For weeks Tori Kelly has been teasing her new single, “Missing U.” Well, now, it is finally here. After a three-year hiatus from music, the singer, songwriter, and musician, as she put it, is ‘entering a new era’ of her art. Over the past few years, Kelly has explored her craft across disciplines appearing in Illumination’s animated family films Sing and Sing 2. She even ventured off from her pop music roots into gospel, which ultimately paid off after securing multiple Grammy wins.
Now, the entertainer has teamed up with director Marc Clasfeld to drill home the nostalgic feeling behind the new track for a vibrant new video. In an interview with People, Kelly talked about the inspiration behind the visual, saying, “There were some very direct references that we wanted to throw in there. There are some TLC references. We’re very inspired by Aaliyah and Missy Elliott with all the fisheye stuff. We were having so much fun being like,” adding, “I grew up just being obsessed with all those videos.”
Kelly continued, “I think of [Destiny’s Child’s] ‘Say My Name,’ where it was different colored rooms and them performing, hitting all these poses. I just had to make sure that I killed it every time.”
As for the message behind the song, she said, “I just knew, ‘Okay, when people listen to this, I want them to be transported. I want them to think about that era or just that nostalgic feeling,’ whatever that is for them.”
Watch the video above.