Music Review and Giveaway of Tori Kelly's "Hiding Place" CD

Dear Blog Readers,

Today, I’m reviewing Tori Kelly’s new CD “Hiding Place” for FlyBy Promotions. You’re in for a treat because they’re offering one copy of Tori’s CD to one lucky winner!

Here is Tori’s story about the making of this album, courtesy of FlyBy Promotions: 

While working on the follow-up to her debut album Unbreakable Smile—a 2015 release that premiered at #2 on the Billboard 200—Tori Kelly felt compelled to include a track that honored her lifelong passion for gospel music. With the help of her manager, Scooter Braun, the L.A.-based singer/songwriter soon connected with Kirk Franklin, a 12-time Grammy Award-winning gospel artist and one of Kelly’s musical idols. “I flew to Dallas and Kirk showed me a few songs he’d written, and I fell in love with all of them,” says Kelly, a 2016 Grammy Award nominee for Best New Artist. “Next thing you know, one song turned into us doing a whole album together. It just took on a life of its own.”

With its R&B-infused, deeply melodic take on classic gospel, Hiding Place offers up what Franklin refers to as “hope-pop”—a classification that fully resonates with Kelly. “One of the things I want for this album is for people to feel uplifted and encouraged when they listen,” she says. “I want them to know that, no matter what they’re going through, there’s a God who loves them so much and so unconditionally, and there’s always a reason to feel hope. That’s what I really believe in, and I want everyone out there to hear my heart.”

As Kelly explains, the title to Hiding Place draws inspiration from a line in one of her favorite psalms (“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with songs of deliverance”). “That always stuck with me: this idea of God being a place of safety, a place where you can hide from all the crazy things that this world can throw at us,” she notes.

Produced by Franklin, Hiding Place unfolds with a lush yet simply adorned sound beautifully suited to Kelly’s incomparable voice. “I’ve worked with Mary J. Blige, Bono, Yolanda Adams, and I’ve never seen anyone that’s a monster behind the microphone like Tori Kelly,” says Franklin. “She’d nail one song in three takes, and all those takes were amazing. It set the bar higher for my whole career.”

While half of the songs on Hiding Place were penned solely by Franklin, the remaining tracks came from a collaboration between him and Kelly—the first time that Franklin’s ever co-written in a decades-long career that’s seen his songs performed by legends like Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston. (“It blew me away that she wanted us to co-write, because she’s a phenomenal songwriter and could’ve easily done it herself,” Franklin says.) And at Franklin’s urging, Hiding Place was mostly recorded at his studio just outside Dallas. “The most important thing to me was that if Tori wanted to do a gospel album—a real, authentic, heart-throbbing gospel album—she’d have to come to the South,” he says. “Then she showed up at my studio with no entourage, no handlers—just Tori and her guitar, standing at my front door.”

With its sonic palette gracefully rooted in live instrumentation, Hiding Place first reveals its unbridled spirit on the album-opening “Masterpiece” (featuring Houston-bred hip-hop artist Lecrae)—a joyfully uptempo track that instantly sweeps the listener into a more radiant state of mind. From there, Kelly delivers her slow-burning lead single “Help Us to Love,” whose breathtaking harmonies feature the famed HamilTones (official background vocalists for Grammy Award-winner Anthony Hamilton). Proving her versatility as an artist and musician, Hiding Place then shifts seamlessly from the silky groove and playful scat singing of “Sunday” to the sweetly ethereal soul of “Just As Sure” (a duet with chart-topping gospel star Jonathan McReynolds) to the quiet intensity of “Psalm 42.” “So many of the songs on this album are so intricate, I wanted a song that I could play completely stripped-down, just me and my guitar,” says Kelly of the tender piano ballad.

One of the most profound moments on Hiding Place, the hushed yet urgent ballad “Questions” finds Kelly tearfully examining the current state of the world (sample lyric: “What happens when the healing never comes?”). “It’s about trying to make sense of all the dark and heavy things that keep happening, sort of crying out to God and asking, ‘What’s going on? I don’t like what I see down here,’” says Kelly. Then, on the subtly determined “Never Alone,” Kelly recollects her own struggles (“I’ve cried many rivers/I’ve walked through some pain/Seen my world crumble”) and ultimately re-discovers comfort and peace through her faith.

