Coordinates: 32°11′21″N 48°15′28″E / 32.18922°N 48.257785°E / 32.18922; 48.257785

Tepe of the Royal city (left) and of the Acropolis (right), seen from the Hill mound of the Apadana. Susa, Iran.

History of Iran

See also: Kings of Persia · Timeline of Iran

Antiquity Prehistory Proto-Elamite period 3200–2800 Elamite dynasty 2800–550 Kassites 16th–12th cent. Mannaeans 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Parthian Empire 248 BCE–226 CE Sassanid Empire 226–651 Middle Ages Islamic conquest 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Sajid dynasty 889/890–929 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 875–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buyid dynasty 934–1062 Sallarid 942–979 Ma'munids 995-1017 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljuq dynasty 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dynasty 1337–1357 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid dynasty 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1378–1508 Modern history Safavid dynasty 1501–1722/36 Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1750 Zand dynasty 1750–1794 Qajar dynasty 1781–1925 Pahlavi dynasty 1925–1979 Interim Government 1979–1980 Islamic Republic since 1980 view talk edit

Susa (Persian: شوش‎ Shush [ʃuʃ]; Greek: Σοῦσα [ˈsuːsa]; Syriac: ܫܘܫ Shush; Old Persian Çūšā-; Biblical Hebrew שׁוּשָׁן Shushān) was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about 250 km (160 mi) east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers.

The modern Iranian town of Shush is located at the site of ancient Susa. Shush is the administrative capital of the Shush County of Iran's Khuzestan province. It had a population 64,960 in 2005.^[1]

History[link]

Map showing the area of the Elamite Empire (in red) and the neighboring areas. The approximate Bronze Age extension of the Persian Gulf is shown.

In historic literature, Susa appears in the very earliest Sumerian records, e.g. in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta it is described as one of the places obedient to Inanna, patron deity of Uruk.

Susa is also mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible by the name Shushan, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of the 6th century BCE. Esther became queen there, and saved the Jews from genocide. A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, known as Shush-Daniel. The tomb is marked by an unusual white stone cone, which is neither regular nor symmetric. Many scholars believe it was at one point a Star of David. Susa is further mentioned in the Book of Jubilees (8:21 & 9:2) as one of the places within the inheritance of Shem and his eldest son Elam; and in 8:1, "Susan" is also named as the son (or daughter, in some translations) of Elam.

Greek mythology attributed the founding of Susa to king Memnon of Aethiopia, a character from Homer's Trojan War epic, the Iliad.

Proto-Elamite[link]

In urban history, Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region and the world, possibly founded about 4200 BCE. Archeologists have dated the first traces of an inhabited Neolithic village to c 7000 BCE. Evidence of a painted-pottery civilization has been dated to c 5000 BCE. Its name in Elamite was written variously Ŝuŝan, Ŝuŝun, etc. The origin of the word Susa is from the local city deity Inshushinak.

Like its Chalcolithic neighbor Uruk, Susa began as a discrete settlement in the Susa I period (c 4000 BCE). These two settlements, called Acropolis (7 ha) and Apadana (6.3 ha) by archeologists, would later merge to form Susa proper (18 ha).^[2] The Apadana was enclosed by 6m thick walls of rammed earth. The founding of Susa corresponded with the abandonment of nearby villages. Potts suggests that the city may have been founded to try to reestablish the previously destroyed settlement at Chogha Mish.^[2] Susa was firmly within the Uruk cultural sphere during the Uruk period. An imitation of the entire state apparatus of Uruk, proto-writing, Cylinder seals with Sumerian motifs, and monumental architecture, is found at Susa. Susa may have been a colony of Uruk. As such, the periodization of Susa corresponds to Uruk; Early Middle and Late Susa II periods (3800–3100 BCE) correspond to Early, Middle, and Late Uruk periods.

By the middle Susa II period, the city had grown to 25 ha.^[2] Susa III (3100–2900 BCE) corresponds with Uruk III period. Ambiguous reference to Elam (Cuneiform; 𒉏 NIM) appear also in this period in Sumerian records. Susa enters history during the Early Dynastic period of Sumer. A battle between Kish and Susa is recorded in 2700 BCE.

