Last year, singer Tori Kelly returned to her Christian roots with the release of her inspirational album, Hiding Place. It signaled a departure from the singer's more pop-oriented material, while also expanding her fanbase thanks to her strong pipes and collaborations with gospel music chart-toppers such as Kirk Franklin and Lecrae. After showing that she could do it all, she dips back into secular music with the release of her new single, "Change Your Mind."
On "Change Your Mind," Kelly teams up with Jimmy Napes, who is perhaps best known for co-writing Sam Smith's soaring hit "Stay With Me." The result is a sweeping, acoustic driven ballad that finds Kelly imploring her father to accept the love of her life. She pleads her case, explaining that she'd make her life's mission to change her father's mind and accept the man she loves. "You look at me like the sun / And I can see that your mind's made up / But daddy, he got a hold on me / I swear that he's the one," she professes in the song's final moments.
Though simple in its arrangement, the song allows Kelly's powerful voice to take center stage. Raw in all the right places, her voice still contains some of the gospel flourishes that got a chance to shine on Hiding Place. While it is unclear if the song was inspired by her recent wedding to her longtime boyfriend, but one thing is for sure -- Kelly delivers the song with such conviction that it would be hard to believe that she hasn't experienced this in real life.
"Change Your Mind" comes just as the singer prepares to embark on her next tour, The Acoustic Sessions, which kicks off next month in Arizona. The 26-date tour will find Kelly crisscrossing North America and making stops in cities like Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Toronto and New Orleans. Tickets for the shows are officially on sale so be sure to cop some if this young talent comes to your neck of the woods.