On “Soul’s Anthem,” Kelly closes out Hiding Place with an a cappella, full-choir-driven rendition of the beloved hymn “It Is Well.” Perhaps the most powerfully captivating track on the album, “Soul’s Anthem” also gave way to what Kelly considers a landmark moment in her musical career. “Before we started, Kirk said to me, ‘Don’t look at me or the choir, just look down and get into your own world,’” says Kelly, who recorded “Soul’s Anthem” at the iconic Capitol Studios. “So I sang it all the way through, and at one point there’s a part where the choir takes over. I looked up and saw all these incredible singers, and it finally hit me that this was really happening. You can’t hear it on the recording, but I’m crying at the end of the song.”

Looking back on the making of Hiding Place, Kelly still marvels at the experience. “I always thought I would do something like this, but I thought it would be much further down the line,” she says. “It’s been in my heart for some time, but the timing didn’t feel right until now. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to work with someone like Kirk just yet, and that people would be so excited and accepting.” And though the album marks a stylistic departure from her work in the pop world, a commitment to uncompromising artistry carries through all of Kelly’s music. “No matter what genre you’re working in, there should be a level of excellence, and Tori definitely brought that excellence to this album,” says Franklin. “A lot of artists out there will rely on Auto-Tune or studio tricks, but there’s no button you can push for emotion, and there’s no button for skill. Tori is excellent in everything she does, because she’s a real, pure artist.”

As she gets ready to share Hiding Place with the world, Kelly hopes that it might give others the same sense of solace and joy she’s found in gospel in her entire life. And as the album’s creator, one of the most rewarding aspects of Hiding Place was embracing gospel’s boundless intensity, and pushing her vocal performance like never before. “With gospel music, you can’t sing without all your heart being in it,” says Kelly. “This album was an opportunity to not only express my faith and my love for God, but to do what I felt and never hold back. I could just be free and let the song take me over.”

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Ready for my review of Tori's new CD? Read on! 

Every song is rated between 1 and 5 stars. Here’s the meaning of each starred rating:

5 stars = Wonderful! I love it!

4 stars = Great song and lyrics, I really like it!

3 stars = Nice tune but not too spectacular

2 stars = I really do not like this song

1 star = Not worth listening to

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Song #1: Masterpiece (feat. Lecrae)
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This song is upbeat, lighthearted and jazzy. I like the message that centers on the fact that as children of God, WE are His Masterpiece! It’s a great song that presents Bible-based truth to a modern audience in a way that appeals to both the book smart and street smart. This song has a sense of humor—the funniest line was when Lecrae’s rap feature said that you are a masterpiece when you feel like a catastrophe. Hilarious!

Song #2: Help Us to Love (feat. The HamilTones)
Rating: 4 stars
Review: “All this hate I see on the TV screen in my country Tis of Thee” is one of the most poignant lyrics in this song. It’s like a personal essay on the modern day conflicts we’re having in the United States of America. The essay is from the singer’s point of view. Tori’s heart for unity and peace shows through in this song. The HamilTones’s feature presented a nice accent to her purpose in encouraging listeners of this song to truly love one another as the Bible commands us to in this life. The song ends by asking us to love each other the way God loves us. His love for us is extravagant, true and enduring.

Song #3: Sunday
Rating: 3 stars
Review: This song has an old-fashioned tune that’s subtle as the lyrics and the singer’s voice is great but this one was not my favorite. It’s a personal preference because there are probably music lovers out there who will love this one.

Song #4: Just As Sure (feat. Jonathan McReynolds)
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This song has a nice, sweet tune complete with a true, Bible-based message. It’s beautiful. It’s a reminder that God knows what’s best for us and we need to hear His Voice above the noise of the world. The fact that God loves you is revisited in almost every verse. It’s very effective in making sure the takeaway message of God loves you, stays strong in the audience’s mind even after the song is over. I love how toward the end of this song, Tori and Jonathan sing a few lyrics from one of Kirk Franklin’s songs “Love (Remix).” Kirk Franklin collaborated with Tori throughout this album. It’s really special.

Song #5: Psalm 42
Rating: 4 stars
Review: “I need your Living Word for these dry bones” is one of the most poignant lines in this song. I like how this song borrowed verses from Psalm 42 in The Holy Bible. This is a song that can set the listeners at ease and help them experience God’s peace.

