Tori Kelly Sings Seven Songs on NPR's Tiny Desk, Opens Up About the Anxiety Behind "Bird"

Tori Kelly stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk this week for a seven-song set, and six of those tracks come from her June album,“God Must Really Love Me.”She was backed by an all-woman band, played guitar on several songs, and even broke out a toy glockenspiel. The setlist included“Hurts So Good,”“Without You,”“Fly,”“Bird,”“Control”and“Tokyo,”plus a cover of Stevie Wonder’s“Don’t You Worry‘Bout a Thing.”

The moment that hit hardest came before“Bird.”Kelly told the room she got vulnerable one day and was hit by a wave of anxiety, then channeled that feeling straight into the song. It’s the kind of honesty that makes a stripped-down performance land even harder, and it’s a reminder that the voices we admire deal with the same heavy days we do.

That Stevie Wonder cover carried a little extra meaning too. Kelly voiced Meena the elephant in the animated film“Sing,”where she sang that very song. She said it was so much fun being Meena that she wanted to do her song from the movie. If you missed the performance, it’s worth tracking down this week.

What song do you put on when your mind needs a little quiet? Let us know in the comments.