Since she first raised her arms in what now seems like a blessing on the talent show "Britain's Got Talent," revealing herself as the new queen of pop's Island of Misfit Toys, Susan Boyle has come to mean several things to her fans: hope, the triumph of the ordinary, the reality-television embodiment of the Euro-American Dream. As a singer, though, she offers something else: relief.

Boyle's clear but warm tone and stolid phrasing turns everything it touches into a more songful version of New Age music. It's relaxing to listen to those drawn-out syllables, gradually building toward a gentle, wavelike climax. Boyle possesses neither an impulse to swing nor an ounce of the blues; whether she's covering the Monkees, the Rolling Stones or Madonna, Boyle sings like she's in a place of worship, surrounded by white walls and soft light, cooking up some chicken soup for the soul.

Her unearthly calm and gently piercing timbre are her best qualities. It's what makes her version of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" so touching. Instead of Mick Jagger's moaning, slightly derisive take on heartache, hers is truly resigned, the sound of someone who really understands and accepts life's limitations.

Veteran R&B singer Macy Gray is scheduled to receive some career advice from UCLA students for her upcoming album. Doors manager Jeffrey Jampol tells Pop & Hiss that the singer will appear as a guest performer/lecturer on the first day of his UCLA Extension course on the music biz this spring.

"Macy Gray is getting on the cutting edge of where music is going," Jampol says. "She just made a new record that she financed herself. She owns it, and she’s going to market it independently. She’s coming into the class the first week, and she’ll perform and play the new record. Then, as part of their final, the students are going to help write a marketing plan as to how to break this record."

Jampol has been teaching his course, the Music Business Now: How It Really Works and the People and Events That Influence It, for more than a decade, and it is open to UCLA students and nonstudents. The upcoming session launches on April 1 and meets for 12 weeks. Past courses have seen students design a music segment for entertainment newsmagazine series "Extra," as well as help create a marketing plan for A Fine Frenzy. The cost to simulate some real-life work experience: $595.

But Gray is just one of the big-name guests slated to appear in the class,  A host of heavy hitters -- many of whom don't return our phone calls -- will also guest in Jampol's course. They include Island Def Jam President Steve Bartels, CAA managing partner Rob Light, Electronic Arts' worldwide head of music Steve Schnur, MySpace Music President Courtney Holt, No Doubt manager Jim Guerinot, the Firm Chief Executive Jeff Kwatinetz, Live Nation Chief Executive and President Michael Rapino and Ticketmaster Entertainment Chief Executive Irving Azoff, among many others.