Song #6: Questions
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This song addresses the tough questions in life like “What happens when the healing never comes?” It also addresses tough seasons in life. Tori’s voice carries a myriad of human emotions and likes dark times to the winter season. She’s not afraid to address the real-life situations that hurt you. Tori delves deep into the pain that’s part of the human experience but then she takes the listener to new heights of hope that you can find in trusting God even when you do not understand what He’s doing. It’s a wonderful reminder that God is not afraid of our honest questions and raw emotions. He can handle it. All we have to do is bring it to Him through prayer.

Song #7: Never Alone (feat. Kirk Franklin)
Rating: 4 stars
Review: I like how this song kept emphasizing that Heaven says we’re never alone. It’s like it takes the listener out of the temporary trappings and mindsets of this world and reminds us of the bigger picture, one where God is in control. It’s a great reminder that God is with us no matter what and Earth is not our home. It’s a great encouragement to look up to Heaven and remember three things: God loves you. He will never forsake you. He has your back!

Song #8: Soul’s Anthem (It is Well)
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This song felt a bit dark but fittingly so given the content of the lyrics that addressed dark seasons of the human experience. Despite the darkness, Tori’s voice shines through with lyrics of hope. Toward the end of this song, her voice is backed by sounds of a melodious gospel choir singing the church hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.” This song is a beautiful experience that reminds the believer in God that the battles of life are won through prayer and walking by faith because we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). It’s a spiritual battle that can only be won with Jesus Christ on your side.

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Buy Link for Hiding Place (Tori's CD): https://torikelly.lnk.to/HidingPlacePc

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Bonus: Watch Tori's “Never Alone” music video featuring Kirk Franklin here. 

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Connect with Tori:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/torikellymusic
Twitter - https://twitter.com/torikelly
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/torikelly/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/torikelly
Website - http://www.torikellymusic.com

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Enter the giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to WIN a copy of "Hiding Place" (CD) by Tori Kelly:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Message from FlyBy Promotions regarding the giveaway of Tori Kelly’s CD “Hiding Place”...

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller/FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Interview (Part III) with Summer Pearson, actress/singer/worship leader/missionary for God

Today is the final feature with Summer, for now! I say "for now" because I believe that God has so much more in store for this special Christian music singer. 

I hope that you've enjoyed your time with Summer. 

Remember: If you want to win a copy of "Love Letters" (Summer's debut album), enter the music giveaway contest by selecting the link to yesterday's post with Summer. 

Here's the link,
http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/2016/10/interview-with-summer-pearson.html

Meanwhile, enjoy this final interview with Summer on my blog...for now! :)

~*~
Interview (Part III) with Summer Pearson, actress/singer/worship leader/missionary for God:

Alexis: How would you describe your style as a musician?

Summer: I would say that it’s “Contemporary Christian with soul” because it definitely has that fresh, kind of clean “Contemporary Christian” sound. But I grew up in the Black church singing gospel music and I listen to R&B so the soul comes through as well. We didn’t want to delete that from it because it’s so much a part of who I am. So again, that word “universal” comes up. Thank God I’m making universal music right now.

Alexis: What’s your favorite radio station?

Summer: I tend to listen to stations that offer diverse types of music. BRITE Radio definitely does that and I love and respect BRITE Radio for that.

Alexis: If you could do lunch with your favorite musician—famous or not—, who would it be and why? Where would you go for lunch?

Summer: I think I would go with Kirk Franklin. I’ve met so many musicians that I love over past year or two, it’s amazing but I got to meet Kirk Franklin this at the beginning of this year, randomly. I came to one of his concerts, was hanging out afterward at a local restaurant and he happened to walk in and meet with somebody I knew.

He is the nicest man and he was so gracious and sweet and he just performed for like three hours straight. So I would have understood if he was just like, “Hi” and kept it moving. But he actually came and sat with us, listened to us tell him how much he means to us and took pictures and all that. So he had to go but I think if I could spend more time with him to understand his journey, how he writes songs, some of the lessons he’s learned, business mixed with ministry, how that all works out. He’s given so many people a start in this business—like look at how well Tamela Mann is doing now.

I just feel that like that would be an afternoon really well spent, just having lunch with him and pulling from all that he has to offer.

Where would we go? Well, I met him at The Hamilton in D.C., so I see us there again. We would go there, they have really good food.

Alexis: What’s next for Summer Pearson as a musician? Where do you want God to take you? Why?

Summer: I want to go around the world. I literally want to touch as many people as I can. I have a real passion for reaching people one-on-one and hearing their stories and inspiring them and praying with them.

I feel like the project gets you in the door, telling people about you who may not have known about your otherwise.

