Susan Boyle got a professional makeover for her Harper's Bazaar photo shoot and she really looks marvelous. Susan talked
about making the move from obscurity to stardom and how she's handling her new life.
"When you sing a song, you're telling a story," she explains. "That's what I was doing when I sang 'I Dreamed a Dream.' But that wasn't me singing about becoming a singer. It was about the position I was in after my mother died." Boyle lived with her mom until her death at age 91 in 2007. "I did the audition for her because she always wanted me to make something of my life, but I had to wait a bit because her death prevented me from singing for a while. I couldn't put my heart into it. So I was singing about wanting things to be like they were before she went. You know, it was a double-edged sword because it was about what I wanted to do, but it was also about wanting to turn back to when she was with me." Boyle pauses. "Powerful stuff," she adds, as if to make light of it.
Despite her newfound fame, there are a lot of things Susan Boyle doesn't do. She doesn't go on holiday or go out much. She isn't into fashion or gourmet food. She isn't married, doesn't have children, and hasn't seen the world. When I ask her if she's been shopping, for example, she shakes her head. Not even to Selfridges? "Where?" she asks, half joking. But feeling financially secure must surely be a bonus. "Hey, you don't just do it for the money. I don't do it for the money, babe! Who do you think I am?" But then why do it? She isn't expansive when she talks, but she knows how to answer this question. "I do it to entertain people," she says firmly. "I sing to make people happy."
Susan says she'd love to meet Donny Osmond (her childhood idol) and Madonna, whom she greatly admires, saying "I like that she is a diverse pop star and controversial.". Here's a behind the scenes video of the photo shoot at Cliveden, the Italianate mansion which once the home of Waldorf Astor. The property is now an old-world hotel just outside London. Take a look:
