# Britain's Got Talent meets Les Miserables **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906 "2009-04-13T01:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/81 "2009-04-17T07:00:04Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Well, she knows at least two. Here’s Susan singing [“Cry Me A River”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8r9lRJ6yHY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.susan-boyle.com%2Fvideo%2FSusan-Boyle-Cry-Me-A-River-HQ&feature=player_embedded) on a charity CD from 10 years ago. (it’s YouTube, but it’s audio only) Damn. For a woman who’s never been kissed that is one sultry recording. She’s about to be _huge_. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/82 "2009-04-17T07:52:31Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Not if it’s a live show. The camera was on those girls _before_ they reacted. And I’d be very surprised if there were anywhere near 10 cameras set up simply for audience reaction. It’s not a live show at this early stage. The filmed in Jan/Feb IIRC. The semi’s and finals are live but that won’t be for another few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/83 "2009-04-17T07:56:15Z")
Who are those two guys watching from the wings? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/84 "2009-04-17T08:14:56Z")
[Ant and Dec](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_and_dec). Joined-at-the-hip TV presenters who front just about all ITV’s reality shows. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/85 "2009-04-17T08:20:12Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Well, she knows at least two. Here’s Susan singing [“Cry Me A River”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8r9lRJ6yHY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.susan-boyle.com%2Fvideo%2FSusan-Boyle-Cry-Me-A-River-HQ&feature=player_embedded) on a charity CD from 10 years ago. (it’s YouTube, but it’s audio only) That is fabulous! I know there’s a little flaw here and there, but _damn_! I just listened to Julie London’s version, a long time favorite, and I actually think I like this one better. I know I like the music better and London’s voice had a kind of twang at the “er” part of River that always kind of bugged me. But Boyle’s singing is the main reason. Her voice is not only lovely but she sounds more authentic - like she’s actually living it. That was Sinatra’s great talent and it’s a rare one. Here’s to ya, Susan! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/86 "2009-04-17T08:27:56Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > [Ant and Dec](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_and_dec). Joined-at-the-hip TV presenters who front just about all ITV’s reality shows. I thought it was them! But I also thought I might be a thick American who sees two guys with Welsh accents and automatically assumes Ant and Dec, simply because apart from Simon, they’re the only UK television personalities I know. Anyway, so they basically serve the same purpose on BGT that Ryan does on AI? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/87 "2009-04-17T08:45:13Z")
Couldn’t tell you about their precise presenting role, since I don’t actually watch BGT 😛 One of them also appears in the film Love Actually, where Bill Nighy’s character addresses him as “Ant or Dec” - there’s a running joke that not all of us are entirely sure which one’s Ant and which one’s Dec, since they are virtually never seen apart. I think I have got it straight myself now. Ant’s the one with the huge forehead. They’re not Welsh, though. That accent is Geordie, from Newcastle. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/88 "2009-04-17T08:57:50Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Couldn’t tell you about their precise presenting role, since I don’t actually watch BGT 😛 > One of them also appears in the film Love Actually, where Bill Nighy’s character addresses him as “Ant or Dec” - there’s a running joke that not all of us are entirely sure which one’s Ant and which one’s Dec, since they are virtually never seen apart. I think I have got it straight myself now. Ant’s the one with the huge forehead. > > They’re not Welsh, though. That accent is Geordie, from Newcastle. Ant always stands on the left on camera. Ant and Dec in name and orientation. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/89 "2009-04-17T09:00:07Z")
Frankly I can’t see the point of Ant and Dec. They are a waste of space and talentless. Some idiot even called them “the new Morecambe and Wise” that’s like saying G.W. Bush was “The New Abraham Lincoln”. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/90 "2009-04-17T10:25:42Z")
[brief hijack] Would someone be kind enough to tell me what’s going on in Les Miserables when this song is sung? The only exposure I’ve ever had to the play is seeing it on the London stage in 1994. We took a package deal to London (hotel plus airfare that also came with coupons and other goodies) and among the extras included in the package were tickets to any any stage show we chose. I picked **Les Miserables** because I’d never seen a big deal important stage show (hell, _any_ stage show) and knew that I never would see one otherwise. It was between this and Phantom of the Opera and for some reason I chose LM (I think because I liked the cool-looking [poster](http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterrad/247815172/in/photostream/)). I forget which theater it played in but I, such an uncultured rube, was very impressed by it. However, during the play, I found myself far more fascinated by the stage crafts and mechanics of it, than what was actually happening with the actors, the story, and the singing (which wasn’t my kind of music anyway). I was struck by how much of the “behind-the-scenes” stuff was happening right there on stage, but out of the spotlight, until it was time, and then that part of the stage would rotate to the front. Cool! So, for most of the play I found myself looking through the rented binoculars at the parts of the stage in shadow to see what they were doing. I know, wasted opportunity I guess, but there you have it. So anyway, I can’t really say I’ve actually _seen_ Les Miserables even though I’ve been to a _performance_ of Les Miserables, so that’s why I’m asking. The lyrics are so sad! I’ve watched several performances on the song by other people on YouTube now, and so far Susan’s is still my favorite. Oh yeah, I missed the movie with Liam Neeson too. Amanda Holder is very pretty. Is she a singer? She seemed to be holding her breath and on edge just before Susan got to the “As they turn your dreams to shaaaa…aaaaaa…aaaaa…aaaaa…aaame.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/91 "2009-04-17T11:49:40Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > [brief hijack] > > Would someone be kind enough to tell me what’s going on in Les Miserables when this song is sung? Fantine (the character who sings this) has just been exposed by a workplace enemy as an unwedded mother to a child for whose room and board she’s paying with her very small salary. She and the enemy get into a fight and the foreman (who hates Fantine for turning his advances down) fires her and sends her out into the snow. That’s when she sings this song about how she got pregnant and how the man abandoned her and the child and how life kills your dreams. Which is fitting, since after her firing from the factory, she’s reduced to prostitution. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/92 "2009-04-17T11:52:29Z")
