STAGE TUBE: Elaine Paige Praises Susan Boyle

As previously reported, in the wake of the media storm that has ensued as a result of comments that recently in the U.K. Daily Mail in which Elaine Paige - famous for her performances in EVITA and CATS in the West End - stated that Susan Boyle was a "virus," Paige released a statement clarifying her comments, which she asserts, were grossly misinterpreted and skewed. The pair had recently sung a duet together for an ITV special. BroadwayWorld brings you her exclusive Susan Boyle statement delivered by Paige here.

Says Paige in response of the Daily Mail article:

"I was dismayed to read the remarks attributed to me today in the Daily Mail which were incomplete and misinterpreted.

I am a huge supporter of Susan Boyle and admire what she has achieved; she has handled the extraordinary situation of being catapulted to worldwide stardom with tremendous strength, charm and dignity and I thoroughly enjoyed working with her on the ITV special we recorded together only last month.

I have always said it's very hard for someone to be fast-tracked to stardom without any prior experience - I know this as it happened to me when ‘Evita' opened and I found it extremely difficult in the beginning; today, of course, it's much harder with the phenomenon of the internet - Facebook, YouTube etc - it seems it only takes minutes for fame to spread around the world - and that's why I used the word ‘virus'! I wasn't referring to Susan herself; I was referring to the speed of her fame spreading as fast as a worldwide viral marketing campaign."

Elaine Paige has starred in numerous West End productions and on Broadway and in concert internationally, sweeping to fame when she created her award winning performance as Eva Peron in EVITA. Additional credits include the original Grizabella in the original production of CATS, HAIR, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, GREASE, BILLY, CHESS, ANYTHING GOES, PIAF, SUNSET BOULEVARD in London and Broadway, THE KING AND I, SWEENEY TODD (New York City Opera). 

After an audition for "Britain's Got Talent," in which Susan immediately impressed the judges, the audience and then anyone with access to YouTube's expectations by singing her way through a version of "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. A tornado of rumination and amazement grew around Susan Boyle feverishly, with over 300 Million YouTube hits and nearly two million Facebook friends to prove it. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, has gone triple platinum.