Opening my emails from blogging friends has taken on some of the qualities of Christmas morning. They all purport to come from Lenore Diane so the excitement builds as each surprise package is opened.
Today I opened one that came from my blogging friend Val at Arty Old Bird. She talked about accepting that one might be different to others and coming to terms with it.. Do go over to read her blog post. I am sure you will find it interesting/illuminating.
About two-thirds of the way into the post she directed us to Israel who sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow with such feeling that it brings tears to the eyes. Most of us have heard this version of the song and loved it. And yes he does look different to most of us.
And then there was this – Jonathon and Charlotte . This odd looking couple competing in Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year. Just look at Jonathon; at the time of the audition he was 17 years old and Charlotte was 16. As you can imagine Simon Cowell et al dismissed him but that was before he started singing.
Look at the faces of the judges and the audience and then look them as Jonathon starts to sing. Who would have thought this young man had such a voice. And how many would have dismissed him because of his size and the way he looks?
We are all guilty of judging a book by its cover and in doing so how much do we miss. We know that first impressions are important but … We may miss out on a great friendship because of judging somebody by the way he/she looks.
This couple totally wowed the audience and the judges. Simon Cowell has now signed them to a GBP 1million contract and admits he was wrong in his first impressions of this duo.
As a footnote do you believe that this couple with those voices, were beaten in the final by a performing dog? What were the British people thinking.
Related post – Seeing is Believing or Is It?
I choose how I will spend the rest of my life 
I love how the two fellas in the wings cheer them on stage. It’s like they know something we don’t know. Seeing and hearing are believing.
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Absolutely amazing voices. And from this same show have come Paul Potts – a singing Vodafone salesman and Susan Boyle – a Scottish house keeper both of whom have gone on to make it in their chosen musical fields. 🙂
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Great post, Judith and thanks for the thumbs up on (and link back to) mine. 🙂 I don’t watch any of the talent shows so I missed this when it was first shown but I found it via youtube some time later and was astonished. This isn’t the first time Cowell’s had that reaction, of course – there was Susan Boyle, too.
Curiously too, I’m not a fan of opera but this performance – and his voice – is just stunning. Here he is singing Ave Maria (before he was on the talent show).
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole was amazing (he’s dead, sadly). I’m actually astonished that he could sing as well as he did with all that weight on him though, that said, many opera singers are overweight and manage fine. Including Jonathan, above.
I have to think whether there are any cases where I judge people by the cover. I suppose there must be but I can’t think of any at the moment. There are certainly a lot of ‘appearances’ that make me feel uncomfortable but somehow Israel’s didn’t bother me at all. I think anorexics’ bodies disturb me more, even though I am aware that they can’t help it.
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PS. I’ve just found this. If you want to see Simon Cowell (and everyone else, come to that) out of his depths, then… this is the one to watch! (
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That’s quite something Val. Susan Boyle, Paul Potts, Jonathon and Charlotte and now Greg Pritchard. Britain certainly HAS got talent Val.
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I also have very little first hand knowledge of these shows. It is a curious place to be.. without a TV. But I do know about judging people by their looks or their voices or even their expressions. It is hard, however it is worth it to wait a little and look deeper. lovely post.. c
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We dont get the programme here of course, so I wait until somebody tells me who is performing and winning. 🙂
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Charlotte and Jonathan’s performance just brought tears to my eyes. Just as Iz’s performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow does – every single time I hear him sing I get choked up a bit. I have it on my iPod.
Thanks for reminding us not to judge the book by the cover but see beyond that to the beauty in every person.
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We are all guilty of judging without knowing anything about the person. At the supermarket today I caught myself judging a very large lady who was purchasing chocolate biscuits. Why did I just assume they were for her?
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OK, it brought tears to my eyes! Thanks so much for sharing!
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I love it when somebody brings these things to my attention. How amazing for that young couple and what a great start to their singing careers.
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Heart-warming and full of honest emotions that is very touching. So true, “We are all guilty of judging a book by its cover and in doing so how much do we miss. We know that first impressions are important but … We may miss out on a great friendship because of judging somebody by the way he/she looks.” I hope with this post we will all look at another stranger , even friends and family with a different set of eyes and heart. Thanks.
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Thank you for this comment friend. I have been so taken up with many other things this week that I haven’t been paying attention to the comments. I know that we are all guilty of judging others by their looks, their mannerisms and their speech patterns. I am trying to change the way I look at others.
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There has been some amazing talent uncovered on these shows.
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Yes real talent has emerged over the past few years. I don’t watch these shows but do love it when somebody brings something like this to my attention
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You’re right, we do tend to judge by appearances. I love that the singers proved Simon Cowell wrong. It’s nice when first impressions are tossed on their ear 🙂
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And great that Simon Cowell is big enough to admit he was wrong and to offer this duo a contract.
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First impressions are fickle, indeed. I’m wondering how many folks felt that Susan Boyle, being ungainly and with her brows rather bushy and all, would fall flat on her face? How unfair. What’s the first thing you notice about a person? Their gender? Hair? Race? For me, it’s their vibe. I can sense whom to stay away from vs. the person I’ll share a cup of coffee with, simply for the doing. THANKS for turning me on to Val, Judith. She’s amazing, another “other minded” person. Iconoclast. Amy
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Thanks Amy. I know just what you mean about the vibe although very occasionally I have misread it. And it is so easy to judge somebody by their colour, speech, dress when in doing so we could so easily be missing out on making a great friend
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I love the clip. Thanks, Judith.
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Yes Nancy – I thought it wsas fantastic.
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