I picked up a copy of Susan Boyle’s first CD spawned by her appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent” and the viral results of her YouTube video. Her renditions of “I Dream the Dream” and the other eleven songs on the album with the exception of “Wild Horses” have lost their magic in the world of digital recording.
What happened? Her YouTube video, shown below, has been seen by over 100 million people. Yet her singing on the CD falls flat. The excitement is gone. Even “Silent Night” is deadly uninspiring.
Leaving aside Susan’s high stress levels following her appearances on television talk shows and in the press, I think the CD fails because it wasn’t recorded in front of a live audience.
When she appeared on the British talent show, we and the studio audience saw a plain-looking, sprightly woman who wanted to “rock the audience.” She did with her strikingly beautiful singing of “I Dream the Dream” from Les Mis. YouTube viewers, like the hall audience and judges, experienced the unexpected. They thought she’d fall flat on her face and she blew them away as ripples of her energy floated from the stage.
Susan Boyle’s humble background also contributed to her YouTube video going viral. In our troubled times, people around the world reached out to her, wanted to see her succeed, yearned for her happiness. They vicariously felt her presence in their lives.
The saga of Susan Boyle in the world of entertainment is not new. Many successful singers get their start in small clubs with few listeners. If they’re good and get noticed by talent scouts, some become known, a few become superstars.
But ask any singer, actor or other performer about the differences between performing in front of a live audience vs. making a recording. Invariably, they’ll tell you it’s different. In front of an live audience, there’s a chemistry between the audience and the performer–a sense of connectedness and two-way communication.
Live audiences and performers feed off each other causing shivers down the spine. That excitement can transfer to recordings. In fact, some of my favorite CD’s are live concerts where you feel the energy of both the performer and audience.
While Susan’s first CD, despite its enormous sales, is promising, I hope her next one is recorded in front of a live audience. Then the “real” Susan Boyle will magically reappear.
