14 DAY TRIAL // “I sing to make people happy,” Susan Boyle, the 48-year-old woman hailing from a small Scottish town who dazzled the entire world with her amazing voice on the Britain’s Got Talent auditions, tells Harper’s Bazaar. Dressed in designer gowns and keeping her balance on towering heels, with her hair and makeup impeccable, but also looking more confident than ever, Susan Boyle, once dubbed the “Hairy Angel” is now the “Unsung hero” in the latest issue of the mag.
The transformation Boyle underwent for what is her first photo shoot ever is striking, to say the least. Not only is she dressed fancier than ever before and has better makeup and hair (after all, both have been done by professionals), but there is also a certain sense of having more confidence as well. As Laura Brown, Harper’s special projects editor, says, Susan Boyle seems to no longer walk: she floats just like an angel.
At the same time, the singer, currently working on her debut album, has retained that certain down-to-earth quality that has made her such an amazing star and the idol of millions who have heard her sing or speak just once. She has not let fame get to her head and, from what she’s saying in the accompanying interview, neither does she plan to do so in the near future. Even the drastic makeover means nothing, Susan says, as if brushing it aside with a simple gesture of the hand, although she does admit it makes her feel like “a Hollywood star.”
There’s more to Boyle’s star quality than just her looks, though, as the interview reveals. “When you sing a song, you’re telling a story. That’s what I was doing when I sang ‘I Dreamed a Dream.’ But that wasn’t me singing about becoming a singer. It was about the position I was in after my mother died. I did the audition for her because she always wanted me to make something of my life, but I had to wait a bit because her death prevented me from singing for a while. I couldn’t put my heart into it. So I was singing about wanting things to be like they were before she went. You know, it was a double-edged sword because it was about what I wanted to do, but it was also about wanting to turn back to when she was with me. Powerful stuff.” Susan Boyle says of the performance that made her a hit on the Internet.
Even with the rougher patches she’s had so far, including the short stay in the mental health clinic The Priory in London and the British media turning on her, she wouldn’t change a thing about the past months in her life. For one, she doesn’t do it for the money or the fame, she explains. “Hey, you don’t just do it for the money. I don’t do it for the money, babe! Who do you think I am? I do it to entertain people. I sing to make people happy.” Susan Boyle adds.
For the full interview with Harper’s Bazaar and more fabulous photos, please see here. Also, make sure to check out the video below.