Tori Kelly may be one of the biggest new names in pop music, with hit singles ("Should've Been Us," "Nobody Love") under her belt and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, but things weren't always so easy for the 23-year-old star. On the cover of the February issue of Seventeen magazine, the "Hollow" singer opened up about her early career rejection, including a failed run on American Idol and managers thinking she was too "vanilla."
Kelly first tried to make her mark on the music industry during season 9 of American Idol, when she auditioned in front of the infamous Simon Cowell. He called her voice "almost annoying" and dismissed her from the show (which would eventually be won by Lee DeWyze), but that didn't stop a young Kelly.
"Deep down, I knew I was good, and I knew I could do it," she said. "I needed to get knocked down and to build up a thick skin. Who knows what I would have been singing about otherwise? You have to go through things in order to inspire others with your story."
Five years after her Idol rejection, Kelly still struggled to make it in the music industry. Before penning her personal album Unbreakable Smile, she battled managers who thought she wasn't quite seasoned or emotional enough to make genuine music. She took that and turned it into her breakout record.
"I remembered record-label guys telling me I was really reserved when I was younger. Like, 'Wake up, you should be bubbly and happy!' And I was thinking, But this is my personality; I'm just chilling," Kelly said. "So I went right back to being that little girl who was just so freaked out. I acted as if I didn't care, but I went home that night and just poured all the feelings that I was holding back into my music. That's how Unbreakable Smile came to be."
