Am I right in thinking that there is a new phenomenon appearing in Reality TV this year? The phenomenon I am referring to is the ‘Susan Boyle’ syndrome. It seems that every ‘country got talent ‘ i.e Australia’s Got Talent, Taiwan’s Got Talent etc., shows have only been to happy to present the ‘next Susan Boyle’.

I remember reading remarks last year on You Tube that people had left after listening to Susan Boyle, some were good but some comments were very personal & mean mentioning about appearances but what does it mean to the music industry as a whole?

When I saw Susan Boyle perform last year my immediate reaction was to say if she can do it then so can I. I think that this turn of events has given us, even if it is only a very few people an optimistic hope of being able to do something they have only ever dreamed about.

Because there so few women who will make it to stardom in this way I cannot see it making much difference to anything. As long as the contestants that get through to the personality judges stage, in other words perform in front of people like Simon Cowell, Danny Minogue, Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan and others, have a good singing voice then I personally don’t see any problem with it.

It allows the shows to cater to a wider audience, older age group, who have the necessary funds to buy whatever show producers decide to create to market their new multi-million dollar star.

For one I was also caught up in this phenomena and I too auditioned for one of the shows, successfully completing the first round but magnificently bungling the main judge’s audition. Ah! You live and learn.

I may never get the bitter, sweet taste of the limelight from success in such shows, but I wish those who do achieve their dreams all the best.

For myself I do continue to sing and my dreams are coming true. Never in a million years did I think that I would ever have the chance to perform on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall in London or for that matter did I ever think that I would be able to reach the lofty heights of singing top c sharps, in tune. Both of these dreams are coming true for me in May this year.

The one difference I would like to point out is that the Royal Albert Hall audience will be filled with music lovers and not just the public who want to see themselves on TV booing and jeering at people on a stage trying to give of their best.