Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle has been accused of many things in her incredible rise to fame, but having a decent record collection? Surely that was beyond the realms of anyone's imagination.
Yet, as she recovers from the sensational reaction to her performance of The Rolling Stones' 1971 hit Wild Horses on America's Got Talent, only one conclusion can be drawn: this enigmatic woman truly understands the lovelorn sentiment behind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards's brilliant song.
Putting the surprisingly sensitive song in Boyle's hands is a canny move from the pop music executive Simon Cowell. It's not the first time he's used a cover of a well-respected tune to launch the career of his talent show picks: the X Factor winner Alexandra Burke sold millions of copies of her version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah last year, proving that a musician can have success with a restrained (the first two-thirds is restrained, at least; then it goes bonkers) version of a classic rather than a loud Whitney Houston ballad.
Certainly the first reaction to Boyle's version of Wild Horses is one of relief that she hasn't murdered it by trying a Jagger impression or attempting operatics. Instead, it's a very tender reading of the song, pretty much unrecognisable from the original. Listen again and some rather moving details are revealed: a plangent piano, swelling but not overblown strings and lyrics that make some kind of modern sense, too. They were supposedly about Jagger's break-up with Marianne Faithfull, but they also serve as a comment on the public's relationship with Boyle and her hugely emotional story. What is "I watched you suffer a dull aching pain" if not the experience of millions who watched her breakdown on a television talent show?
So is a cover the only way a reality TV show star can launch a career? Two other X Factor winners, Shayne Ward and Leon Jackson, debuted original songs that were wildly successful but the singers' ensuing careers were less so: the record label Sony dropped Jackson earlier this year.
The X Factor winner Leona Lewis's version of Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This, however, became the UK's fastest-ever selling single in 2006, and the record has since sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Lewis is working with Jay-Z for her forthcoming album: that's quite a career trajectory for a former talent show hopeful.
It's not surprising that things should work this way. What are talent shows if not glorified karaoke? The whole competition is, after all, largely based on how good the contestants are at singing other people's hits. And as viewers' heartstrings are pulled with stories of chokingly terrible lives that can only be rectified by Cowell's enduring love and record contracts, old favourites take on new meanings.
Pity poor Steve Brookstein, then. The 2004 X Factor winner received Cowell's approval and released Phil Collins's Against All Odds as his debut. So far, so good, until you actually hear the song - a dreadful, overwrought and obvious cover of a song that did not exactly mark a high point in Collins's history. Last we heard, Brookstein was singing on cruise ships and serenading diners in Pizza Express.
So, if you're after lasting talent show success, it pays to either do something special with a cover (Burke's Hallelujah worked, despite its slightly ridiculous vocal gymnastics, because she's a woman and Cohen is a man - likewise with Susan Boyle and Mick Jagger) or something so miraculous that pop is changed for good. So it was with Girls Aloud, the Popstars: The Rivals winners whose Sound of the Underground literally sounded like nothing else in 2002. Millions of record sales later, they're probably quite pleased that they paraded a slightly disappointing version of The Pointer Sisters' Jump four singles in.
Why, though, does it seem that more and more covers are invading the charts? Perhaps it has something to do with songwriters becoming more willing to say yes when they are asked if a reality winner can have the rights to a famous tune. Once upon a time, they might have snootily rejected such permission, but the week Hallelujah was No 1 for Burke, it was No 2 for Jeff Buckley and No 36 for Cohen (his first-ever Top 40 hit). The royalties must have been streaming in.
Of course, there can be a downside to a sudden surge in popularity. As Cohen said at the time on Canadian radio: "I was happy that the song was being used, of course. But I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said: 'Can we please have a moratorium on Hallelujah in movies and television shows?' And I kind of feel the same way. I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it."
Jagger may be having similar thoughts about Wild Horses; the list of people who have covered it is as wide-ranging as it is staggering. Fancy a hard rock version with stupidly long guitar solos? Guns N' Roses can oblige. Something a bit more middle of the road? Try Sheryl Crow's or Deacon Blue's versions. And if you want to get all dreamy and indie, The Sundays, Mazzy Star and Iron & Wine all peer out through floppy fringes for their takes on the classic.
It is interesting that you can hear all of these covers on YouTube, and for all the cachet of the many artists involved, none are half as good as the effort from an impossibly uncool 48-year-old woman from West Lothian, Scotland - and it's not just down to the production dollars Boyle's team clearly threw at Wild Horses.
There's something genuinely gripping about her performance; it comes from someone who isn't just knocking out a cover for a laugh but genuinely believes in the power of the song.
All this from someone who didn't even win Britain's Got Talent.
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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