Tori Kelly Talks ‘American Idol’, Simon Cowell & Her Friendship with Ed Sheeran in Seventeen Magazine!

Tori covers the February issue of Seventeen magazine, and talked about a host of different topics!

Did you know, that Tori Kelly once auditioned to be on American Idol when she was just 16 years old, and was told by then judge Simon Cowell that her voice was “almost annoying”.

She said, “Deep down, I knew I was good, and I knew I could do it. I needed to get knocked down and to build up a thick skin. Who knows what I would have been singing about otherwise? You have to go through things in order to inspire others with your story.”

On being labelled vanilla: “[My manager] told me, ‘People are saying you are vanilla and that you have nothing to say. I was like, Whoa. I remembered record-label guys telling me I was really reserved when I was younger. Like, ‘Wake up, you should be bubbly and happy!’ 

“And I was thinking, But this is my personality; I’m just chilling. So I went right back to being that little girl who was just so freaked out. I acted as if I didn’t care, but I went home that night and just poured all the feelings that I was holding back into my music. That’s how ‘Unbreakable Smile’ came to be.”

On rumours of sparks between her and Ed Sheeran: “I knew that was coming, but no. Working with him was a really cool experience because I was a fan and I didn’t know how it would go, but right away he made it super-chill. Ever since then, he’s been someone I consider a friend and even a mentor.”

Check out Tori’s full interview with Seventeen HERE.

Aso, watch her cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ below!