_The Daily Mash_ has its usual take on this story:- [http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/the-patronising-of-susan-boyle-goes-global-200904171707/](http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/the-patronising-of-susan-boyle-goes-global-200904171707/) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/93 "2009-04-17T12:00:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Fantine (the character who sings this) has just been exposed by a workplace enemy as an unwedded mother to a child for whose room and board she’s paying with her very small salary. She and the enemy get into a fight and the foreman (who hates Fantine for turning his advances down) fires her and sends her out into the snow. That’s when she sings this song about how she got pregnant and how the man abandoned her and the child and how life kills your dreams. Which is fitting, since after her firing from the factory, she’s reduced to prostitution. Damn, no wonder it sounds sad! Thanks jayjay. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/94 "2009-04-17T12:05:26Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Amanda Holder is very pretty. Is she a singer? She seemed to be holding her breath and on edge just before Susan got to the “As they turn your dreams to shaaaa…aaaaaa…aaaaa…aaaaa…aaame.” Holden. She’s an actress. She has sang on stage though in musicals. The one she made the biggest splash in was _Thoroughly Modern Millie_ IIRC ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/95 "2009-04-17T12:16:25Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’ll admit that I’ve never seen this clip, but I’ve heard her singing from the TV in the other room for what feels like about a year now, but obviously is only a couple of weeks (because she’s been on every morning/afternoon talk show). > > Not having actually SEEN her (and still not actually having seen her, since I can’t play video at work), my initial reaction to it out of context was that, well…she sounds like really good karaoke. Her pitch is unstable, for one thing. And she’s got good tone, but nothing amazing. I seriously wondered why the cheering started. Now I know it’s all visuals. Is this just a mistake or am I missing something? How has she been on every morning/afternoon show for the last couple of weeks when BGT only aired in Britain 4 days before this was posted? Edit: Sorry, reading this through it sounds like a snark. I was really wanting to know if she had been publicised before the show aired. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/96 "2009-04-17T12:54:04Z")
I hope Susan is getting some fee for all her appearances and interviews. She said she was unemployed. When I watched the clip again I noticed she said “I’ve never been married, and never been kissed” Gee, almost 48 and never been kissed. Really? Kinda puts a different angle on the emotion in her voice. Not to detract from Susan but there was a little girl named Connie who came out and sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” a few years back and also blew the judges away. The lady judge cried. There’s lots more of her singing on Youtube now so it seems she’s done some recording since then. Worth a view. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/97 "2009-04-17T12:58:46Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > _The Daily Mash_ has its usual take on this story:- > > [http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/the-patronising-of-susan-boyle-goes-global-200904171707/](http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/the-patronising-of-susan-boyle-goes-global-200904171707/) How dare they print what many people have thought. I did think the judges reaction was a slap in Susan’s face. Wow you showed us. Nobody expected anything good out of \*you \*. Um, really, why? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/98 "2009-04-17T13:03:12Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > Is this just a mistake or am I missing something? How has she been on every morning/afternoon show for the last couple of weeks when BGT only aired in Britain 4 days before this was posted? > > Edit: Sorry, reading this through it sounds like a snark. I was really wanting to know if she had been publicised before the show aired. Thanks Probably a timing mistake on my part. Like I said, I haven’t been paying any kind of real attention to the whole thing, so my idea of when this all started is probably off, but it seems like it had been going on well longer than 4 days when I posted the post you quoted. I just know that I’ve been hearing “I Dreamed A Dream” coming out of the TV about three times a day for a while now. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/99 "2009-04-17T13:57:39Z")
The people snickering were disgusting, but the shows editors that put those clips in to add drama to the performance have no shame. And get real, that woman isn’t going anywhere in the competition. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/100 "2009-04-17T15:05:01Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I’m guessing the audience shots were somehow staged. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the producers went out and hired a few actresses to smirk and roll their eyes before Boyle sang. They likely knew this could become another Paul Pott so they staged it very carefully, with everyone but the judges in on the gag. Maybe. There’s not a whole lot of “real” left in real-ity TV anymore. Heavy, heavy editing. Reshoots, inserted staged reactions, inserted previously recorded footage, you name it. Producers have no obligation to show us the reality of a moment. They are obligated by their sponsers to produce a moment. Fake it, stage it, create it, do whatever you have to do to get people to watch. If there’s no drama to be found they’ll make some. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906.md?page=6)