But my passion really is with the direct ministry. So, I pray that this CD will continue to open doors for me to get out and try to touch people in a really personal way. I think that it’s going to be multiplied to the point where I may not be able to do it as much as I want to but it’s something that I prayed for, for so long just to be able to do that. I want to offer myself up basically to be used by God, however He opens doors.

It’s like a friend of mine who says, “God whatever door you open, I will run through it and whatever door you close, I won’t complain.” I’ve adopted that philosophy, that approach as well.

This will not be the last CD, there’s a lot more music that I’m already writing. I was writing even as we were recording “Love Letters.” People should stay tuned! We’re really just getting started.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Summer! Would you like to share any closing thoughts?

Summer: Thank you so much! I encourage people to get “Love Letters.”

~*~
Singer bio: 

Summer is an outstanding recording artist, radio personality, actress, and speaker. Summer is skilled at performing many musical styles, especially Gospel and Contemporary Christian. Her vocals are often described as beautiful, powerful, heartfelt and angelic. 

In Summer, there also lies a wonderful speaker and actress who connects with audiences of all ages and conveys messages with conviction and grace. She is reliable and professional in presentation, timeliness, and responsiveness. 



Summer has experience performing for corporate events, weddings, concerts, funerals, retreats, church services, and other events. She is accepting bookings through 2017 and welcomes the opportunity to work with you on your event.

~*~
Summer's music is available for purchase in your iTunes store. 


~*~

Connect with Summer:


Email - summerpearsonsings@gmail.com


FB - facebook.com/summersofficialpage


IG - summersofficialpage


Twitter - @summertimesings


YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/c/SummerPearsonsings

Interview (Part II) with Summer Pearson, actress/singer/worship leader/missionary for God

Good day, blog friends! :) Since we last visited with Summer (yesterday), there's been a special happening: Summer’s first music video released last night (Oct. 5) on YouTube! It’s for her song “Promised (Never Alone)”. View it here. 

If you want to win a copy of "Love Letters" (Summer's debut album), enter the music giveaway contest by selecting the link to yesterday's post with Summer. 

Here's the link,

http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/2016/10/interview-with-summer-pearson.html

Enjoy this continuation of your visit with Summer! :)

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Interview (Part II) with Summer Pearson about her debut album “Love Letters”:

Alexis: Do you write all of your own songs on “Love Letters”?

Summer: Yes, every single one. (The songs started as journal entries)

Only one song on the album, “I Need You” was actually inspired by Vincent the producer. He was kind of playing around in church one Sunday and he heard a melody and he told me, “Hey, I think you should write to this” and I’m like “Okay.” So he starts playing a sexy melody and remember, Vincent produces but he’s also an R&B artist. So when he’s playing it for me, I start singing the words that I heard I my head and I literally thought that we were writing a song for him or one of his R&B friends.

“I want you” and “I need you” kept coming out and at the end of that session, he said, “Great! I think that would be awesome for your album.” And I said, “My album? You know I’m a Christian artist.” And he was like, “Summer, I know you’re a Christian artist.” He said, “I know you’re a Christian artist. I think that would work for your album.” But I thought we were singing this for some man or some woman.

So I had to go home and kind of reset how I was viewing the song and I actually got Scripture for that one. So if you hear it, the second verse references that Scripture about “One thing have I desired of the Lord…” (Psalm 27:4). But getting in the Word and really praying about it helped me to sing the song anew and it’s often one of people’s favorite on the album. I’m so glad that I was able to get past my initial blinders on that song and really cry out to God because you know, we really do need the Lord. The song becomes a plea to God like, “I want You. I really need You.”

Alexis: What is your dream for “Love Letters”? What kind of impact do you hope that it will make on your listeners?

Summer: One of the things that I’m hearing about the album from many different kinds of people already—it’s only been out for a couple of weeks—is that the music is universal. I completely embrace that, because when I was creating the album itself and even when we were trying to figure out the sound of the music, we didn’t try to fit the music into any one genre.

The producer I worked with, his name is Vincent Richardson “V.Rich”, he’s amazing and both of us have very musical backgrounds. We enjoy classical music. I like folk. I like country. I like Contemporary Christian. He’s an R&B artist. There were so many different influences coming together between the two of us in the room and we didn’t fight against that at all. So the beauty of it is that now is that it’s created a project that people from all walks of life, different age groups, different ethnicities who have been exposed to different things can grab a hold of the music and I love it.