Elamites[link]

In politics, Susa was the capital of a state called Šušan, which occupied approximately the same territory of modern Khūzestān Province centered on the Karun River. Control of Šušan shifted between Elam, Sumer, and Akkad. Šušan is sometimes mistaken as synonymous with Elam, but it was a distinctly separate cultural and political entity.^[3] Šušan was incorporated by Sargon the Great into his Akkadian Empire in approximately 2330 BCE. It was the capital of an Akkadian province until ca. 2240 BCE, when its governor, Kutik-Inshushinak, rose up in rebellion and liberated it, making it a literary center. Following this, the city was conquered by the neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty, and held until Ur finally collapsed at the hands of the Elamites under Kindattu in ca. 2004 BCE. At this time, Susa became an Elamite capital under the Epartid dynasty, and in 1400 BCE, of the Igihalkid dynasty that "Elamaized" Šušan.^[3] The Elamites under Shutruk-Nahhunte plundered the original stele bearing the Code of Hammurabi, the world's first known written laws,^[4] in ca. 1175 BCE and took it to Susa. Archeologists found it in 1901. Nebuchadnezzar I of the Babylonian empire plundered Susa around fifty years later.

Assyrians[link]

Ashurbanipal's brutal campaign against Susa in 647 BCE is recorded in this relief. Flames rise from the city as Assyrian soldiers topple it with pickaxes and crowbars and carry off the spoils.

In 647 BCE, the Assyrian king Assurbanipal leveled the city during a war in which the people of Susa participated on the other side. A tablet unearthed in 1854 by Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh reveals Ashurbanipal as an "avenger", seeking retribution for the humiliations the Elamites had inflicted on the Mesopotamians over the centuries:

"Susa, the great holy city, abode of their gods, seat of their mysteries, I conquered. I entered its palaces, I opened their treasuries where silver and gold, goods and wealth were amassed... I destroyed the ziggurat of Susa. I smashed its shining copper horns. I reduced the temples of Elam to naught; their gods and goddesses I scattered to the winds. The tombs of their ancient and recent kings I devastated, I exposed to the sun, and I carried away their bones toward the land of Ashur. I devastated the provinces of Elam and on their lands I sowed salt."^[5]

Susa after Persian conquest[link]

Achaemenid period[link]

Susa underwent a major political and ethnocultural transition when it became part of the Persian Achaemenid empire between 540-539 BCE when it was captured by Cyrus the Great during his conquest of Elam (Susiana), of which Susa was the capital.^[6] The Nabonidus Chronicle records that, prior to the battle(s), Nabonidus had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict over Susa had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BCE. ^[7] It is probable that Cyrus engaged in negotiations with the Babylonian generals to obtain a compromise on their part and therefore avoid an armed confrontation.^[8] Nabonidus was staying in the city at the time and soon fled to the capital, Babylon, which he had not visited in years.^[9] Cyrus' conquest of Susa and the rest of Babylonia commenced a fundamental shift, bringing Susa under Persian control for the first time.

Under Cyrus' son Cambyses II, Susa became a center of political power as one of 4 capitals of the Achaemenid Persian empire, while reducing the significance of Pasargadae as the capital of Persis. Following Cambyses' brief rule, Darius the Great began a major building program in Susa and Persepolis. During this time he describes his new capital in the DSf inscription: "This palace which I built at Susa, from afar its ornamentation was brought. Downward the earth was dug, until I reached rock in the earth. When the excavation had been made, then rubble was packed down, some 40 cubits in depth, another part 20 cubits in depth. On that rubble the palace was constructed."^[10] Susa continued as a winter capital and residence for Achaemenid kings succeeding Darius the Great, Xerxes I, and their successors.^[11]

The city forms the setting of The Persians (472 BCE), an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus that is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre.

Events mentioned in the Old Testament book of Esther are said to have occurred in Susa during either the Achaemenid or Sassanid periods.

Macedonian, Parthian and Sassanid periods[link]

Susa lost much of its importance when Alexander of Macedon conquered it in 331 BCE and destroyed the first Persian Empire. For approximately one century after Alexander, Susa fell to the Seleucid Empire. After Seleucia it was the biggest city in under Selucid control at the time.^{[citation needed]} Susa used Charax Spasinou as its port. It retained a considerable amount of independence and retained its Greek city state organization well into the ensuing Parthian period and seems to have gained independence under a dynasty whose kings bore the name of Kamnaskires in the 1st century CE. ^[12]

When the Parthian Empire gained its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and took control of much of its eastern provinces, Susa was made one of the two capitals (along with Ctesiphon) of the new state.

