Tori Kelly Calls VMAs An ‘Incredible Night’, Pays Tribute To Pink
Singer Tori Kelly dropped jaws and excited fans with her performance at the MTV VMAs Sunday night.
The 22-year-old Nobody Love singer performed the hit song “Should’ve Been Us,” and blew quite a few people away.
I liked a @YouTube video from @clevvertv http://t.co/VglGTlhhkx Tori Kelly “Should’ve Been Us” 2015 MTV VMA Performance
— Kayleigh (@DarkOfPurple) August 31, 2015
Kelly opened up about the overall experience to her fans and followers on social media with a simple, yet profound, tweet posted early Monday morning.
incredible night. so thankful for the opportunity to share my heart on a stage like the vmas. never gonna forget this pic.twitter.com/gMNt7O8NTh
— Tori Kelly (@ToriKelly) August 31, 2015
Tori Kelly’s rise to fame led the longtime YouTuber to the VMA stage, and she did not break under the pressure. Using her beautiful voice and impressive guitar skills, Tori opted for a more low-key stage presence in comparison to the other VMA performers.
Quite a few people that saw Tori Kelly perform at the Video Music Awards praised the rising star on Twitter — including celebrities.
But seriously tho, @ToriKelly for pres. Fav act of the night! #VMAs — Ryan Cabrera (@RyanCabrera) August 31, 2015
Omggggg @ToriKelly KILLED her performance at the VMAS. Seriously she was and is amazing
— Ava Allan (@AvaAvaAllan) August 31, 2015
tfw when you miss the #VMAs but you’re like “ill just watch @torikelly and that should cover it” — Scott Hoying (@scotthoying) August 31, 2015
Ok, gonna watch this @ToriKelly performance one more time though lol #VMAs
— Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) August 31, 2015
One celebrity in particular — singer and repeat VMAs performer Pink — also had nothing but great things to say about Tori Kelly’s performance.
However, the tribute that Tori paid in response to the longtime singer spoke volumes about how much Tori looks up to her.
@Pink this tweet makes me emotional. you’re such an inspiration to me & a role model for young women. thank you so much!! — Tori Kelly (@ToriKelly) August 31, 2015
Tori Kelly started posting YouTube videos of herself singing when she was 14-years-old. At the age of 16, she auditioned for the ninth season of the hit television singing competition, American Idol.
According to Hollywood Life, Kelly reportedly chose not to continue with the live portion of the televised competition because of its contractual obligation.
“When you get to live shows, things get pretty intense, and you have to sign a contract with Simon. Simon wasn’t really a big supporter of Tori and her voice, so she didn’t want to be bound to a written contract with the American Idol management company.”
The report further states that Tori Kelly even hesitated when it came to signing with her current manager, Scooter Braun — a man known for representing Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
However, she did eventually decide to go with Scooter Braun and eventually signed a deal with Capitol Records. Her debut album, Unbreakable Smile, was released in June.
Even though Sunday night marked Tori Kelly’s first performance on the VMA stage, she made headlines by performing “Nobody Love” at the Billboard Music Awards in May.
[Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images]
