On the cusp of celebrating the ten-year anniversary of her debut album, 'Unbreakable Smile,' Tori Kelly is reflecting on the musicians who have impacted her music with their talent and ability to riff like no other.

Kelly joined JD from The Morning Mess on Audacy’s Live 101.5 to reveal who would be on her "Mt Rushmore of Riffers" and the results are intriguing.

“I think Mariah [Carey] is up there because… her choices are just so great…she’s obviously paved the way for so many people,” Tori says before throwing what some might call a curveball.

“This one may be a curveball… I was obsessed with Jay Moss growing up, who is a gospel singer. I studied his runs. There’s a specific album that I just know front to back,” she shared before rounding out the final two spots with Jasmine Sullivan and YEBBA.

After acknowledging those who have inspired riffing, she highlighted the impact she’s felt from the late Quincy Jones who recently died at the age of 91.

“I saw another amazing producer, Harvey Mason Jr. posted about it,” she said of finding out the news. ”Obviously, such a legend, I immediately thought of my cover of “P.Y.T. [Pretty Young Thing]”… it’s crazy to think of just how insanely talented he was,” she shared. “I think whenever I cover that song now, I’ll be even more in awe of him because I’ll be really dissecting the chords and everything and thinking about how brilliant he was. Definitely sad to lose such a legend.”

Back to her own musical footprint, Kelly shared she “might have some plans,” to celebrate the 10th anniversary of 'Unbreakable Smile,' calling the album her “made it moment.”

“I might have some ideas up my sleeve,” she revealed. “I would love to celebrate it in some way because that album was so important for my career.”

While we’ll have to wait until 2025 to hear exactly what those plans are - fans can take a listen to Tori Kelly’s full interview with Live 101.5’s Morning Mess for a lot more on Tori including what type of dog mom she is, her emotional support water bottle, comfort shows, how long it takes her to write songs and so much more. Check it out above.

Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by The Morning Mess

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