Tori Kelly

Afterwards, she was asked to take part in a youth version of the 1985 charity song "We Are the World" titled "We Are the World: The Next Generation".

Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter.

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.

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".

Despite failing to reach the top 24 on American Idol, she took a new tack in her music, learning how to play the guitar, composing original song pieces, and recording them herself on her computer.

Tori began posting her performances on YouTube, and quickly reached over 1,000,000 subscribers.

In 2007, Kelly began posting videos to YouTube, at the age of 14.

She first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube as a teenager, and made it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of American Idol in 2010.

In 2010, Tori auditioned for Season 9 of American Idol in Denver, Colorado and made it through to Hollywood Week but did not reach the "Top 24" of the artists.

She had claimed that she was 'devastated' but she had given it her all.

Thereafter, she independently released her self-produced debut EP in 2012, Handmade Songs.

On May 1, 2012, she released her first EP, titled Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly, which was released on her own label, Toraay Records.

Kelly wrote, produced, engineered, and recorded the EP by herself in her bedroom.

Shortly after its release, the EP made it to the Top 10 Pop Albums list on iTunes.

She called the EP a "warm up" to a full-length album that was to come in the future.

In 2013, after Scooter Braun became her manager, Kelly signed with Capitol Records.

Her second EP and first major-label release, Foreword (2013), followed soon after.

As of 2013, it had sold more than 14,000 copies and reached number nine on the US Heatseekers Albums chart.

In February 2013, Kelly released a single called "Fill a Heart", which she wrote for the "Child Hunger Ends Here" campaign by ConAgra Foods and Feeding America.

The song was later performed by British boy band The Wanted on Dancing With the Stars.

Starting in April 2013, Kelly performed at eight venues across continental U.S. for her "Fill a Heart" tour, helping out at the cities' food banks during the day.

She has performed in venues such as the Troubador and the Roxy in Los Angeles, the Gramercy Theater in New York and Bush Hall in London.

She has also been featured in magazines such as Teen Vogue, Elle and Glamour.

During mid-2013, Kelly's newly assigned manager Scooter Braun introduced her to the heads of Capitol Records.

She had been "very skeptical" about signing with a major record label in fear that things would not work out in her favor.

Kelly's debut studio album Unbreakable Smile (2015) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States with its lead single, "Nobody Love", marking her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Kelly was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Grammy Awards, and voiced Meena in the animated film Sing (2016), which she reprised in the 2021 sequel, Sing 2.

Her second studio album Hiding Place (2018) peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 chart and received two Grammy Awards, for Best Gospel Album and Best Gospel Performance/Song, respectively.

In 2019, Kelly released her third studio album Inspired by True Events followed by her fourth studio album in 2020, A Tori Kelly Christmas which also marked her first Christmas album.

Victoria Loren Kelly was born in Wildomar, California.

Her father, Allwyn, is of Afro-Jamaican and Puerto Rican ancestry, while her mother, Laura, is of Irish and German descent.

She has a younger brother named Noah.

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 is a Christian.

Faith plays a part in her songwriting, though she does not consider herself a part of the Christian music genre.

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.