''Tori'' (stylized as ''TORI.'') is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American singer and songwriter

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition on YouTube before making it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' in 2010 and eventually releasing her debu ...

. It was released on April 5, 2024, through

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

and Beautiful Mind Records. ''Tori'' follows ''

A Tori Kelly Christmas ''A Tori Kelly Christmas'' is the first Christmas album and the fourth studio album, by American singer Tori Kelly. It was released on October 30, 2020, through Schoolboy and Capitol Records. It is Kelly's first Christmas album, and was executiv ...

'' (2020). The album features guest vocal performances from

Ayra Starr Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe (born 14 June 2002), known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born in Benin Republic. She achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her hit song "Ru ...

Kim Chae-won Kim Chaewon (; born August 1, 2000) is a South Korean singer. She is the leader of South Korean girl group Le Sserafim and a former member of the girl group Iz*One, having finished tenth in the reality competition series ''Produce 48'' in 2018 ...

, and

Jon Bellion Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his 2016 single "All Time Low," which peaked at ...

Background

In March 2023, it was announced that Kelly had signed a recording contract with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. She began releasing tracks from her upcoming fifth album (including the singles " Missin U", "Cut", and "Young Gun") before compiling them on an extended play of the same title, '' Tori'' (2023). In the fall of 2023, she embarked on the Take Control Tour in support of the EP. Kelly felt she had finished work on the album in early 2023 after several sessions with singer-songwriter

. However, she was inspired to write the lead single "High Water", after suffering a health emergency due to

blood clots A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulati ...

in her legs and lungs that July. The track was released on February 9, 2024. She embarked on the Purple Skies Tour in support of the album, with the first leg starting on April 12, 2024, in Ventura and concluding on May 3, 2024, in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. She started the second part of the tour on August 17, 2024 in

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

and concluded on December 9, 2024 in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Genres and composition

''Tori.'' is an R&B and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

album which heavily borrows from

Y2K Y2K may refer to: * Y2K problem, a computer issue related to the year 2000 * Year 2K, the year 2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular cultu ...

-inspired sounds. It features powerful vocals and upbeat production as a result of Kelly being in a "happy place" during the record's conception. She cited

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

, and

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

as influences.

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer *All tracks are stylized in all lowercase letters. Sample credits * "Missin U" contains samples of "

Fill Me In "Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'' (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 9 April 20 ...

", written by

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

and Mark Hill, performed by David.

Personnel

Musicians *

– lead vocals, background vocals * Jason Cornet –

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, synthesizer (tracks 1–6, 9, 11–15); guitar (1–5, 7, 11–13, 15), bass (1, 5, 11, 15), background vocals (1, 2, 13, 14), drums (3, 11, 15) *

– background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–7, 9, 13), programming (1, 2, 4–6, 9, 12–14) *

Clyde Lawrence Lawrence is a US-based pop-soul group founded by Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, a sibling duo who grew up in New York City. They have been singing, performing, and writing songs together since early childhood. Today, Lawrence is an eight-piece ban ...

– background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 12, 14), synthesizer (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12–14), guitar (13), bass (1) *

Jordan Cohen Jordan Cohen (; born July 31, 1997) is an American basketball player for Maccabi Ramat Gan in the Israel Basketball Premier League, who plays the point guard position. Early life Cohen was born in Tarzana, California, and is Jewish. He is 6" 2 ...

– programming, synthesizer (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 9, 12–14); background vocals (1, 2),

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

(1), saxophone (5) * Jonny Koh – programming (track 1), guitar (5, 12, 13), synthesizer (5, 12) *

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

– background vocals (track 1) * Jon Lampley – horns (track 1) * Johnny Simpson – background vocals (track 2) *

– background vocals (track 4) *

Mateus Asato Mateus Asato (December 29, 1994) is a guitarist from Campo Grande, Brazil. He rose to fame by posting videos of himself playing guitar on Instagram, and has since amassed over one million followers. He has toured with several pop stars as a guit ...

– guitar (tracks 6, 7) * Laura Metcalf –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(track 8) * The Resonance Collective – strings (track 8) * Tomoko Akaboshi – violin (track 8) * Grace Youn – violin (track 1) * Jeanine Cornet – trumpet (track 9) Technical *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing * TenRoc –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(tracks 1–9, 11–15) * Jordan Cohen – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12–14) * Jonny Koh – engineering (tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 12), engineering assistance (2, 4, 6, 9, 13, 14) * John Arbuckle – engineering (tracks 1, 7, 10, 13) * Peter Enriquez – engineering (track 8) * Bryce Bordone – engineering (tracks 10, 11, 15), engineering assistance (2, 4, 6, 9, 12–14)

References

{{authority control 2024 albums Tori Kelly albums Albums produced by Jon Bellion Epic Records albums