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Viral Video: Susan's got talent

By | April 24, 2009, 1:59pm PDT

Summary: Two weeks ago, “Britains Got Talent” contestant #43212 walked onto the stage and into the hearts of millions of unsuspecting viewers. “All right, what’s your name, darling?”, asked Simon Cowell. “My name is Susan Boyle.” [ Watch the video | Longer version ] Eyes rolled as the audience and judges prepared themselves for a little laugh at the frumpish [...]

Susan BoyleTwo weeks ago, “Britains Got Talent” contestant #43212 walked onto the stage and into the hearts of millions of unsuspecting viewers.

“All right, what’s your name, darling?”, asked Simon Cowell.
“My name is Susan Boyle.”

[ Watch the video | Longer version ]

Eyes rolled as the audience and judges prepared themselves for a little laugh at the frumpish 47 year old church volunteer from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland. Once Boyle opened her mouth, though, it was a different story.

According to Reuters, videos of her performance were viewed over 100 million times from more than 20 different Web sites in the first 9 days since the show aired. One version on YouTube has been viewed over 47 million times and has garnered over 200K comments. Web technologies such as Twitter (including praise from celebrities like Ashton Kutcher) have proved critical in feeding Susan Boyle’s meteoric rise to fame.

I only wish she had been discovered earlier.

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Ed Burnette is a software industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience as a programmer, author, and speaker. He has written numerous technical articles and books, most recently "Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform" from the Pragmatic Programmers.

Disclosure

Ed Burnette

Ed Burnette is a Manager of Mobile Development at SAS. However the postings on this site are his own and do not represent the positions, strategies, or opinions of his employer.

Biography

Ed Burnette

Ed Burnette has been hooked on computers ever since he laid eyes on a TRS-80 in the local Radio Shack. Since graduating from NC State University he has programmed everything from serial device drivers and debuggers to web servers. After a delightful break working on commercial video games, Ed reluctantly returned to business software. He currently develops enterprise software for Android phones and tablets.

In his copious spare time, Ed writes and speaks about all kinds of technology and software. His most recent books include the Eclipse IDE Pocket Guide from O'Reilly and Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform from the Pragmatic Programmers.

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The look on simons face...
brokndodge@... 26th Apr 2009
priceless. the whole video was unexpected. usually videos from these types of shows are the exact opposite... showing just how bad people can sing. this was phenomenal!
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Viral Video: Susan's got talent
Loverock Davidson 24th Apr 2009
The look on Simon's face after she started singing was priceless. I think he is still trying to pick his jaw off the ground.
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Congratulations Loverock
nizuse 24th Apr 2009
You managed a post without your usual nonsense.
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The look on simons face...
brokndodge@... 26th Apr 2009
priceless. the whole video was unexpected. usually videos from these types of shows are the exact opposite... showing just how bad people can sing. this was phenomenal!

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