Singer Tori Kelly was deep into recording her latest album, “God Must Really Love Me,” when her 8-month-old son, Zayden, unexpectedly became part of the creative process.
“He was making a bunch of noise in the background while I was trying to record,” said Kelly about her son with her husband, André Murillo.
“I have a little studio at my house. At first, I thought, ‘Ah, come on. I need to just get this song done. Then it clicked for me. I just sat him down on my lap and recorded the song to see what happened. He was making all these cute noises.
“I decided to keep all of this in there.”
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Zayden’s soft babbles and curious coos bookend “God Must Really Love Me,” creating a time capsule for Kelly.
“If I make it to 80, I’m sure I’ll be emotional listening back to his little voice,” she added.
Kelly brings Murillo and Zayden on tour with her, including the “Jesus Generation Tour” on Saturday, July 18, stop at Mortgage Matchup Center Phoenix with Forrest Frank.
Released June 12, “God Must Really Love Me” — which fuses R&B, soul, acoustic pop and gospel — is a joyful collection of richly textured meditations on love, identity, faith and peace. During her career, she has been nominated for six Grammys, including Best New Artist. She won three Grammys.
When Kelly talks about the album, the word she returns to most is “peace.”
“The throughline is really this sense of peace,” she said quietly. “That’s what I was feeling when I wrote this music. I wanted that to bleed over into the live show.
“I want the fans to bring whatever they might be dealing with in their life. I would hope my songs can provide even just a moment of relief or comfort or peace from all the crazy things going on in our lives.”
Her creativity switched gears for Kelly after she gave birth to Zayden.
“I want to try and just ride this wave of inspiration because, ever since I had my son, I feel like I’ve unlocked something in my songwriting,” she said.
“I keep wanting to write songs, which has never happened before. Usually, I take a little break in between albums. I’m looking forward to continuing to put stuff out and continuing to do shows. I’m so lucky that I get to have my family with me on the road.”
Touring with a baby isn’t easy, but she lights up when she talks about it.
“I really don’t take it for granted at all,” she said. “There have been so many times where I just look at my son and my husband, who’s just the best, and an impressed with how he holds it down. I don’t know what I would do if they weren’t here.
“Thankfully, right now they’re loving it, too. We love just being able to travel as a family.
But on the “Jesus Generation Tour,” Kelly said she is part of something “bigger than me.”
“Sometimes at certain concerts, it can just feel like it’s all about me,” she said. “With this show, it feels so much bigger than that. It feels like all of us are really coming together and pointing toward God.”
She loves the mix of people in the audience — kids, parents, teens and longtime fans. Kelly has something special for families at her shows.
“There might be a little bit of the ‘Sing’ movies in my set,” she said. “I want to give a little nod to Meena the elephant.”
In “Sing” and “Sing 2,” she voiced Meena the shy teenage elephant. Like her fans, Zayden is thrilled when he hears his mom’s voice.
“I really try not to look at him because I feel like I’ll cry every time I see him,” she added. “He just lights up. His new thing is to clap. He’s clapping all the time. That’s probably the best part: Knowing that he’s in the audience, watching me. It makes me just want to do an even better job.”
