A NEW discovery: it is amazing how much a hat can distract you from what you are meant to be listening to.

Up-and-coming singer/songwriter Kate McGill - who has more than 24 million (yes, you read that right) views on YouTube - performed at Cafe Nero in Birmingham on the weekend and, while acknowledging her beautiful voice, the overriding thought was certainly “why the hat?”.

It was, after all, the hottest start to October since Queen Victoria was on the throne and yet, there she was, wearing a hat which would not have been out of place in the middle of a Russian winter.

My friends and I spent the first few songs discussing said hat - “is she not boiling?”, “she can’t take it off now, surely the ring of sweat will have messed up her hair?” and “are we just getting too old to understand ‘cool’?” - before regaining our composure and focusing on the music.

And we are glad we did: McGill can certainly sing. A bit like Ellie Goulding, but softer round the edges.

The 21-year-old is talented - her cover of Ed Sheeran’s A Team was just lovely - but needs to learn to speak up in between the songs to get a bit more of a repore with the audience.

Her debut single Replaced should, if there is any justice, do well. It’s done the rounds of the WN office and got rave reviews from the girls (it is most definitely a “girl’s song”). It was equally beautiful when performed live.

Will she be the Next Big Thing? I’m not sure - but her YouTube channel is certainly worth a look.

- Watched “Replaced” here: http://www.youtube.com/user/katem3