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1. She can sing, and sing live.
Having attended the kick-off of Kelly’s first U.S. headlining tour, the Where I Belong tour, in Wallingford Connecticut, Kelly’s voice sounds just as flawless in person as it does in studio (and bedroom) recordings. Kelly has an impressive vocal range mixed with soprano and alto registers, as well as the immaculate ability to riff and run without cracking or missing a note. In a world where auto-tune and CGV (computer-generated vocals) are revered, Kelly refreshingly doesn’t need to pay any attention to those trickeries.
2. Her YouTube covers are awesome.
And dare I say, sometimes even better than the original recordings of the songs? Kelly’s rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” has reached over 14 million views, and her acoustic/beatbox cover of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin’ Bout You” with Angie Girl has reached an impressive 23 million people. Not bad for somebody who fell off the radar after not making the top 24 on season 9 of American Idol; not bad at all. Besides Kelly’s vocals, what makes these covers so intriguing and different? She’s fearless in changing melodies and vocal inflictions while still maintaining the essence of these original songs, and also…
3. She plays the guitar.
In her YouTube covers, tour performances, and even her 2015 VMA performance of her breakout song “Should’ve Been Us”, Kelly is always strumming her guitar; she doesn’t just strum a couple of chords and pretend to be a guitarist. It’s very clear in her music and performances that Kelly has a respectable amount of knowledge and love when it comes to playing her instrument, and that she’s not just strapping a guitar over her body for show. In the same world where those auto-tuned artists are showered with fame and devoted fan bases for not having much musical talent at all, Kelly is a class act.
4. She’s not gimmicky. She lets the music speak for itself.
In the title song of her debut album, Kelly sings: “Maybe they’ll let me sing songs about real things/ And baby who knows, maybe I can sell out shows without taking off my clothes/ God made me sexy, I don’t care if only I know.” Kelly doesn’t need to strip on the cover of magazines, twerk like Miley Cyrus or the like, or become some famous tabloid fixture. She is a true, down to earth artist who loves singing and writing music and allows her music to speak for itself. Kelly’s infusion of pop, acoustic, r&b, and soul will solidify her presence in the musical scene for many years to come.
5. She’s beautiful.
As superficial as this might sound, it pays to be “sexy” in the music industry. For Tori Kelly, it pays to just be you. She has a natural beauty that she doesn’t usually comment on. Whether that’s because she’s too humble and doesn’t want her looks to get in the way of her music or because doesn’t believe that she’s beautiful (I’m going with the former here), she is incredibly classy about her appearance which makes her even more beautiful. And she’s a great role model for younger girls needing an ACTUAL MUSICAL INSPIRATION to look up to. And have you seen Kelly’s impeccable hair?
6. Her lyrics are unforgivingly honest.
You can tell just by listening to Kelly’s song that she is singing about what she wants to sing about, and is playing the music that she so desperately didn’t want compromised in her earlier tries at a music career. In one of her bonus tracks “Beautiful Things”, she admits: “If you go, I think I’ll understand/ It’s not that easy holding my hand/ But you should know, that I miss you all the time/ And I wish that I could tell you that we’ll be alright/ But I can’t be where you are tonight.” In that raw chorus alone, she recognizes how her wants and his needs conflict, but she places no blame on the male figure of the song as is done in many other pop songs. In her power ballad “Art Of Letting You Go”, she describes how its difficult to let go of someone you love(d) yet still places no unnecessary or hateful blame onto someone else, instead singing: “I guess the stars never aligned for us/ Life just snuck up on us.”
Even in the pre-chorus of Unbreakable Smile’s standard edition closer “Anyway”, Kelly sings: “Well this is the only Tori that I know how to be/ I’m sorry if that don’t fit your reality/ I’m giving one hundred percent of me, so take it all or leave/ Whether you’re in or out, this is what I’m about.” Here’s hoping Kelly sticks to this mantra, because this is the only Tori the world needs.
RECOMMENDED SONGS (from Unbreakable Smile):
- Where I Belong
- Unbreakable Smile
- Expensive
- Should've Been Us
- First Heartbreak
- City Dove
- Talk
- Funny (live)
- Anyway
