15 Reasons Why Tori Kelly Is Everything

Does it get any better than Tori Kelly?! Born Victoria Loren Kelly in 1992, the blonde and bubbly singer has been trying to carve her mark in the industry since she was a child. In recent years, Tori has risen to international recognition, and we're loving it! After a long, determined struggle, the world is finally getting the opportunity to get a taste of Tori's undeniable talent, her unique style, the positive message behind her music, and her bubbly, infectious personality. Tori's journey from anonymity to idol has a lot to teach us about never giving up, always sticking up for what you believe in, and letting your talent speak for itself. Her songs are on repeat for both their catchiness and their meaning, and to be totally honest, we could probably find a million reasons why we're in love with Tori Kelly. But we've had to narrow it down to just 15!

15 Her Love Songs Are Epic

We love us a good love song, and one of our favorite things about Tori Kelly is that she knows how to deliver the melodic goods! A lot of Tori's songs are inspired by love, and the messages contained within are usually unique or told in a fresh way. In other words, when you listen to Tori, you don't feel like you're listening to the same thing you've been hearing on the radio since 2007! In particular, we love the song "'I Was Made For Loving You" which features Ed Sheeran and is super-chilled and catchy at the same time. Other Tori songs that we're feeling include "Nobody Love" which is about having that irreplaceable person and "First Heartbreak" which is a perfect illustration of the vulnerability you go through when you really love someone. These songs are so beautiful and honest, and we may or may not be considering them for first-dance wedding songs…

14 She Has A Huge Heart

We kind of had a feeling that Tori was born with a huge heart when we first listened to all her passion-filled music, but it turns out that she has more love to give than just the romantic kind. She's supported a number of charities over the years, including ConAgra Foods and Feeding America, and in February 2013, Tori released a single she'd written specifically for the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. The song is called "Fill a Heart" and the lyrics are totally inspiring: “No one should be left alone in the dark, with love, fill a broken heart, I know we can make the world better, if we come together.” In 2016, Tori released another original song called "Blink of an Eye" which she dedicated to her friend Christina Grimmie. Christina was killed one month prior during a meet and greet at The Plaza Live in Orlando, and Tori honored her memory.

13 She's Self-Sufficient

When you hear that some artists have more than ten songwriters working on their music, not to mention endless producers and other helpers, you might find yourself second-guessing their artistic integrity. Tori, on the other hand, has proven she's totally self-sufficient and is rising to the top using nothing but her talent, a strong work ethic, and the ability to learn new skills. Tori developed her EP, Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly, 100% independently. As in, she wrote all the songs, recorded them, produced them, and mixed them alone from her bedroom. Not only does that speak volumes about the girl's talent, but it also shows her determination and the effort she is willing to go to for her dreams. It would have been easier to use a professional studio, but she didn't have that option, so she made do with what she had! That EP went on to sell more than 14,000 copies by 2013.

12 She's More Than Just A Singer

Tori's claim to fame may be her smooth vocals, but it turns out she has other talents too (not including writing, producing or engineering, by the way!) Tori starred in the 2016 film Sing as Meena, a teenage elephant who struggles with stage fright. This causes some issues for her as she tries to audition for a talent competition! "I had never done anything like this before," Tori told the press. "I had always wanted to be in an animated film and be the voice of some awesome character but I never expected it to be this perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better role to play because I relate to her so much." Of course Tori sings in the movie, but we know now that she can bring a character to life using only her voice. Who knows, maybe some more acting projects will pop up for her in the future. We can't wait to see what happens!

11 She's Been In The Game For A Long Time

We reserve a little extra respect for anybody who's been working hard at something for a long time, and Tori definitely fits into that category when it comes to trying to crack the industry. She's been singing since she was three, learned to play the drums when she was twelve, and the piano and guitar only three years later. While her Unbreakable Smile album is only a relatively recent release, Tori actually landed her first record deal when she was just twelve. Her manager Scooter Braun-who also helped launch the likes of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to fame-got her signed up with Capitol Records before she was even done with middle school, but the deal then fell through. She's also done a few reality TV shows, including American Idol, Star Search, and America's Most Talented Kids, so really she's been working for over ten years and she's only 24 years old!

10 Her Curly Hair Is Adorable

This reason might not seem as valid as the others, but we can't help it! Tori is one of those artists who can actually pull off wearing the same kind of hairstyle all the time because it suits her so much. Having said that, she has worn some sophisticated up-styles to award shows in the past, which also look amazing on her. In short, she's one of those people who looks good in everything #sigh. We don't think the classic Hollywood waves are any match for her natural curls though, so we were intrigued when Tori shed some light on her post-shower hair routine. She has said about her hair, “I use this brand called Ouidad, they're great. Not Your Mother's is another one. Garnier Fructis. I use a bunch of stuff. Literally, I just throw a huge concoction of stuff in my hair after I get out of the shower and then I diffuse it.”

9 She's A Cover Queen

We've established that Tori has some amazing songs out that are completely original, but she's also well-known for releasing her own versions of other artists' songs. When televised singing competitions and Hollywood record deals weren't getting her the results she wanted, Tori turned to YouTube at the age of fourteen. She covered some pretty big songs and showed off her vocal chops to the world. One of our favorites that we would recommend checking out is her version of "Thinking About You" by Frank Ocean. Prepare to experience some chills! Her personal account currently has more than 1 million subscribers, and even though she's moved on to the point of releasing her own music and having it reach a global audience, she still does a cover every now and then. She might get the opportunity to perform the covers on the radio now, but she's still down for honoring other artists!

