thick Scottish accent, modest appearance, and a bit of an
attitude, Susan was not what the judges expected. By the
end of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, she had
received a standing ovation. How is it that one person over
the course of thirty seconds can astound an audience,
becoming the next international pop sensation, while
someone else cannot? What’s the difference?
The traditional answer, and the reason such shows exist
in the first place, is that the person doesn’t have any talent.
Forget passion and go find something you’re good at.
“You’re really smart,” Kara told Stephanie, while trying to
let the young lady down gently and point her in a more
productive direction.^3
But how, then, do we explain the success of Hillary
Scott, who auditioned for American Idol twice but failed to
make it to the judges’ round both times, and then went on to
form the group Lady Antebellum? Lady A is one of the
most popular music groups in the world, having won seven
Grammys in their career. And what about pop singer Colbie
Caillat, who was also rejected twice on American Idol,
ironically singing her future hit “Bubbly,” which went on to
help her sell more than six million albums and ten million
singles?^4 If the answer were as easy as “you don’t have
enough talent,” then Scott and Caillat would have had
reason to give up. But they didn’t, and perseverance paid
off—at least for them. So maybe there is more to the issue
than talent.
Over the past several years, researchers have argued that