Susa became a frequent place of refuge for Parthian and later, the Persian Sassanid kings, as the Romans sacked Ctesiphon five different times between 116 and 297 CE (Susa was briefly captured only by Roman emperor Trajan in 116 AD and never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east). ^[13]Typically, the Parthian rulers wintered in Susa, and spent the summer in Ctesiphon.

Post-Islamic period and final destruction[link]

Susa was destroyed at least three times in its history. The first was in 647 BCE, by Assurbanipal. The second destruction took place in 638 CE, when the Muslim armies first conquered Persia. Finally, in 1218, the city was completely destroyed by invading Mongols. The ancient city was gradually abandoned in the years that followed.

Susa had a significant Christian population during the first millennium, and was a diocese of the Church of the East between the 5th and 13th centuries, in the metropolitan province of Beth Huzaye (Elam).

Archaeology[link]

Site of Susa

The site was examined in 1836 by Henry Rawlinson and then by A. H. Layard.^[14] In 1851, some modest excavation was done by William Loftus, who identified it as Susa.^[15] In 1885 and 1886 Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy and Jane Dieulafoy began the first French excavations.^[16]

Jacques de Morgan conducted major excavations from 1897 until 1911. These efforts continued under Roland De Mecquenem until 1914, at the beginning of World War I. French work at Susa resumed after the war, led by De Mecquenem, continuing until World War II in 1940.^{[17] [18][19]} Archaeological results from the later period were very thinly published and attempts are underway to remedy this situation.^[20]

Roman Ghirshman took over direction of the French efforts in 1946, after the end of the war. He continued there until 1967. Ghirshman concentrated on excavating a single part of the site, the hectare sized Ville Royale, taking it all the way down to bare earth.^[21] The pottery found at the various levels enabled a stratigraphy to be developed for Susa.^[22][23]

During the 1970s, excavations resumed under Jean Perrot.^[24][25]

Images[link]

• 

  Letter in Greek of the Parthian king Artabanus III to the inhabitants of Susa in the 1st century CE (the city retained Greek institutions since the time of the Seleucid empire). Louvre Museum.

• 

  Glazed Clay Cup: Cup with rose petals, 8th–9th centuries

• 

  Anthropoid sarcophagus

• 

  Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace

• 

  Glazed Clay Vase: Vase with palmtrees, 8th–9th centuries

• 

  Susa section, Louvre museum, Paris

• 

  Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa.

• 

  Tomb of Daniel

• 

  Ninhursag with the spirit of the forests next to the seven-spiked cosmic tree of life. Relief from Susa.

• 

  19th-century engraving of Daniel's tomb in Susa, from Voyage en Perse Moderne, by Flandin and Coste.

• 

  Archers frieze from Darius' palace at Susa. Detail of the beginning of the frieze, left. Louvre Museum

See also[link]

• Abulites
• Choqa Zanbil
• Cities of the Ancient Near East
• Elam
• History of Iran
• List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
• Monsieur Chouchani
• Short chronology timeline
• Achaemenid architecture

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Jean Perrot, Le Palais de Darius à Suse. Une résidence royale sur la route de Persépolis à Babylone, Paris, Paris-sorbonne.fr, 2010
• Lendering, Jona. "Susa, capital of Elam". The Iranian Chamber. http://www.iranchamber.com/history/susa/susa.php. Retrieved 2010. 
• Vallat, François. "The History of Elam". The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS). 
• Potts, Daniel T. (1999). The archaeology of Elam: formation and transformation of an ancient Iranian state. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pp. 490. ISBN 0-521-56496-4. World Archaeology Series. http://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Susa

• Susa
• Livius.org pictures of Susa
• Aerial views of Susa
• Susa City Home Page
• Digital Images of Cuneiform Tablets from Susa - CDLI
• Hamid-Reza Hosseini, Shush at the foot of Louvre (Shush dar dāman-e Louvre), in Persian, Jadid Online, 10 March 2009, Jadidonline.com.
  Audio slideshow: Jadidonline.com (6 min 31 sec).