8 Sam Smith Loves Her

Tori's fan base is continuously growing, and it isn't just made up of regular people. Hollywood is starting to catch on, and there are a few big names who label themselves as Tori Kelly fans! The biggest would have to be Sam Smith, for whom Tori opened on tour. Apparently Sam is especially fond of Tori's 'Paper Hearts' which made him cry. Now, our hat goes off to anybody who can make Sam Smith cry! “I thought it was so sweet every time he would say thank you on stage because you don't have to do that, you don't have to thank your opener in front of everyone,” Tori said, when asked about her interactions with Sam. Justin Bieber is also reportedly a fan of Tori Kelly and incredibly moved by her music, as is John Legend who tweeted, “Tori Kelly with the vocal performance of the night,” after the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.

7 She Supports Other Artists

We're guessing that the stars who love Tori can see that she is genuinely talented, but one of the reasons that she has so much support might just be because she's more than willing to give it to other people. We've already mentioned that she constantly pays her respects to other artists by covering their work, and she's even helped other YouTube stars by collaborating with them on covers. She also is one for tweeting her support of the projects other artists are doing and only has lovely things to say when asked about her fellow celebs. If you ask us, attitude is definitely a huge part of success, and making the effort to be there for other artists is a good way of ensuring that you get the same treatment back. We have a feeling that Tori is just a genuinely nice gal though, and probably supports people because it comes naturally to her!

6 The Song "Dear No One"

A few of Tori's songs are so good they require their own freaking paragraph! 'Dear No One' is a bonus track off Unbreakable Smile, and has honestly become one of our top favorite songs of all time. You might say that the song is the ultimate single girl anthem, as it deals with not chasing a lover just for the sake of being in a relationship. Every second song you hear is about love, but few of them talk about how it's okay if you haven't found it, and how being independent is actually a preferred life choice for some people. At the same time though, this song isn't tearing down relationships and saying that being single is the better choice-it's just about letting life flow and trusting that things will work out. “No need to be searching,” she sings, “Dear no one, this is your love song.” And we just got shivers!

5 She Got Rejected

Since it took Tori such a long time to finally get the recognition that she deserves, you might have guessed that she's dealt with a little rejection. Even though she did well on the singing competitions she competed in, none of them really launched her to superstar status. She faced a harsh slab of criticism when she did American Idol, and to make matters worse, it came from somebody who seemingly always knows what he's talking about! Simon Cowell told Tori that her voice was “almost annoying”, and she didn't make it through to the top 24 of her season. Having regular people reject you is one thing, but when a music industry expert who judges people all day long decides that your voice is annoying, it would take a lot of confidence to keep going. Tori is all about the self-trust though, brushed his comments aside, and went on to do her thing!

4 She Loves Food

The fact that Tori Kelly is a closeted foodie makes us love her even more! “I geek out over food,” she told E! News at the Elle's Women in Music Event. She even gushed about the goodies that were on offer at Taylor Swift's Billboard Awards after-party. Apparently there was sushi and mini burgers, which totally tickled Tori's fancy. Anybody who goes to an after-party hosted by Taylor Swift and is more impressed by the finger food than anything else can absolutely be a friend of ours! Tori watches what she eats to stay healthy, but you can bet she indulges in cheat days. She has said, “You should see me on my cheat days. It's kind of insane… In every event, it's food. It's become kind of like an event now, I just go nuts. It's exciting, and then I get sick, and then only want to eat plants for the rest of my life." Same, girl. Same.

3 She's Humble

The sassy persona might work for some stars, but we generally find that celebs are so much easier to adore when they're humble and comfortable with being human! Tori has come a long way and has lots to be proud of, but you won't catch her snubbing off her fans, being rude to wait staff and assistants or acting like a brat on set. Through it all, Tori has been able to maintain the same sweetness she started off with. A lot of famous people might pretend to be humble, but it's the kind of thing that is very difficult to fake. We can tell that Tori is genuinely a decent person from the little things! It's the way she gets over-excited when she gets a chance to meet fans or the way she honors the anniversary of her album release because she still can't believe it actually happened. Bless this girl!

2 The Song "Unbreakable Smile"

The other Tori Kelly song that is a reason in itself to fall in love with her is 'Unbreakable Smile', the title single off her 2015 album. This song has a ton of positive messages that quite frankly makes the world a better place! It's basically Tori saying that she knows exactly who she is and what her values are. Just about every lyric in the song is genius, but these are our favorite ones: “But I'd rather make 'em yawn than be a pawn on your chessboard, so call me boring, call me cookie cutter, call me what you want, a matter of fact, just say it loud and don't st-stutter.” These are the kind of inspiring lyrics that we and the rest of the world needs! There's also these: “… maybe I can sell out shows without taking off my clothes, God made me sexy, I don't care if only I know.” Somebody get this girl a Grammy ASAP!

1 She's Super Talented

If we could say nothing else about Tori Kelly, we would simply say that we love her because her talent is out of this world. When you look at the lyrics she comes up with (usually by herself, by the way), the melodies she pens, the caramel-like voice she uses to hit every note and her undeniable stage presence, it's clear that Tori was put on this earth to do this job! She's definitely put in a lot of work to be where she is today, but the essence of her is a natural gift that others wouldn't be able to replicate, no matter how hard they tried. When you throw in her acting talents, her ability to learn new skills and adapt to her surroundings, her unshakeable persistence, and her kind heart, Tori almost seems more like a superwoman than a human. We can't wait to see how she surprises us in the future!