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The YouTube generation seems to be awestricken over the fact that somebody who looks like Susan Boyle can sing like Susan Boyle.

The YouTube generation obviously never encountered Kate Smith, a lady with ordinary looks and an extraordinary voice who sang her way into America's heart during the Great Depression and through World War II, and was still going strong when television arrived to transform the entertainment industry.

Kate weighed in at 235 pounds at the age of 30. Her face was fleshy and her body was bulky, but her manner was graceful. Her voice and style embodied all the virtues of America during its innocent years.

It was she who introduced Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" to the nation on Nov. 10, 1938, to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of World War I. Berlin pulled an old, rejected piece of music from his trunk, reworked the lyrics, and passed it to Ted Collins, Kate Smith's manager and discoverer. Kate gave it the perfect send-off.

Maybe Kate benefited from the fact that radio and records had not evolved into movies and DVDs. People didn't have to look at her. They could just close their eyes and let her singing flow through their souls. But even in those days before visual images enhanced mass communications, we knew that Kate Smith was no Carole Lombard.

She often opened the home games for the Philaldelphia Flyers hockey team by singing "God Bless America," prompting the hockey players' boast, "It ain't begun till the fat lady sings." The record book shows that the Flyers were more likely to win after Kate opened with the Berlin classic. The team honored her with a statue at its home arena. Now, the New York Yankees introduce the seventh-inning stretch at their home field by inviting fans to "join Kate Smith" in singing "God Bless America."

Kate wasn't self-conscious about her appearance.

"I'm big and I sing, and boy when I sing, I sing all over," she said.

In 1939, when President Franklin Roosevelt entertained the king and queen of England, he introduced Kate Smith by saying, "Your majesties, this is Kate Smith. This is America."

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan awarded her the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Kate proved that the genes for pulchritude and for singing voice are not inextricably linked. Susan Boyle offers further proof.

To be honest, Kate Smith would win a one-on-one beauty contest against Susan Boyle. But maybe that's because Susan hasn't had the benefit of the grooming and coiffing that the American entertainment industry lavishes on its stars. Neither has she developed Kate's easygoing, friendly personality.

Susan is from Scotland, not London, but on television and in photos she comes across as beefy-faced and maybe a little grubby. She is an unmarried church volunteer who says she has never been kissed, so she probably doesn't know a lot about lovin'. She was thrust into the merciless spotlight before she was emotionally prepared.

Susan has a beautiful voice and she can deliver a song beautifully, but I doubt that she would have achieved the same instant popularity had she looked like Madonna or Brittany Spears. The contrast between her lovely voice and her homely appearance gave her a cachet that vaulted her to YouTube acclaim.

And even though she finished second to a group of London dancers, her talent and transatlantic fame remain. On this side of the Atlantic, which offers the biggest audiences, people are likely to forget the name of the London dance troupe (Diversity) by next week. But Susan Boyle's name and image will linger in memory for a long time. Any talent agent who couldn't help her cash in on that kind of fame should go back to selling fish and chips.

The question is, can Susan survive it?

She's going to need professional help to deal with the terrible demands the public makes on the people who entertain it. We are all too familiar with the sad stories of the beautiful and talented who were victimized by the careers that gave them wealth and fame.

Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe are two luminous examples. Hank Williams succumbed to alcohol and drugs at the age of 29. The pressures of stardom drove Elvis Presley into the lethal arms of drugs. Johnny Cash narrowly escaped. John Belushi didn't. Neither did Janis Joplin.

Susan's behavior had been erratic up until the finals of "Britain's Got Talent," when Diversity came from behind and toppled her from the pedestal on which the YouTube viewers had placed her. All the pressure of being demoted from frontrunner to also-ran was too much for her, and she was hospitalized.

Kate Smith maintained her poise and confidence throughout her long career, letting her voice speak for itself.

Perhaps a Ted Collins will come along to escort Susan through the minefields of fame. I hope so. Her voice and talent deserve to survive.

Readers may write to Gene Owens at 315 Lakeforest Circle, Anderson SC 29625, or e-mail him at Swampscum2@aol.com