WobLog

Just when news items like Paris Hilton's on-again off-again relationship with the prison system has me feeling like popular culture is an unrelieved cesspool, there comes this breath of fresh air: an unassuming Welsh cellphone salesman is taking the UK equivalent of the "American Idol" competition by storm singing classical opera. Here he is in the performance that introduced him to the world:

So far, Paul has won the semi-final round of the competition (here's his semi-final winning performance). While there's a certain amount of rooting for the underdog in this story, it's also true that people recognize that there's something beautiful, even magnificent, in a dumpy-looking, regular guy who can sing like a professional opera tenor. People are seeing truth and beauty, and they know it. Here's what a National Review Online reader had to say over at the Corner:

His expression before he begins to sing is that of a man resigned to disappointment. Even when he smiles, his eyes convey a profound sadness. He has been a nobody all his life. He, and perhaps only he, knows he has greatness inside of him, but he is obviously a humble man, massively insecure, afraid of rejection, unsure of himself outside the cocoon of anonymity. But you get the feeling he also knows that this may be the one chance he gets to escape the cocoon, and as he begins to sing, you can see him fighting down his fear. I think that is the wellspring of the emotion that pervades his performance. He is fighting against a life of obscurity. By the song’s end, what was an average Joe has stepped up, beaten back his fear, and broken through. In those few seconds, he put the void behind him, and his life will probably be changed forever because he called up the courage at that moment to show what he was really made of. We saw greatness, long denied, finally being born.

It was one of the most heroic things I’ve seen in a long time.

The finals of the competition are Sunday night, 17 June at 8:00 pm, UK time. Here's hoping Paul goes all the way!