Britain’s Got talent: Hollie Steel Calls Simon Cowell A Bully!
Ten year old Hollie Steel took a stand against Simon Cowell last night, when she branded him a bully in an interview with The Mirror.
Hollie was upset by Cowell’s comments about her pink tutu and song choice and said: “Simon is a bully. He was very mean to me. He might have thought it was funny but it’s lonely up there on that stage on your own. I’m only 10 and when he said those things about my tutu I felt like I wanted to cry.
“I had tears in my eyes but I didn’t want to him to see me cry like the bullies at school so I thought of things that made me happy. I thought of being in the final of Britain’s Got Talent and winning it.”
Kelly Brook called Hollie “inspirational and beautiful”.
And Piers Morgan told her: “We’ve seen lots of children on this show but I have never heard anyone sing as good as you.”
But Simon was as caustic as ever when he said: “Hollie, Hollie, Hollie… let me tell you what I think. I didn’t like what you were wearing. You came across as a typical little girl who wants to be a ballerina, and I wasn’t crazy about the song.”
Simon’s comments were made worse by the fact that Hollie has suffered at the hands of bullies before. She said: “Simon’s comments really hurt because I have been bullied for a long time. I get picked on for my singing and because I’m small. One boy said I sounded like a cat being killed and girls tell me I’m no good and that I’m out of tune.
“They have pushed and shoved me in the past but it’s the words that hurt most. My eyes water but I don’t want to cry so I go to the toilets where no one can see me.
“But the bullies just make me more determined to do well.”
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Gillian
How do you know that Hollie wasn’t getting bullied at school, were you there every day to see this? My son was bullied at school from the age of 11 until I moved him to another school at the age of 13 but none of his friends parents or my neighbours knew about it. Not even my next door neighbour, who’s son was in the same school and was sometimes one of the people bullying him. It wasn’t until he moved to another school and people were asking me why, that anyone except close family knew about it.
I HATE HOLLIE. SHE IS UGLAAAAAAY
coolcat
It’s not cool to say silly things and your last comment, like all your others are silly, so maybe you should change your name tag. Do you know Hollie personally, are you one of the people who have been bullying her? It wouldn’t surprise me, you sound like a bully.
KELLY
I am not a bully, I am a realist. What are you gooing to do about it…?!!
y0
i agree with coolcat
I love Bert.
Wasn’t Connie Talbot only 6? Wasn’t she TOO young? Maybe these days, the 6 year olds of yesteryears are more matured than the 10-year olds and over ‘Hollies’, Natalies etc. NB Hollie’s mum couldn’t wait to jump onto the stage and stay there when Hollie broke down, hmmmmm.
I agree with jcf.
thanks coolcat you are relly nice to me thank you and i have had my eyes tested and i wore glasses then and SHE WAS NOT CRIEING she was not ok you sadoes who love hollie steel should get a life and not be on her side
coolcat you are relly nice you are a heroe to me
no offence to anyone but i don’t like her. she was really badly faking it when she cried at the final and when she came back it sounded really weird.
Me and dca are an awesome team.
yes we r cool cat yes we r. you r my best friend on the net 7 im glad we r friends .buddy
I LOVE YOU MAN.
i love u 2 coolcat i do xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxo
Will you marry me?
COLLCAT IM 9 AND HOW OLD R U I BUT IF I WAS OLDER YES I WOULD pl;z tell me your real name and how old you r .ill tell you mine
As others said, Hollie denied saying that Simon was a bully–which wouldn’t have made sense, at all.
The article here is a great example of selective reporting, at best, deception, at worst. The author did NOT report ALL of what Simon said. Yes, he said that he didn’t like what she was wearing–which, apparently, she didn’t, either! (Message: don’t dance!) and wasn’t crazy about the song (message: don’t do it again, though she DOES do it on the BGT tour)–but that’s only a small part. He continued, “Then, I heard you sing. And I think, Hollie, you’ve got a fantastic voice. True. The fact that you don’t know how good you are is what I really like about you. But I think that this might just be the tip of the iceberg with you, because I think you’re better than that.” Does that sound like “bullying”?
Simon ends the voting with, “Hollie, you are SAILING through to the next round.”
In each case, Hollie’s reaction to Simon’s comments is the biggest and brightest of all of the judges. For once, actually WATCH the video, rather than going by what some reporter says.
FWIW, it was pretty obvious that the tutu & dancing (really bad) and her parents’ comments about how proud they were of Hollie’s dancing were a setup to make it more dramatic. What most of you probably don’t know is that Hollie’s older brother (he’s the young man standing with her parents) had already tried out and been “no-ed” out.
As for the comments about stage school: yes, Hollie, like Bessie Cursons in the first season, sings musical theater songs. (She’s appeared in several musicals, apparently.) What’s wrong with that? The kids that only do today’s pop music will be out of date by the time they’re out of high school. Many have quite a lot of talent, but no training–all they can do is mimic pop groups. (Connie Talbot is another mimic, but, she’s only 8–give her time!) They lack versatility and serious vocal skills. (Just listen to Britney Spears.) They don’t put emotion into singing and can’t act while singing. Most will be a flash in the pan, if that, while singers like Elaine Paige, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, and Betty Buckley will be successful for decades.
For dca, on second chances: there have been several others, though maybe not so dramatic. Shaheen started singing in his audition and, after a few lines, Simon stopped him, saying (as I recall) that it wasn’t working. He asked if Shaheen had another song. That led to Shaheen wowing the judges. If he had continued with the original song, he may not have made it past the audition. In another case, a “classical” duo (violin & keyboard) called “Addicted” tried out and got turned down. Then, Simon (yes, him, again) asked to bring back the violinist. They offered her the chance to try out on her own the next day. After a bit of soul-searching (the keyboardist was her best friend), she agreed. That was Son Su, who made it into the semi-finals. So, don’t say that no one got a second chance until you do your homework.
One more thing. Simon’s comments were really sending her three messages:
1. Don’t dance. You’re a mediocre dancer (at best!) but a fantastic singer.
2. Don’t do that song again. Some singers repeat their audition song in the finals. If Hollie had done a longer version of “I Could Have Danced All Night,” it might have earned her more votes, but repeating the same song wouldn’t have proven her ability. You can actually see and hear (though not great quality) Hollie do the full song on the BGT tour–search “Hollie Steel tour” on YouTube. The acting is a bit affected–she is only 11 (birthday July 1), but her voice, even with the bad acoustics and recorded on a camcorder, is stunning.
3. You’re better and have more depth than a “happy” song like “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Do something different and more difficult–which she did in the finals. Listen to Sarah Brightman sing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” on the original London cast album (on iTunes), then to Hollie in the finals. She does NOT mimic Brightman, but gives it her own interpretation. (I should have added Brightman and Mary Martin to the list above.)
As Maggie said, it’s like listening to a very young Julie Andrews. Both Bessie Cursons and Hollie primarily chose songs sung by Julie Andrews from “My Fair Lady,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Sound of Music.” It’s not surprising, given Andrews’ stunning success. She must be a sort of “Holy Grail” for girls who want to sing in the theater.