I wasn’t going anywhere near the whole Susan Boyle thing, but Ann Althouse tips her hat to Adam Markovitz, who raises an excellent question: What’s the big deal?

The facts of the case are these:

a Scottish church volunteer and amateur singer … came to public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain’s Got Talent. Boyle leapt to almost immediate global fame when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables in the competition’s first round.

Before she sang, both the audience and the judges appeared to express scepticism based on her age and what was seen as an unattractive appearance. In contrast, her vocal performance was so well received that she has been dubbed “The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell”. She received a standing ovation from the live audience, attracting yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden, and the “biggest yes I have ever given anybody” from Piers Morgan. The original talent show and audition was recorded in Scotland in January 2009.

Watch the video here.

But Adam Markovitz asks:

am I the only one who finds this a little over-the-top and, frankly, a little condescending? Plenty of big-voiced PYTs sing their hearts out every week on American Idol (not to mention onstage in Broadway shows) without getting this kind of reaction. But Susan, because of her looks, because of the fact that people were snickering at her before she opened her mouth, becomes a sensation simply by being able to carry a tune. She has a decent voice, sure. But let’s not get carried away. She’s no LuPone, and her talent is only really shocking if you’ve already counted her out as a squawker on account of her granny hairdo and pre-fame Julia Roberts eyebrows. Once the element of surprise is gone, we’re all going to be stuck with the fact that she’s a capable, but by no means extraordinary singer. And is that really worth all the fuss?

Well, no, actually.

Fred+3