v t e Architecture of Iran Styles Parsi style · (includes Pre-Parsi style and Achaemenid architecture) Parthian style · (includes Sassanid architecture) Khorasani style · Razi style · Azari style · Isfahani style Elements Bazaars · The Persian Garden (hayāt) · Windcatchers · Shabestan · Kucheh · Talar · Iwan · Howz · Panjdari · Hashti · Andaruni · Biruni · Dalan e Vorudi · Qanat · Kariz · Gonbad · Ab anbar · Yakhchal · Caravanserais · Robats · Burj · Khaneqah · Tekyeh · Sahn · Imamzadeh · Mosques Notable traditional cities Architecture of Tehran · Bam · Bukhara · Ctesiphon · Derbent · Herat · Gur-e Amir  · Isfahan · Amol · Kashan  · Mashhad  · Merv  · Nishapur  · Persepolis  · Qazvin · Qom · Samarkand · Shahrisabz · Shiraz · Susa · Tabriz  · Takht-i-Suleiman  · Yazd Theory and analysis Traditional Persian residential architecture · Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity · Islamic architecture Lists List of ab anbars of Qazvin · List of historical Iranian architects · List of mosques · Args, castles, and ghal'ehs · List of ziyarat-gahs

v t e Khuzestan Province Capital Ahvaz Counties (A-K) and Cities Abadan County Abadan Arvandkenar Ahvaz County Ahvaz Hamidiyeh Andika County Qaleh-ye Khvajeh Andimeshk County Andimeshk Hoseyniyeh Bagh-e Malek County Bagh-e Malek Qaleh Tall Seydun Bavi County Mollasani Sheybani Veys Behbahan County Behbahan Aghajari Sardasht Dasht-e Azadegan County Susangerd Bostan Dezful County Dezful Dezab Mianrud Safiabad Saland Gotvand County Gotvand Jannat Makan Haftgel County Haftgel Hendijan County Hendijan Zahreh Hoveyzeh County Hoveyzeh Rafi Izeh County Izeh Dehdez Khorramshahr County Khorramshahr Minushahr Moqavemat Counties (L-Z) and Cities Lali County Lali Mahshahr County Bandar-e Mahshahr Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni Chamran Masjed Soleyman County Masjed Soleyman Omidiyeh County Omidiyeh Jayezan Ramhormoz County Ramhormoz Ramshir County Ramshir Shadegan County Shadegan Shush County Shush Alvan Horr Shushtar County Shushtar Sights Abadan's museum Gundishapur Acropole of Shush Apadana in Susa Arjan castle, Behbahan Asak ancient city, Hendijan Chagadom tappe fire temple Chogha Mish Proto-Elamite site Chogha Zanbil Dav o Dokhtar castle, Ramhormoz Dez Dam Eshkaft-e Salman Gargar bridge, Shushtar Haft Tepe Hoor-al-azim lagoon Imamzadeh Roudband, Dezful Imamzadeh Sabz-e-ghaba, Dezful Karkheh dam Khorramshahr mosque, Battle of Khorramshahr Kul-e Farah lake of Karkheh dam Lake of Karun Lali bridge Meyangaran lagoon Rangooni's mosque Salasel castle, Shushtar Shadegan lagoon Shevi waterfall, Dezful Shush-Daniel Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System Shushtar Watermills Susa Shush Castle Taryana Tobiron valley, Dezful Tomb of Daniel, Shush White bridge, Ahvaz Ya'qub-i Laith's tomb, Dezful

Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle in November 2009
Background information
Birth name	Susan Magdalane Boyle[1][2][3]
Born	(1961-04-01) 1 April 1961 (age 51)[1]
Origin	Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop[4]
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Sony Music, Syco, Columbia
Associated acts	Elaine Paige, Geraldine McQueen, Emeli Sandé
Website	susanboylemusic.com

Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961^[1][5]) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.

Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage.^[6] The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times.^[7] Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times.^[8] Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009) remains as the UK best-selling debut album of all time, beating previous record holder, Spirit by Leona Lewis.^[9] I Dreamed a Dream is ranked fourth in its first week sales according to the Official Chart Company in the United Kingdom.^[9] In her first year of fame, Boyle made a fortune of £5 million with the release of I Dreamed a Dream and its lead off singles, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Wild Horses".^[10] The success was continued with her second album, The Gift (2010), and was followed by Boyle's third album, Someone to Watch Over Me, released on 31 October 2011.^[11] On 12 May 2012, Susan returned to Britain's Got Talent to perform as a guest in the final singing "You'll See".^[12] The following day, she performed at Windsor Castle for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant singing "Mull of Kintyre".^[13] Boyle's net worth was estimated at £22 million in April 2012.^[14]

Life and career[link]

Early life and childhood[link]

Boyle was raised in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland,^[15] by her parents Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist,^[16] whose family comes from County Donegal, Ireland.^[17] She was the youngest of four brothers and five sisters.^[15] Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability.^[18] Boyle says she was bullied as a child^[15][19] and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.^[20]

After leaving school with few qualifications,^[15] she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook in the kitchen of West Lothian College for six months,^[20] took part in government training programmes,^[16] and performed at a number of local venues.^[18]

Early musical training and career[link]

Boyle took singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.^[15] She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe.^[18] Prior to Britain's Got Talent, her main experience had come from singing in her local Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes; in local choirs; and in karaoke performances at pubs in and around her village. She had also auditioned several times for My Kind of People.^[21] She has also long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.^[22]

Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances.^[23][24] In 1995, her audition for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People^[18] at the Olympia Shopping Centre in East Kilbride was filmed – the amateur video shows Barrymore was more interested in mocking her than in her ability to sing.^[25]

In 1999, she submitted a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium^[15][26] produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed.^[27] An early review in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..."^[28][29] The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the New York Post said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony."^[30] Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.^[31]

In 1998, Boyle recorded three tracks "Cry Me A River", "Killing Me Softly" & "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"at Heartbeat Studio, Midlothian.^[32] She used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her BGT audition.^[33]

After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless.^[34] Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother.^[15] Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since her mother died.^[35][36]

[edit] Britain's Got Talent (2008–2009)

In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige".^[37] Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009.^[38] Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.^[39]

This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube.^[38] Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction.^[40] Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle,^[37] and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream".^[41] Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables.^[42][43] Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, as "heart-touching, thrilling and uplifting".^[38]

She was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals.^[44] She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats.^[45] In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final.^[46][47] She was the clear favourite to win the final,^[48] but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.^[49]

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct.^[48] The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London,^[49] TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well.^[51] Cowell offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.^[49]

Boyle left the clinic five days after her admission^[52] and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health worries, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour,^[53] and was well received in cities such as Aberdeen,^[54] Edinburgh,^[55] Dublin,^[56] Sheffield,^[57] Coventry,^[58] Birmingham^[59] and London.^[60] The Belfast Telegraph said "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years".^[61]

[edit] I Dreamed a Dream and tour (2009–2010)

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009.^[62] The album includes covers of "Wild Horses" and "You'll See" as well as "I Dreamed a Dream", and "Cry Me a River".^[63] I Dreamed a Dream became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release.^[64] In Britain, Boyle's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies, beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, Spirit by Leona Lewis.^[65] I Dreamed a Dream also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined in its first week.^[66]

In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade.^[67] It topped the Billboard chart for six straight weeks and although it narrowly failed to become the best-selling album of 2009, with sales of 3,104,000 compared to 3,217,000 for Taylor Swift's Fearless, it was one of only two albums to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S., and was also the top selling "physical" album of 2009, with only 86,000 of its sales coming from digital downloads.^[68] This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by People magazine.^[69]

In Italy, it was the first album of the month in the Italian No. 1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest selling global female debut album.^[66]

Boyle gave a U.S. concert tour in November as a lead-up to the album release.^[70] On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with Elaine Paige.^[71] It got ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom^[72] and in America was the TV Guide Network's highest rated television special in its history.^[73]

In November 2009 it was reported^[74] that Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" would be the theme song of the anime movie Eagle Talon The Movie 3 which was later released in Japan on 16 January 2010.^[75] Boyle performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his tour of Britain in 2010.^[76] In May 2010, Susan Boyle was voted by Time magazine as the seventh most influential person in the world.^[77][78]

[edit] The Gift (2010–2011)

