Tori Kelly has made quite a splash recently, beginning with her memorable MTV VMA performance in August, plus picking up a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
In her debut studio album, Unbreakable Smile, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter shows off some powerful vocal chops, most notably in Funny, which mind you, is a live recording.
Kelly desperately urges listeners to stay true to themselves, especially those who aspire to enter the cut-throat entertainment industry. Be sure to stay till the end where she effortlessly delivers spine-tingling runs and hair-raising big notes.
But vocal acrobatics aside, the 14-track album is still missing that one defining song that will catapult her career internationally. There are solid attempts such as Should’ve Been Us, First Heartbreak, Expensive and Anyway but they don’t stand out enough.
Its strongest track is lead single Nobody Love which has an infectious pre-chorus that sounds oh-so-promising at first but doesn’t quite take off when it reaches the chorus.
Regardless, with a voice like that, Kelly will be sticking around for a while. And when she’s back the next time round, she’ll be wearing an ... unbreakable smile.
TORI KELLY
Unbreakable
Universal Music
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