Susan Boyle to be honoured at Queen Margaret University

Published on 28/06/2012 13:48

SUSAN Boyle is to be given an honorary doctorate for her contribution to the creative industries.

She will be honoured by Queen Margaret University where she studied for a certificate in caring.

The degree is for work in society at large, which the university says reflects its commitment to the communities it serves.

Brought up in Blackburn, West Lothian, where the singer still lives today, Boyle achieved international fame with her television debut in 2009 when she sang I Dreamed A Dream - from the musical Les Miserables - on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent. One YouTube clip of the performance has 21.5 million hits.

Her first album in 2009, I Dreamed A Dream, was at the time the fastest-selling debut album ever. With the release of two further albums, Boyle has since sold around 18 million albums worldwide and has 120 platinum and gold albums across 38 countries.

She has sung on TV in the UK, the US, Australia, Ireland and Japan, and performed for Pope Benedict XVI and the Queen. She sang live to half a billion people on the TV show China’s Got Talent.

Also honoured in the university ceremony on July 6 will be psychologist Professor Colwyn Trevarthen, accountant Professor Ian Percy CBE and hotelier Norman Springford.