On 9 July 2010, Boyle announced that her second album would be a Christmas album entitled The Gift.^[79] As part of the lead-up to the album, she held a competition called Susan's Search, the winner of which sang a duet with her on her new CD.^[80] The album was released on 8 November 2010.^[81]

The album was produced by Steve Mac, who said that "Now Susan's used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better....With Susan it’s very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can’t relate to."^[82] Boyle has suggested the album will include some jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."^[83]

In November 2010, Boyle became one of only three acts ever to top both the UK and US album charts twice in the same year.^[84] On 30 November 2010, in the United States, Boyle performed on ABC's The View singing "O Holy Night" and then on NBC's Christmas at Rockefeller Center program performing "Perfect Day" and "Away in a Manger". During her appearance on The View she was unable to finish her song, stating that she had a "frog in her throat"; she wanted to start the song over but was not allowed to. The audience applauded her anyway and she later performed an unaired version of the song which was uploaded to The View's YouTube account.

[edit] Someone to Watch Over Me (2011–present)

Emeli Sande was reported to have helped Boyle to write songs for her third studio album, which was released on 31 October 2011.^[85] Boyle performed on the second semi-final results show of the sixth season of America's Got Talent, which aired on 31 August 2011.^[86]

Boyle made her first appearance in Australia, on X Factor Australia, on 8 November 2011 and sang "Autumm Leaves".

Media impact[link]

Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame:^[87] The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours.^[88] On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg^[89] and made the front page of Reddit.^[90] Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different Web sites was reached within nine days.^[7] The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet".^[91] In December 2009 her audition was named the most watched YouTube video of the year with over 120 million viewings, more than three times higher than the second most popular video.^[92]

Additionally, Boyle’s first on camera interview with Scots journalist Richard Mooney for her local newspaper the West Lothian Courier, was named as YouTube’s Most Memorable Video of 2009.^[93] The video went viral after being uploaded to YouTube on 14 April 2009.^[94]

Many newspapers around the world^[95][96] (including China,^[97] Brazil^[98] and the Middle East^[99][100]) carried articles on Boyle's performance. British tabloid The Sun gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the first series' winner Paul Potts.^[101] Later, the British press took to referring to her by a short-form of her name, 'SuBo'.^[102] In the U.S., several commentators also drew parallels between Boyle's performance and that of Potts.^[103] ABC News hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".^[104]

Within the week following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show.^[105] She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's Early Show,^[26] Good Morning America,^[106] NBC's Today, FOX's America's Newsroom.^[106][107] and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Via satellite on Larry King Live,^[108] Boyle performed an a cappella verse of "My Heart Will Go On".^[109] She was also portrayed in drag by Jay Leno, who joked that they were related through his mother's Scottish heritage.^[110]

At the invitation of NHK, a major Japanese broadcaster, Boyle appeared as a guest singer for the 2009 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, annual songfest on 31 December in Tokyo.^[111][112] She was introduced as the ouen kashu (応援歌手, lit. "cheering singer"^?) by the MCs and appeared on the stage escorted by Takuya Kimura, and sang "I Dreamed a Dream".^[113]

Although Boyle was not eligible for the 2010 Grammy Awards,^[114] its host Stephen Colbert paid tribute to Boyle at the ceremony, telling its audience "you may be the coolest people in the world, but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes."^[115] There was also earlier controversy, when Boyle was not nominated in any of the categories for the 2010 Brit Awards.^[116]

Stage musical[link]

A stage musical of Boyle's life was originally planned with Boyle appearing as herself. She said she hated "having to sit watching people up there" who are actors.^[117] However it was later decided that actress Elaine C Smith would portray her ^[118] and Boyle would join the cast of I Dreamed a Dream for a cameo appearance.

