Two-time Grammy Award winner Tori Kelly rose to fame when she was only a teenager. She signed her first deal with a record label at the age of 12. Being a child prodigy was a mixed blessing to her. While Kelly enjoyed success and public attention, she was also subjected to comparison and criticism like all the other musicians in the industry.
Kelly’s world was turned upside down when the first record label she worked with had a change of leadership. The new leadership did not like her style and personality. She was asked to be more outgoing and bubbly – something that she was simply not. In the end, she had to walk away from the deal.
Since then, she experienced closed-door upon closed-door every time she tried to talk to a new agent. She felt worthless and despair.
Every night, Kelly spent time writing journals to organize all her overwhelming emotions. She wrote down her many prayers with tears. Suddenly music came in her mind so that she started to write original songs that truly speak her hearts. She posted up her music online without any expectation that someone might notice her. Yet to her surprise, her YouTube channel quickly reached over 1 million subscribers.
After that, all doors seemed to open to Kelly one after another. Not only she released her first full music album, but she also made to her first Grammy Award as Best New Artist in 2015.
Kelly has once lost everything – her self-esteem, her success, and her career. But after all, she found her true self – one that is handcrafted and gifted by God. When she learned to embrace it, God poured down blessings and gave her everything that she could ever imagine.
Today Kelly no longer feels insecure. She proudly confesses to all her fans, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8 ESV) She could live without anything but Jesus.