Her world debut has been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube alone, but Susan Boyle hasn’t made a penny off of this success. Yet. She will make a nice sum eventually, I don’t doubt. I just hope she can handle the insanity of the world audience.

Yes, the same audience that lauded her performance on “Britain’s Got Talent,” a manipulative Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour knock-off. The same audience that was shocked that a middle-aged Scottish spinster could actually sing. The same audience that hates the idea that she fixed her hair and bought a nice suit now that she has our blessings to sing for us.

Please do not read my cynicism incorrectly. I love Susan Boyle’s talent and hope she has a sustaining singing career. I also love the video that introduced her to the world. Seen more than 100-million times on YouTube, the video was clearly a professionally packaged and manipulative piece of work on the producers’ behalf. My beef is that people were manipulated unwittingly.

All the performers on BGT have passed earlier auditions to have made it in front of the cameras. Simon Cowell – believe it or not – knew what was coming before he expressed his amazement and gush. Not that Cowell was wrong. Boyle has a beautiful voice and may very well win this season’s competition.

Check out the video again and look at the production standards. Look for the setting-up of low expectations as they show Susan Boyle shoving a sandwich in her mouth, as they play leading snippets of her backstage interview (“I’ve never been married, never been kissed.”), as they shoot close-ups of audience members wincing and laughing at her odd stage walk-on, and as Cowell asks some leading questions to accentuate Boyle’s humble and dowdy life.

Then watch the judges become enraptured and the audience leap to its feet in delightful surprise as Boyle begins to sing the too-aptly chosen “I Dreamed A Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables.” Note the well-tuned vocal balance between her voice and the music, established during earlier rehearsals. Then they show the two backstage leprechauns leaping about in uncontrollable awe to further cheerlead the viewers.

Then the judges simply wet themselves in their praises of Boyle’s voice, openly expressing their shock that a plain Jane could sing so well. All the while the magical mood is sustained by the post-production musical underscore of “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Hell yes I cried at this video. I also cried at the end of “Marley and Me.” And at a travel company’s TV commercial last night. Maybe I should cut back on the Effexor.

The real hidden talent here is the production value of this seven and a half minute video. Beautifully scripted, directed, edited and scored – and of course perfectly cast. Susan Boyle is a wonderful singer and deserves this kind of presentation to the world. Not a fourteen year old beauty, she needs an angle like this to grab us.

But before Ms. Boyle has even performed a second time, the world is simultaneously lauding her as the harmonious heroine of the homely while chastising her for getting a haircut and die job. Lighten up, people, before you set off Chris Crocker again!

A 1999 recording of Ms. Boyle singing “Cry Me a River” proves that this Brit has had talent all along, but the lazy, short-sighted industry professionals rarely give anyone a chance if he or she isn’t “the whole package” from the get-go. Bravo to Mr. Cowell and company for finding a way to bring Susan Boyle to us. I just wish they were a little more honest about the set-up.

Six-Eye Jackson

• Daniel Silva is Solid Gold Let me direct your attention to Gabriel Allon. Gabriel is one of the finest art restorers in the world today. He is fluent in several languages, and has set a...
• First Impressions of a Virtual Reality Social Network JustLeapIn.com I first tried social networking in a 3-D environment with Second Life. My first couple of weeks there were filled with exploration, and the other people I met there...
• PollPigeon - a Twitter Add-on PollPigeon is a new polling tool that incorporates itself directly into Twitter. Smart idea, since Twitter is all about fleeting thoughts and knee-jerk reactions. [/caption]Just go to PollPigeon.com and check...

• Making Your e-Commerce Website Searchable for the Search Engines For any website that wants to obtain organic search engine traffic, search engine optimization will be an requirement. E-commerce based sites already have various marketing strategies in place. But, this...
• Enhancing your Business with Blogging Blogging has become an extremely popular activity for businesses, and it also has created a very important impact in other circles as well, including an activity for the political scene...
• Business Opportunities - My Experience at Serendipity Cafe in Seattle, WA It had been a while since I visited the award-winning European-style cafe in the heart of the Magnolia Village, Seattle WA but I had been hearing great reviews from my...