Susan Boyle: The Under Dog, Ugly Ducking and Cash Cow

If you haven’t heard of the name Susan Boyle, it’s time to flip open a newspaper, check the headlines on the news, and open up that link your friends sent you. Because Susan Boyle, a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent, is the buzz around the entire globe.

But the beauty about Boyle is not her image. Obviously.

It’s the idea that this average-looking, past-her-prime female is the talk of the world because of her talent.

We’re taught by American Idol that singing is about “image,” but when you’re in your car blasting a song, do you really care what that singer looks like?

Fox recently announced that they are creating More To Love, a dating show to counter The Bachelor, featuring essentially, overweight, average-looking people looking for love. Why not create an American Idol version of the same kind?

In recent years, American Idol has expanded its age range to open up the pool of potential contestants. It’s time to expand them again. If Susan Boyle taught us anything, it’s that if you have talent, no matter what age, you deserve a chance to shine too.

So I suggest Fox create American Idol: More To Love and show that America can root for the under dog, the ugly duckling, which can, in turn, give Fox its cash cow.