by Peggy Tee

Created on: May 13, 2009   Last Updated: August 20, 2009

The fascination with Susan Boyle continues, long after the hype from the Britain's Got Talent show has faded away. She recently appeared in Harper's Bazaar, primped to within an inch of her life. Why did Susan Boyle's YouTube video of her audition for Britain's Got Talent go viral within two days? What manner of charisma does this woman possess that the public fascination with her has skipped over the pond from the UK to the U.S. so seamlessly and why are people still so fascinated by Susan Boyle?

It comes down to an unholy mix of self-righteous superiority, schadenfreude, and surprise.

When Boyle first appeared on stage for her audition, the young, stylish and hip audience jeered visibly. Watching her interact awkwardly with the judges, viewers squirmed a little in their seats, thankful they weren't in her place - overweight, dumpy, middle aged, on national television and most likely going to be made a fool of on stage.

There is nothing quite like a little comic relief, especially in reality tv, where people go on television programs to misbehave so that the people watching them can feel a little more self satisfied about their own lives. "At least I'm not her" is the thought that goes around in viewer's minds as they watch Boyle take the microphone.

Schadenfreude is a sort of pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. The media is awash with stories of the rich and famous slipping on metaphorical banana peels politicians caught red-handed in sex tapes, brawling professional footballers, cheating movie star husbands schadenfreude drives the media to collect and display these stories for the enjoyment and ridicule of all. And that is what reality tv feasts on, the human expectation of the schadenfreude.

No one really expected this most unlikely of singing stars to actually have any talent, but then she started to sing the first line of the chorus from Les Miserable's I Dreamed a Dream, and the contrast between Boyle's clear, confident voice and her dowdy looks shook viewers out of their smug expectations. The disconnect between the quality of her talent and the judgment of the viewers based on her appearance led to surprise. And the surprise of having our judgments overturned can go both ways; either to anger that we were wrong, or, in the case of Susan Boyle, to an complete about-turn of opinion.

This gamut of emotion is why the public is so fascinated with Boyle in her brief moments on stage she managed to bring out the best and worst in everyone. Her physical looks are such a far cry from the usual cookie-cutter starlets, it provides another angle and talking point for the media. Susan Boyle showed courage in getting on that stage, determination in pursuing her dream and a bulldog tenacity in holding on to hope, even when everyone else had already judged her and dismissed her in their minds.

She proved them all wrong as soon as she started to sing. Her story continues to fascinate, because of the connotations of the rags-to-riches element present; shy, quiet woman leads ordinary life of mediocrity, is discovered and becomes a star. It is the kind of fairy tale that we all aspire to and are fascinated by. Susan Boyle will continue to hold the public's interest, at least until the next wonder singing sensation on another reality show grabs our attention.

Learn more about this author, Peggy Tee.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.