What would you do if the world fell in love with you for doing what you dream? And then what if those same people suddenly turned against you, how would you react?

By now everyone has heard the story of Susan Boyle. You’ve probably seen the old frazzled-looking woman with wild hair wowing everybody with her voice on the reality show Britain’s Got Talent. But then the media reared its ugly head at Boyle, critiquing her appearance and her acts. She was lambasted by British tabloids constantly and she eventually snapped at a few paparazzi that were following her around. Finally, at the end of the show, she was admitted to a mental hospital for frazzled nerves.

What turned the Susan Boyle phenomenon from positive to negative so quickly and spectacularly?

It could be that people simply got tired of seeing the same YouTube clip over and over. It could be that the reason people were endeared to her in the first place was because of her unorthodox looks and personality, which disappeared when she got her makeover. Maybe when she changed her style, she lost the qualities that drew millions of people to her story.

While these might be some of the reasons, there is one that stands out above all the others: The role that the media and reality TV played in turning the spotlight away from a celebration of Boyle’s talent into a criticism of her private life.

The point of shows like Britain’s Got Talent is to find people who have talent and to celebrate them. However, we have seen the media take people in these scenarios and crucify them in the tabloids. At first, the media had a huge crush on Boyle. Her story was everywhere: Newspapers, television shows and bloggers everywhere were singing her praises endlessly. She became an instant sensation – but the media turned on her just as instantly.

British tabloids began writing articles disapproving of her looks, so she changed her appearance to fix this “problem,” which sparked articles criticizing her for changing. She was being followed constantly by paparazzi, which ended in a confrontation at one point. From this, scathing and insulting articles were printed about Boyle and how she was unstable.

The question people should be asking themselves is this: What does any of this have to do with Boyle’s ability to sing? Why did she have to change her looks in the first place? Did it help her vocal cords? When Boyle applied on Britain’s Got Talent, she had no idea that she was going to have her entire life scrutinized by the world. She wanted to sing and have her passion recognized. Instead she was lambasted in journals because she didn’t meet the standard for appearances that the media sets. It would seem that everyone forgot what Boyle came to do: Sing.

Boyle’s short-lived fame was destroyed by the drama surrounding her and because of it, her story changed. The media, instead of focusing on the story of an unexpectedly good singer with loads of talent, turned its attention to what they thought that person ought to be. They set standards that Boyle tried to match instead of focusing on improving her singing. I know that I couldn’t care less about the appearance of someone with talent – looks do not get in the way of a person’s singing ability.

Talent shows are supposed to be about talent and talent only. To report on the life story and appearance of the contestants has nothing to do with their ability to sing, so why do the media insist on it? When finding talent on reality television takes second place to a quest for high ratings, the point is lost and the dream is gone.

Matt Schaubroeck is a University of Winnipeg student.

Published in Volume 63, Number 28 of The Uniter (June 18, 2009)