Why Is Susan Boyle So Loved?

Even if you’re like me and you don’t care for her music (can’t wait for all the hate mail about that), you have to admit that Susan Boyle is easily one of the biggest phenom’s in the music biz this year. She didn’t do it by letting fans set their price for her album or trying new and innovative things through social media but just the ol’ fashion way- selling lots of records. She even beat out Eminem for the best first-week sales of his year.

So how do you explain how she became such a huge star? For one thing, there’s no denying that she has a great voice, even if you don’t care for what she’s singing. But there’s lots of great singers out there who’ll never reach her level. Here’s a few reasons why:

* Simon Cowell and his company deserve lots of credit for setting the whole thing up in the first place. Of course, not every singer he works with through his companies (i.e. American Idol) get to this level but having that platform in the first place was a huge boost for her. Earlier this year, I talked about how Cowell set up the story about her in the first place.

* The Anti-model Factor. I haven’t seen any of the record buyers polled about this but I’d wager that since Boyle doesn’t look like your typical singing star, lots of people were rooting for her since they don’t have hot bods either (I sure as hell don’t).

* The story behind her. Again, I think this is another (non-musical) reason that many people were rooting for her. One day, she’s nondescript and unknown and then suddenly she becomes a star. And unlike many other instant stars who don’t deserve the fame, she actually does.

LATE THOUGHT: After Beyonce and Taylor Swift got all the Grammy nominations, it’ll be an interesting battle to see who wins next year and (at least temporarily) wears the diva crown but in the meantime, Boyle has them both beat in initial sales (Swift’s last album sold less than Boyle’s in first week sales, ditto Beyonce).