10 Powerhouse Female Vocalist Albums Tori Kelly Thinks Everyone Should Own
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The post 10 Powerhouse Female Vocalist Albums Tori Kelly Thinks Everyone Should Own appeared first on Consequence.
Crate Digging is a recurring feature that takes a deep dive into music history to turn up several albums all music fans should know. In this edition, Tori Kelly talks through some of her biggest vocal inspirations.
Tori Kelly is celebrating the release of her new album, TORI., in one of the most appropriate ways imaginable — by chatting through 10 of the albums from iconic female vocalists that shaped her own musical identity. Kelly’s voice is the sort that stops you in your tracks if you’ve never heard it before, and it’s entirely unsurprising to hear some of the artists whose runs she practiced as a young, aspiring vocalist, from Mariah Carey to Beyoncé and beyond.
There’s also a current of R&B through many of the albums she chose, and that influence can be heard throughout her discography, and especially on the new single from TORI., “thing u do.”
This project, developed in the wake of a departure from her longtime home at Capitol, offered Kelly more creative freedom than before. “I didn’t have a label or anything, and I just made all of this music with John Bellion, and what was cool was it allowed us to be really free of opinions,” she shares. “It was really cool to be able to go into the studio, create this body of work that was complete, and then take it around to different labels and say, ‘Hey, this is, this is me. Take it or leave it.'”
Take a listen to “thing u do” and read on for all 10 of Tori Kelly’s must-listen albums.
Mary Mary — Thankful
The year 2000 was such a good year for music. Even just looking at the cover art, so many memories flood in because I had the physical CD. I know every ad lib on this album front to back. My friends and I nerd out about music, and this is an album where I could not hear these songs for 10 years, and then you could play me one of the songs and I’ll know the melodies and all the ad libs. They’re ingrained in my mind, I think, because I was so young and so fascinated by all the runs and the belting and the way it made me feel.
I just love gospel music in general, so this album for me is definitely locked in.
Paramore — Riot!
This album was the soundtrack to my life and my friends’ lives at the time. I remember all of us being obsessed with it and watching the “cruscrushcrush” music video on TRL back when that was a thing — RIP.
Some of my fans know this, but my first instrument was actually the drums, and this was my main album for practicing. I would put my headphones on and be singing and playing at the same time. It was so fun. It was actually my brother’s drum kit, but he would be gone and I would sneak into his room and start playing, so there’s a lot of memories with this album — and honestly with Brand New Eyes, too. She was vocally consistent and nailed it with every song. She has a crazy range and her belt is so strong. It was fun to add her style of singing to my internal encyclopedia of techniques to pull from.
Beyoncé — 4
I knew I wanted to include Beyoncé because vocally she’s so insane. When I think of my favorite albums from her, vocally, I felt like she was pretty purposeful here. When I heard “Love On Top” I was like, “Excuse me?” It felt like she was reminding people, “I’m still killing it vocally.” It was such a fun song to practice to. I have a playlist of big, powerhouse songs, and this album has “Love On Top” and “1+1.” She’s just singing her face off. “I Care,” “Best Thing I Never Had,” “Countdown” — so many good runs and riffs everywhere.
Mariah Carey — The Emancipation of Mimi
This was another defining album for me. Mariah had been Mariah at this point, so she didn’t have anything to prove, but in my memory, this album was sort of a comeback for her. “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off” came out and they were so fun, but then I dug into the album and there’s songs on here that are so vocally challenging. I’ll still put it on and see if I can hit some of the notes. “Circles” is one of my favorite songs of hers ever.
Jazmine Sullivan — Reality Show
She’s one of my favorite singers ever. There’s a video of her from when she was 11 years old, literally a child, singing “Home” from The Wiz, and it makes me cry. She sounds like a grown woman, and she’s doing runs already, and the soul that’s coming from her as a literal child…when I watch that video, her incredible talent make sense.
She’s insanely gifted, and her choices when it comes to her runs need to be studied. She’s a lot of singer’s favorite singer. One of my favorites on this album is “Mascara.” The whole concept of the song is so cool, and she knows how to weave in and out of chord progressions in such a beautiful way.
Christina Aguilera — Stripped
I have so many memories with this album; this was another one kind of similar to the Mariah album, where I think I was more vocally influenced by the non-singles. I did a lot of singing competitions as a kid — showcases and singing at the mall and things like that — and the one off this album that I ended up singing on a TV show called America’s Most Talented Kids was “Keep on Singin’ My Song.” That song is underrated.
People already knew that she was an incredible singer, but this was a defining moment in her career, and “Keep on Singin’ My Song” was a defining moment in my career, because it got me my first record deal when I was 12 years old.
Brandy — Human
I’m realizing there’s kind of a through line here, because Mariah, Christina, and Brandy — they had nothing to prove. People already knew that Brandy was an amazing singer, but I was super inspired by her choices on this album. The acapella track, “Something’s Missing,” I studied every run. The way she stacks her vocals is like no one else. I think she really made a stamp in the music industry, and she has such a distinct sound. It’s one of those albums for me that’s super nostalgic. There’s so many gems.
Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway
It was tough to choose between Thankful and Breakaway, but I went with Breakaway because it’s just banger after banger. There’s no skips, vocally. You can tell this is the sound she wanted to do; she sounds so settled and it comes across as so authentic. I can’t speak for her, but I feel like the songs fit her so well. “Behind These Hazel Eyes” has some crazy notes in the stratosphere.
Yebba — Dawn
Yebba is one of the most exciting singers to me right now. She’s such a breath of fresh air. She’s a true artist, and she’s just lovely.
I think, vocally, she’s in a league of her own. She’s mixing together so many genres — she’s soulful, but her music has a folky edge to it, and she dips into R&B. Her runs are so perfectly placed. She’s not riffing all over; it’s pure feeling. I think if you’re a singer trying to do something like that, you should listen to this album. I’m so excited to see what she does next because I’m such a huge fan of her voice.
Lauryn Hill — The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
My dad played this in the car all the time. Absolutely no skips — this is just one of those albums. It’s hard to put into words how great of an album this is because it was such a cultural moment. She created a sound with this. I have some songs that take direct inspiration from her. I think her way of blending singing with rap so seamlessly means you don’t just see her as a rapper or just as a singer; you see her as an artist. Lyrically, too, I love the themes on this album. I think it was defining for music in general.
10 Powerhouse Female Vocalist Albums Tori Kelly Thinks Everyone Should Own
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