Tori Kelly

Victoria Loren "Tori" Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Kelly first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube at the age of 14. When she was 16, she auditioned for the singing competition television series American Idol. After being eliminated from the show, Kelly began to work on her own music. In 2012, she independently released her first EP that she produced, wrote, and mixed herself, titled Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly. The following year, Scooter Braun became her manager after seeing her videos on YouTube and introduced her to Capitol Records, with which she signed in September. Kelly\'s second EP Foreword came out in October 2013 as her first major label release. On June 23, 2015, Kelly\'s debut album, Unbreakable Smile, was released. The lead single, "Nobody Love", was released in February 2015 and became her first US Billboard Hot 100 appearance. Kelly was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Grammy Awards. She voiced a shy teenage elephant named Meena in the 2016 animated film Sing.\n', ' Kelly was born in Wildomar, California. Her father, Allwyn, is of Jamaican, Trinidadian and Puerto Rican ancestry, while her mother, Laura, is of Irish and German descent. She has a younger brother named Noah, born August 29, 1996. Growing up, she was exposed to a variety of music by her parents. "I give them a lot of credit for just playing all different genres, and no genre was off limits," she said when asked about her upbringing. Kelly appeared on the show Star Search, but lost to vocalist Tiffany Evans, who won the title of Junior Champion in the junior singer division.\n', ' In 2004, she participated on America\'s Most Talented Kids, singing Christina Aguilera\'s "Keep on Singin\' My Song" and won, beating out musician Hunter Hayes. She made a second appearance on the show in the Tournament of Champions, but lost to Antonio Pontarelli, a rock musician. At age twelve, Kelly accepted a record deal with Geffen Records, but both sides agreed to end the contract due to creative differences. In 2007, Kelly began posting videos to YouTube, at the age of 14. The first video she uploaded was a cover of John Wesley Work, Jr.\'s "Go Tell It on the Mountain", which she originally performed, back in December 2004. Kelly gained recognition for her acoustic cover, with a fellow YouTuber named Angie Girl, of Frank Ocean\'s "Thinkin Bout You".\n', '