One of the Scriptures on my vision board is Matthew 28:18-20, The Great Commission. God’s sending us out in the world to make disciples for Him and I’ve felt that was part of my calling for a long time. So I now have a project that can reach beyond my borders to places that I may never ever be able to go physically. It’s a dream come true and I believe it’s what God intended and that’s what I want for this project. I want it to get out to the far corners of the world. I want people to be inspired and uplifted and healed.

It’s a challenge like I mention in the song “Release” to forgive, especially when someone has wronged you and they haven’t even apologized for it. They might even not feel bad for it. But it’s worth taking the challenge. When you really pay attention to the effects that unforgiveness and bitterness has on you physically, mentally, emotionally, it is so much better to rise about that and let it go.

Alexis: Who are your role models in the music industry? Name the top three and explain how they’ve influenced your life as a musician. 

Summer: Whitney Houston was a huge inspiration. I know every word to every song. I love the way she sings. I love the way she felt music! So, she was one.

Two, I think CeCe Winans and a lot of people who listen to CeCe think that I remind them of her. She has a gorgeous voice. I’ve listened to her from the time I was a kid. But also I love her spirit and she’s maintained such a beautiful demeanor, reputation. She’s had quite a career. I love how CeCe has been able to put music out that can reach a lot of different people. She’s a big inspiration!

Kirk Franklin is similar to the prior two with the extensive career. I call him the Modern Day David (A person mentioned in The Holy Bible) because David wrote all of the songs. He’s an incredible songwriter and I respect his craft so much.

Jonathan McReynolds is a newer artist. I feel in love with his voice the first time I heard his voice on radio and immediately started watching on YouTube everything that was related to him. I bought his album and could not stop playing it. My kids were like, “Mommy, enough!”

He not only has a gorgeous voice, his songwriting to me is just so beautiful! It’s so real and it reaches down into me in ways that not everybody’s music does.

He’s also an inspiration because he’s one of those people who paved the way in Christian music when they don’t quite fit. He’s Black but he doesn’t fit into gospel music completely. He’s not necessarily Contemporary Christian in terms of what we would typically define as Contemporary Christian. He’s just creating the music that makes sense to him like what God gives him and I love it! There’s jazz in there, there’s rock in there, there’s so many great things in there!

Alexis: Tell us about how you made your first music video.

Summer: Heartfelt Pictures, which is a production company run by Denton Adams, produced the music video for me. His wife Nina did my makeup for the video. It was a phenomenal job and I was just so blessed because I didn’t have to ask for it. God literally put it on his heart to do a video for me and there will be more coming.

*...to be continued, Part III of this interview with Summer will be posted tomorrow (Oct. 7) to conclude this three-part interview series.
~*~
Singer bio: 

Summer is an outstanding recording artist, radio personality, actress, and speaker. Summer is skilled at performing many musical styles, especially Gospel and Contemporary Christian. Her vocals are often described as beautiful, powerful, heartfelt and angelic. 

In Summer, there also lies a wonderful speaker and actress who connects with audiences of all ages and conveys messages with conviction and grace. She is reliable and professional in presentation, timeliness, and responsiveness. 



Summer has experience performing for corporate events, weddings, concerts, funerals, retreats, church services, and other events. She is accepting bookings through 2017 and welcomes the opportunity to work with you on your event.

~*~
Buy Love Letters:

Summer's music is available for purchase in your iTunes store. 


~*~

Connect with Summer:

Email - summerpearsonsings@gmail.com

FB - facebook.com/summersofficialpage

IG - summersofficialpage

Twitter - @summertimesings


YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/c/SummerPearsonsings

God gives you what you can handle

I've been going through A LOT lately for an extended period of time and tonight, my mind was losing the inner battle with negativity UNTIL this SONG that I have NOT HEARD IN OVER A DECADE just "popped" into my head. I know it was God speaking to me through song because all I could remember were these specific lyrics:

"I've gone through the fire and I've been through the flood/I've been broken into pieces, seen lightening flash from above/But through it all, I remember that He loves me and He cares/And He'll NEVER put more on me than I CAN BEAR."

Hallelujah, Amen!

I love it when God shows up in the midst of my battle and claims the victory!

So I write this to encourage you in your journey. God LOVES YOU, He is there for you and He will fight your battles for you when you believe in Him. :) I am here to say today that I believe in God and I trust His perfect plan for my life which I know He will reveal to me on His time table, not mine.

How does God speak to you? Share in the comment section. :)