The entertainment world is in love with bright, brilliant and flaming youth, beautiful and talented young people, who zoom up to the top with astounding velocity and ferocity, reminding older people of the physical perfection they, too, once possessed, or aspired to.

But what about more mature talents on the other side of 20, or 30? Is it all over for them?

Has show biz success passed them by for good?or, can they too still dream of making it in a business where youth is the pearl of great price and age is the ultimate liability?

Most of the time, age is indeed practically a curse for undiscovered talents. Once in a rare while, however, the cynical gods of show business are unexpectedly put in their place by the even more confounding verdict of public adulation. And, therein lies a doubly inspiring tale:

Only a couple of years ago, Susan Boyle was ?just? a plain old maid with a golden voice unheard by the rest of the world. Then, she joined the singing tilt, ?Britain?s Got Talent,? performed ?I Dreamed A Dream? from ?Les Miserables,? and not only brought the house down, but all of London as well.

Toppling Barbra

Alas, in the tilt?s grand finals, she placed only second?but, there was something about her and her talent that kept her dreams alive. She went on to cut her debut album?and, lo and behold, it sold more copies than singing superstar Barbra Streisand?s own new compilation, and in fact ended up as the best-selling debut album of all time.

Some years before Susan?s second place finish, ?Britain?s Got Talent? had produced another unlikely winner in similarly middle-aged tenor Paul Potts, who went on to become a singing star in his own right?but Susan?s story has turned out to be even bigger than his.

What is it about the plain-looking old maid that has made millions of people around the world fall in love with her, despite the fact that she?s practically the antithesis of the entertainment world?s tradition concept of the quintessential stellar comer?
First, of course, there?s her strong, beautiful and expressive singing voice. But, when you study it more closely, it isn?t the best voice you?ve ever heard, not by a long shot. In fact, in some numbers, it even comes across as lacking in strength, brilliance and emotional fervor.

But, after a while, that ceases to be the prime consideration. The viewing and listening public has taken Susan Boyle to its bosom precisely because she isn?t young and lovely.

Thus, her unusual and unexpected success story gives everyone else hope that, in their own good time, their dreams will be fulfilled.

Interestingly, Susan has her counterpart in the Philippines?40-something singer Minerva ?Eva? Castillo. Just last year, Eva was a has-been. After years of competing in numerous singing tilts, she stopped dreaming and opted to live in the world of grim and dire reality.

Luckily for her, one of Eva?s biggest rivals in those singing tilts, who had become a big singing star, had not forgotten about her. When Regine Velasquez produced a TV special last year, she asked her staffers to look Eva up and give her another crack at stardom?more than 20 years later.

This time around, Eva didn?t let the golden opportunity pass her by and took full advantage of the belated showcase Regine had provided her. Eva now has a flourishing singing career?to Regine?s great psychic satisfaction.

Susan and Eva are ?retroactive? success stories, who lend added credence to the show biz saying, ?No matter how long it takes, real talent will find its rightful place in the entertainment spotlight.?