6.8.2009

Selling Susan Boyle!

So I am out of the Susan Boyle fan club!

I really loved her. I did. I wrote about the effects of her “Unexpected Inspiration”…

Susan’s first performance will go down in “social media” history as one of the most powerfully viral videos of all time.

She was the essence of the underdog that we all root for: unattractive, seemingly naive, confident in her abstraction, singing about a “lost dream”, and apparently enthusiastic to fail.

But instead of failing she won. Powerfully…. Overwhelmingly….

I was genuinely moved to tears watching as she stunned the world with her performance.

Talk about “SELLING” a first-impression.

She dropped jaws on millions of people watching her performance all over the world. She might make as much as $10 million over the next few years because of her single compelling performance. (FYI, there are over 22 million links to Susan on Google right now)

She shocked us with her “my life has killed the dream…”:

She built up so much hype for Britain’s Got Talent, that 72% of the entire country tuned into the show to watch the final episode with her performing. It was the single biggest performance of any musical artist ever in Britain.

And here she is at the finals:

Perhaps a good performance. Perhaps a great performance. Perhaps a terrific performance.

Just for anyone other than Susan Boyle.

This is Susan Boyle and I just didn’t like the fact that I am left underwhelmed.

……….and uninspired…

………………..and disappointed…

…………………………and a smidge cranky.

My second impression leaves me wanting inspiration. I want more!

You challenged me, Susan, you did! But now it’s time to move on.

Your first impression was powerful. It sold me on investing in another performance — a performance that “let me down”…

MOTTO: Selling a first impression is an amazing way to get a buyer to invest in a second look. Just make sure you give them something to look at while you have their attention… The pain of being “let down” works much worse against you than the pleasure of being inspired by a single performance….

andrew

Oh for gods sake she's just a British lady who can sing, she's not Jesus Christ. Just because she doesn't look like – for arguments sake – Beyonce, doesn't make it more surprising that she's talented. Or less surprising that Beyonce is.

Why have people become so emotionally involved in this tripe?

Are you just saying you're fickle? Is that what this post is about?

http://thedewview.com Daniel Waldschmidt

Andrew,

Good points. Very logical. What's nuts about this whole thing is that in "hindsight" I agree with you. But the moment I saw the first video, I was totally captivated…. People are emotionally interested because (my conjecture here…) we all have dreams that we think are impossible. Watching someone else realize an impossible dream is inspirational. From sport events on down, it's all a big adrenaline ride…

http://audiobooksez.com B. Robert

OMG. What did you want blood from a turnip. How much more could you have tried to squeeze her then the media already did throwing her to lions and chomping her up for meat. I am amazed she was able to perform at all. You try it after being bashed and not able to eat or sleep for 7 weeks. Amazing no slack given to a 48 year old lady. What would you do if it were your mother? Step on her? geez… no appreciation or consideration for humanity is getting to be stupid. No wonder so many act like they want to kill and battle each other all the time.. squeeze them till they are nothing and shrivel up and die.. wonderful world we live in.. beam me up…

http://thedewview.com Daniel Waldschmidt

Great point, except that I am not the "media". I am an individual that was touched (moved, inspired, motivated, etc…) by her first performance… I was taken in by the mystique and part of the fan club WISHING her success.

http://RickWolff.com Rick Wolff

Here’s the thing about that initial look America got of Susan Boyle. We were swept away by a good 6-minute snippet of that show, with similar production style as other shows like it. Meaning, after the fact, it’s sweetened a bit. We see her snacking in the green room, to the tune of “crazy old British cat-lady” stock music, which ends as she takes her position. There are cutaways added of audience members reacting, to what we can’t really tell, that could have been shot any time in that whole week. And then she ends her performance, hears her score and judge comments, she whisks away backstage to emote to the hosts, and the judges marvel at what they heard — and all the while, we hear a stirring instrumental of the same song from the soundtrack of Les Miserables! Of course we in the YouTube audience are emoting: it’s got a soundtrack that pushes all the right buttons!
The previous year, the great find was cell phone salesman-turned-opera star, Paul Potts. His video was no less remarkable, but the music they played while he was reveling in the aftermath of his successful audition was, of all things, “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith — a terrible clash. That YouTube video didn’t do well, even after you factor a smaller YouTube audience a year ago.
I have no evidence for this; it’s a theory. I know that after about 10 plays, that’s what was going through my mind.

http://thedewview.com Daniel Waldschmidt

Rick,

Great insights about the "production" of the content. I had the same thoughts about how controlled the initial footage was. Regardless, it was a captivating topic — still is…

http://www.PamHastings.com PamHastings

Daniel-

I am truly encouraged to read that you were touched and moved by something other than business and sales…I really mean that…not trying to be a smart alec here.

Pam
Mike

Nice post, thanks.
http://www.mikesmoneysite.com How to Make Thousand

Thanks for posting, I'll definitely be subscribing to your blog.
andrew

Oh for gods sake she's just a British lady who can sing, she's not Jesus Christ. Just because she doesn't look like – for arguments sake – Beyonce, doesn't make it more surprising that she's talented. Or less surprising that Beyonce is.

Why have people become so emotionally involved in this tripe?

Are you just saying you're fickle? Is that what this post is about?

Selling Susan Boyle!

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