It’s fitting that the up and coming apple of the British music industry’s eye hails from a town in the UK called Darlington. 24 year old singer/songwriter, Hayley McKay, is indeed sweet, with vocals that won her grand prize in a national competition, funding a scholarship to study at The Brighton Institute of Modern Music in 2011. But don’t underestimate her—this globetrotting chanteuse is ready to do whatever it takes to find success. After graduating from an artist development course in London with Access to Music whose former alumni includes Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran, she headed to Nashville to record an album. Returning to the UK, she opened the Toad Hall stage at Glastonbury, supported the legendary guitarist Albert Lee on his UK tour and took the stage alongside Bryan Ferry, Jamie Cullum and Seal at Cornbury Festival.

Today, Elmore is premiering the video for “Unspoken,” her debut single, which she recorded with Matthew Parisi at Cupboard Studios in Brighton, and which is currently the “Track of the Week” on the BBC radio’s “Introducing Tees” show.

“I had so much fun making the video,” Hayley shared with us, “and I think it really captures the emotion of the song. We shot it up in Northumberland in November, and although the weather looks great it was absolutely freezing – it took me a week to get warm again!”

The frigid temperatures are fitting for the tone of the song and video, which touches on the way you can feel frozen or stuck in a relationship that has gone sour and is drawing to a close. The soaring, pop melody cycles, repeating, through the song; “We were chasing a melody that refused to stay in key.” And we return, again and again, to McKay, alone in the dunes, the haunting emotion of her vocals at once gripped with pain, yet strong enough, with a slight, raspy inflection, that we know she’ll rise above.

Buy the single now on iTunes, Apple Music and the Google Play Store, and listen on Google Play Music and Spotify. Stay up to date on Hayley’s tour schedule and beyond via Twitter, Facebook and her website, and watch the video for “Unspoken” below.