Meet Tori Kelly - the YouTube artist who stole the show at MTV's Video Music Awards
Meet Tori Kelly, the YouTuber who is taking the music world by storm.
On August 30, Kelly rocked the VMAs with her powerful performance of "Should've Been Us."
"I wanted to focus on the simplicity of the music and strip it back," she told MTV of her performance. The 22-year-old singer wasn't nominated for any awards, but she still stole the show, at least according to many Twitter users.
Earlier this summer, Kelly released her debut album "Unbreakable Smile," including her hit song "Nobody Love," which ranked at Number 16 on the Billboard Pop chart.
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Music has always been an important part of Kelly's life. Raised in California, she comes quite the musical family. Her mother plays the saxophone and the piano and her father sings and plays bass.
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She's been singing since she was 3.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/457046228245565441
#tbt - kindergarten. (and i know, my hair didn't get curly until like 6th grade. lol.) pic.twitter.com/AJzgPS7JIj
But before she was topping the charts, Kelly struggled for over a decade to launch her music career.
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In 2004, Kelly scored a record deal after appearing on "America's Most Talented Kid," but never released an album.
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Check out one of her performances from the show. At just 11, Kelly showed incredible talent and vocal control.
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Kelly also auditioned for American Idol in 2010 when she was just 16. Notorious judge Simon Cowell called her voice "almost annoying." She never made it through the live shows — some speculate she didn't want to sign the strict American Idol contract.
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So Kelly turned to social media. "I started writing music when I was 15 in my bedroom, and I'd post [it] on MySpace and from there it shifted to doing covers on YouTube."
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It seemed to work out well for her — she has 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube who tune in to hear her sing.
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Her channel features a mix of original songs and covers of popular tunes. This cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" went viral in 2012 and put Kelly on the map.
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Also in 2012, Kelly released her first EP "Handmade Songs," which she "self-penned, produced, mixed and released."
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That helped to open the door for collaboration opportunities with other YouTubers, including a recent video with YouTube star Miranda Sings covering Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood."
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She says her soulful style was influenced by artists like Jeff Buckley, Lauryn Hill, and Jill Scott.
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Kelly's career began to really take off in 2013, when she started working with Scooter Braun, the talent manager who also also discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube.
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That year Kelly released her second EP, "Foreward," with Capitol Records.
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Kelly stayed on the rise. That year, she toured the UK with "Stay With Me" singer Sam Smith, who was also breaking into the scene with his debut album.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/519551101251497984
SO HAPPY to announce that the amazing @ToriKelly will join me on my UK tour this month!! Can’t wait to see you all xx pic.twitter.com/y1TQT3y2NF
Her single, "Nobody Love," was released in February 2015. Produced by Max Martin, known for his work with artists like P!nk and Taylor Swift, the track helped solidify Kelly's status as a top new artist.
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The single pushed her in the right direction — she was nominated for the "Best New Artist" award at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
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In May, Kelly was named the "One to Watch" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. She wowed the audience with a rendition of "Nobody Love."
In June, the singer released her latest album, "Unbreakable Smile" to great reviews.
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It's already being labeled a contender for the 2016 Grammy awards.
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It hasn't been an overnight type of thing. It's been a very gradual and organic process, just my whole career until now," Kelly told Elle of her newfound fame. "So I'm going to continue taking it one day at a time and just try to enjoy all the little moments.
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