I Dreamed a Dream opened on 27 March 2012 with fans from all over the world occupying the Theatre Royal, Newcastle for the opening week.^[119] The musical received rave reviews.^[120] David Cavendish wrote in his 5 star review “The overall shape of the show is hard to fault, and in matching the gutsy good humour of its heroine without stooping to hagiography, this is a delight that deserves to go far, and fast, as she has done.”^[121] John Dixon from his 5 star review on WhatsOnStage.com wrote "This production is a standalone show that should still play to audiences long after Elaine C Smith and Susan Boyle have left. In fact it deserves to become recognised as the Scottish equivalent to Blood Brothers, so strong are the production values. There is no doubting I Dreamed A Dream is one of the musical events of the year."^[122]

The musical will later tour the UK and Ireland.^[123]

Social analyses[link]

Judging by appearance[link]

The Huffington Post noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc, by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction.^[124] The Herald described Boyle's story as a modern parable and a rebuke to people's tendency to judge others based on their physical appearance.^[125] Similarly, Entertainment Weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation.^[126]

The Washington Post believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck".^[128] New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.^[129]

Feminist view[link]

R.M. Campbell, music critic for The Gathering Note compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, in that "[... it is] really, really hard to make a career if a woman isn't attractive."^[130] In another Huffington Post article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that although people may "weep for the years of wasted talent", Boyle's performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women.^[131] Tanya Gold wrote in The Guardian that the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition reflected society's expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectation existing for men.^[132] Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated, "She's an Everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her."^[133]

American Dream[link]

Several media sources have commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. An American entertainment correspondent was quoted in The Scotsman comparing Boyle's story to the American Dream, as representing talent overcoming adversity and poverty.^[134] The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they characterised as urban deprivation in her home town.^[36] Similarly, The Independent's New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that the United States will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady".^[135]

Personal life[link]

Boyle still lives in the family home, a four-bedroom council house in Blackburn which she purchased from her earnings in 2010.^[15][136] Her father died in the 1990s, and her siblings had left home. Boyle never married, and she dedicated herself to care for her ageing mother until she died in 2007 at the age of 91. A neighbour reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter "wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone."^[137] Boyle is a practising Roman Catholic and sang in her church choir at her church in Blackburn.^[138] Boyle remains active as a volunteer at her church, visiting elderly members of the congregation in their homes.^[19] On a 2010 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, Boyle summarised that her daily life was "mundane" and "routine" prior to stardom.

In August 2010, British tabloid, News of the World, reported that Boyle was experiencing financial woes as she was unable to access her fortune, which was being controlled by her management team – consisting of Andy Stephens, Ossie Killkenny and Boyle's lawyer and niece, Kirsty Foy. Boyle's brother Gerry said that his sister was fearful of losing her contract and of returning to her previous financial situation and also that she has been unable to move into her £300,000 five-bedroom house in Blackburn because she does not have the cash to furnish it. He said "[Her] millions are ring-fenced but Susan has no concept of money" and that she was "extremely distressed" at having to live off £300 a week after being banned from withdrawing money from the bank or owning a credit card.^[139] This story was contradicted the following day, however, by the news that she had bought two houses.^[136] It was also reported that Boyle had been on a spending spree in which she had bought a grand piano, an iPhone and five dresses made by Stewart Parvin, the Queen's dressmaker.^[140] The press had previously stated that Boyle was suing her brother Gerry for other stories he had sold to the newspapers.^[141]

Cultural references[link]

The American cartoon show South Park made a reference to the Susan Boyle craze in the episode "Fatbeard", which aired on 22 April 2009;^[142][143] the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show aired a comedy sketch showing the "feel good" effect that Susan Boyle's performance has had on people;^[144] The Simpsons aired a new commercial for its 20th-anniversary show "Springfield's Got Talent", in which Homer Simpson talks about his dreams "to be a great singer like Boyle".^[145][146] A European trailer for the video game The Sims 3 includes a character mocked up as Boyle.^[147] In June 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a short story called "I Dreamed a Dream" that was based on a combination of Boyle's appearances on Britain's Got Talent and the political difficulties of Gordon Brown.^[148] The 5 November 2009 episode of the show 30 Rock showed recurring character Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) – who has a dowdy appearance – singing in the style of Susan Boyle as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy teared up.^[149] In a Season 35 sketch on Saturday Night Live, an accountant (Andy Samberg) doing Boyle's taxes, notes that her income for 2008 was $1, $900,000,000 for 2009, and projected to be $1 for 2010. Bobby Moynihan played Boyle in the sketch.

In the Futurama episode "Attack of the Killer App", Leela has a boil named Susan ("Susan Boil") that can sing show tunes.^[150]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• I Dreamed a Dream (2009)
• The Gift (2010)
• Someone to Watch Over Me (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]