If you are not yet privy to the talent of Tori Kelly, the year 2016 is sure to be a major turning point for the songstress. The 23-year old California native received a Best New Artist nomination at this year’s Grammys (which she later lost to Meghan Trainor), and was one of the many talents in the building for the 10th annual Roots Jam Sessions. She performed mid-way through the evening of Night One of the sessions with a selection of originals and covers and wow, did she deliver.
Rocking her trademark golden tresses and casually dressed in a black tee & jeans, topped with a stonewashed denim jacket, the YouTube star turned household-name-in-the making blessed the crowd with a velvety cover of Michael Jackson’s “Butterflies” (or as many Okayplayers like to think of it, Marsha Ambrosius‘ “Butterflies.”) No stranger to a unique vocal cover–like this Frank Ocean cover and this Justin Timberlake cover–Kelly brought new life to the Ambrosias-Penned track, backed by the legendary Roots crew, of course.
Witnessing here live, you can’t deny there’s such a special quality in Kelly’s voice that brings comfort and a smile to your face almost instantaneously. She sang her heart out, and filled the room with pure unadulterated joy. Watch Tori Kelly get you in your feels with her interpretation of “Butterflies” below, and stay tuned as we have more videos to come with performances by Lenny Kravitz and more!
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