Susan Boyle was released just five days after voluntarily checking into the Priory Clinic in London for emotional exhaustion (or, anxiety, as her brother has stated). This is good news indeed, but after reading a few more articles about the situation, I’m now thinking about more behind-the-scenes issues that led to her problems.
I’m sure numerous factors went into setting the stage for Boyle’s emotional exhaustion; however, if I were to draw some sort of line graph illustrating those factors, know that “gaining sudden fame and success” would be at the beginning and “losing sudden fame and success” would be at the end.
I didn’t feel this way last week when we first learned of Boyle’s troubles. I simply thought she’d pushed herself very hard, for a very long time, and - with the Britain’s Got Talent competition ending - was finally feeling the negative impact of all that.
After reading the Telegraph article that shares some of Boyle’s brother’s thoughts, however, I realized things might go a bit deeper than that:
Mr. Boyle said Susan had spoken to people who had assured her it “wasn’t the end” for her singing career after finishing second in the contest.
“Things are becoming clearer for her now,” he said.
“She’s now beginning to believe that, ‘yes indeed, I will be a singer’.”
The kind of sudden fame Susan Boyle experienced thanks to Britain’s Got Talent is alone enough to knock many folks off balance. As Priory Clinic psychiatrist Chris Thompson pointed out, exposing yourself to that kind of instant celebrity is “terribly risky”:
“It seems to me a bit like walking out on to a branch and then sawing it off behind you.”
However, throw in the fear that the fame might go away - that, in Susan Boyle’s case, the dream of becoming a singer might never be realized - and it’s pretty easy to understand how it would all work together to bring emotional exhaustion and anxiety.
I’ve read several articles stating Simon Cowell is talking about producing an album for Boyle once her Britain’s Got Talent UK tour is over, and that’s great. Boyle is talented and an inspiration to many people, and I’d love to see her develop a singing career.
Yet, there’s still part of me that worries about her reaction to her own fear that her singing career might have been over before it ever really even got started.
I’ll admit my first reaction after reading Boyle’s brother’s quotes wasn’t a kind one. Falling apart over not winning the contest and how that might negatively affect her carrer - after all the show helped her experience and all the fans she gained - and then calming down once she realized her singing career still had a chance, didn’t sit well with me.
I’m human, and I have knee-jerk reactions sometimes.
After thinking about it for a while, though, I realized I might have very well reacted the same way. Imagine finally being recognized for your life’s passion, only to discover it might slip through your fingers at any moment (yeah, that’s a hard reality of life, but that doesn’t make it suck any less).
Susan Boyle seems healthy and happy now, and I’m glad for that. Still, as long as shows like Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol are around, so will be other Susan Boyle-like contestants. The Washington Post points out that “[e]xperts [have questioned] whether shows like ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘American Idol’ are unnecessarily cruel,” and while I do believe they are unnecessarily cruel to a point (remember the year Simon told that one guy, Kenneth, that he looked like a creature from the jungle? I mean, really?), I don’t really think it’s related to what’s happening to the contestants who aren’t being verbally abused in some way. For those contestants, I think it’s a matter of - like I mentioned above - gaining sudden fame and success and then losing - or being afraid of losing - that sudden fame and success.
What do you think? Are these talent contests unnecessarily cruel? At the least, maybe too much for certain people to deal with? Does it all boil down to the particular contestant in question, or is putting oneself on this kind of roller coaster a bad idea for anyone?
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I think you may be jumping to conclusions about Susan being afraid to lose a career. I believe she was under unimaginable pressure, which she was ill prepared for, for many months. Suddenly the pressure is gone and there is no immediate reason to hold herself together. Many people hold themselves together through a crisis and fall apart afterward. From what I’ve read, Susan doesn’t seem to be the type to crave fame and fortune and everyone knows former contestants often go on to careers.
@ Kristine - Thanks for chiming in. 
If you’ll notice, the conclusions I drew were based solely on Susan’s brother’s statements (”She’s now beginning to believe that, ‘yes indeed, I will be a singer’”, etc.) (which, I think, if his statements are to be trusted, clearly show that there was a period in which she worried about her future singing career), and not just conclusions I drew based on my own thoughts or opinions.
I wholeheartedly agree she must have been under extreme pressure for which she wasn’t prepared. For many people, the thought of going on one of these shows and being even semi-successful is like a fantasy come true, but we don’t often stop to think about the negative consequences, and I believe that’s the point Dr. Thompson was trying to make.
It’s great that Susan got the help and rest she needed, and hopefully she’s as prepared as she can be to take the music industry by storm.
Ms. Boyles–a victim of the bad fruitage from competition.
As with all things, I always think about what the Creator’s view is and in this matter on rivalry and competition some scriptural thoughts come to my mind.
Here is a couple of clipped pieces on the dangers of going beyond our God-given friendly playful streak into seeking glory and victory at the expense of another:
*** g92 3/8 p. 22 Part 5—Big Business Tightens Its Grip ***
Competition fosters feelings of envy, jealousy, and greed. People who excel may begin to think themselves superior, making them arrogant and overbearing. Consistent losers, on the other hand, may suffer from a lack of self-esteem, causing despondency. Faced with competitive pressures with which they cannot cope, they may choose to drop out, an attitude that helps explain the surge in suicides among young people in some countries.
Understandably, then, the wise counsel of the Bible is: “Let us not become egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another.”—Galatians 5:26
(Ecclesiastes 4:4) . . .And I myself have seen all the hard work and all the proficiency in work, that it means the rivalry of one toward another; this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.
*** g95 12/8 p. 15 Is Competition in Sports Wrong? ***When Competition Goes Too Far
What, then, was the apostle Paul saying to fellow Christians when he told them not to be “stirring up competition with one another”? (Galatians 5:26)
The answer lies in the context. Paul prefaced this statement by telling them not to “become egotistical” or, as other Bible translations phrase it, not to become “proud,” “conceited,” “desirous of vain glory.”
The pursuit of fame and glory was prevalent among the athletes of Paul’s day.
So too in today’s vainglorious world, more and more athletes resort to strutting and calling attention to themselves and their skills. Some go so far as to demean others. Taunting, finger-pointing, and verbal degradation, or what some athletes call “trash talking,” are rapidly becoming the norm.
All of this would be “stirring up competition,” leading to what Paul referred to in the concluding part of Galatians 5:26—envy.
At its worst, unbalanced competition leads to fights and even death….
A Balanced View–
Recreational sports and games should be refreshing—not depressing.
This we can achieve by keeping things in perspective, remembering that our worth to God and our fellowman has nothing to do with our skills in sports or games.
It would be foolish to allow feelings of superiority to well up within us because of physical or mental abilities.
So let us avoid the unseemly, worldly tendency to call attention to ourselves, lest we provoke envy in others, for love does not brag. (1 Corinthians 13:4; 1 Peter 2:1)
…We would never measure the worth of others by their abilities in sports and games.
Similarly, we would not want to think any less of ourselves because of lack of skill.
…we should remember how insignificant any game really is—people’s true worth does not depend on how well they perform. …
…Paul noted that “bodily training is beneficial for a little; but godly devotion is beneficial for all things.”—1 Timothy 4:8.
So in their proper place, sports and games are enjoyable and refreshing.
The Bible condemns, not all competition, but competition that stirs up vanity, rivalry, greed, envy, or violence.
Copyright © 1992-2009 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 21 Nov 2009
|
