spot, while its guest list has declined from the likes of Potter and Francis Bacon to Coldplay and most disappointingly The Darkness.

Nonetheless it's passing should be a matter of regret, but at least we never had to hear Susan Boyle talking about how she drew inspiration from her cats.

Know your meme

2228399 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:01:00 GMT

This is a perfect follow up to my blog piece yesterday about Simon Cowell and his mastery of the social media meme (in the forms of Susan Boyle, Paul Potts and the like).

A brilliantly observed piece of meme analysis from the guys at Rocketboom (one of my favorite vlogs) - who are also the brains behind blog project Knowyourmeme.com - the home of the modern internet meme.

Digital marketers capitalise on Susan Boyle phenomenon

1919324 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:04:00 GMT

In less than a week Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle has become an international hit, racking up YouTube views now well over 50 million. Thanks to the immediacy of digital advertising, some clever marketers are already advertising around Susan’s success. It’s an excellent example of the speed of online advertising, matching brands to relevant content and the inventiveness of search marketers. Below is a results page from Google with sponsored listings around the search term “susan boyle” and a similar YouTube results page. Click on each image to view it full size.

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Simon Cowell's ITV buzz machine

2228399 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:13:00 GMT

The other day Simon Cowell did a touching thing - he publicly announced that he'd take a pay cut from ITV. At first I thought this was Cowell's attempt to jump on the credit crunch bandwagon to come across all in-touch-with-reality as a cunning pre-emptive PR tack. However, watching what's happened with the Susan "the badger" Boyle phenomenon in the last week, Cowell's move now all makes a lot of sense.

Cowell needs ITV just as much (if not more) than ITV needs Cowell. This is because Cowell's new media model is firmly reliant on ITV. Cowell has cunningly devised a buzz-generating / fame-making model which relies on the symbiotic relationship of mainstream media (TV and press) and social media. A relationship where his TV show feeds YouTube / social media which feeds mainstream news media which feeds YouTube / social media which feeds mainstream media etc. etc.

It's not by luck that 3 of the most highly viewed clips on YouTube are linked to him: Leona Lewis, Paul Potts and Susan Boyle, whose videos (between them) have been viewed over 200 million times.

The big question is - would Cowell be able to generate such levels of buzz if his shows weren't prime time ITV? The answer to that is a clear no. And Cowell knows it - hence how he's so heart-warmingly offered to take a pay cut from ITV. The other option is of course to join Richard and Judy and their 6,000 viewers on UKTV . . .