Singer-songwriter Emeli Sande has been included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to music.
The 30-year-old Next To Me musician from Alford will be made an MBE.
Sande was born in Sunderland to Zambian father Joel Sande and English mother Diane Sande on March 10 1987, but moved to the north-east when she was four.
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Her rise to fame began when she featured on track Diamond Rings, by rapper Chipmunk, in 2009.
She went on to release solo singles Heaven and Read All About It, for which she gained her first number one, in 2011.
The musician was named as the Brit Awards Critics’ Choice for 2012.
Sande then found huge success with her debut album Our Version Of Events in 2012, which spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at number one and was the best-selling album of 2012.
When the 2012 Olympics kicked off in London, Sande sang Abide With Me at the opening ceremony.
She sang Read All About It (Part III) at the closing ceremony, while footage from the Games was shown.
Her song Next To Me won two Ivor Novello Awards for best song musically and lyrically and PRS for music most performed work in 2013.
The performer has also carried out charitable work to help those suffering from cancer and HIV/Aids, as well as being part of the 2014 Do They Know It’s Christmas recording to raise funds for the Ebola crisis in west Africa.
