Singer/songwriter Tori Kelly will make her Billboard Music Awards debut on May 17 (8pm, ABC). Kelly will perform her hit “Nobody Love” which is off her first studio album Unbreakable Smile. She’s come a long way from posting videos on YouTube as a teenager. As a kid Kelly appeared on Star Search, America’s Most Talented Kids, and she made it on American Idol (Season 9) but didn’t make the Top 24.
In 2013, Kelly’s new manager Scooter Braun (rep for Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen) introduced her to the top execs at Capitol Records. She said she was “very skeptical” about signing with a major record label. She was afraid of things not working out in her favor as had happened earlier in her career. “I’d been burned before. But when I met those guys, I had never felt that way: They were fans and really got me.” For Unbreakable Smile, which will be released June 23, she got to work with Pharrell Williams, Max Martin, and Ed Sheeran. You can pre-order Unbreakable Smile here.