Midlands singer's 'N17' cover makes her a New Year's star

(Above) Tolü Makay.

Midlands soul singer Tolü Makay's memorable cover of the Saw Doctors hit 'N17' for RTE's New Year's special has been a massive hit online.

The video of Tolü's performance with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, which includes clips of Irish people sending messages to their loved ones back home, has already clocked up almost 40,000 views on YouTube and over 800,000 views on Twitter.

"Performing for the RTE New Year’s Show was incredible. I had no inkling of what to expect," commented Tolü.

"Although I wasn’t performing in the same space with the concert orchestra because of restrictions, the production team and everyone involved made it such a heart-warming experience.

"I don't even have words really. Learning 'N17' by the Saw Doctors and singing the lyrics to the arrangement Gavin Murphy created really resonated with me.

"No less than about 30 minutes after the show went live, the tags on social media started going crazy. It wasn’t until the following day that I was absolutely awestruck and so shocked with the responses. And seeing that the Saw Doctors loved the rendition gladdened my heart!

"I'm beyond grateful to have been able to bring people into the new year and for it to be significant enough that it resonated with those living far from Ireland."

Comedian and broadcaster Dara Ó Briain responded to the video by tweeting, "Well this is just very beautiful. Well done to all involved," while broadcaster and author Graham Norton tweeted that it reduced him to "a sobbing mess".

Tolü, who is from Tullamore, will release her debut album later in 2021. You can enjoy her cover of 'N17' here: