# God Must Really Love Me (album)
*God Must Really Love Me* is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter [Tori Kelly](https://www.edgepedia.org/tori-kelly), released on June 12, 2026 through [Epic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-records) on CD, vinyl, digital download, and streaming.[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me) • [2](https://vinyl.report/en/explore/chroniques/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-499821) It is a pop, R&B, and gospel album with soul and acoustic influences, built around her faith, her marriage to André Murillo, and her first year of motherhood.[3](https://www.hiresnews.com/blog/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Sixth studio album by Tori Kelly, a three-time Grammy winner[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me) |
| Release | June 12, 2026, Epic Records; CD, LP, digital download, and streaming[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me) • [2](https://vinyl.report/en/explore/chroniques/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-499821) |
| Length | 14 tracks, 41:06[4](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0wvNeNhezwqMMFSqtvGQUE) |
| Style | Pop, R&B, and gospel with soul and acoustic influences; a deliberately restrained, "slow-down" record[3](https://www.hiresnews.com/blog/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/) |
| Singles | "Control" and "Dive", both released May 8, 2026[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me) |
| Personal material | Her son Zayden is occasionally heard on the album, and "Too Much" incorporates audio surrounding his birth[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/) |
| Recording | Demos begun on the summer 2025 Ed Sheeran tour; most of the album recorded in Los Angeles over two weeks in January 2026[6](https://pod.wave.co/podcast/all-of-it/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-listening-party) |
## Background and recording
Kelly announced the album on May 5, 2026, revealing the cover and release date and teasing the first two singles, "Control" and "Dive", for that Friday.[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me) According to her publicity materials, within two months of giving birth to her first child she felt a rush of inspiration that stripped away her tendency to overthink.[1](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me)
**Creation was unusually fast for Kelly.** She began developing the album while touring with [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran) in the summer of 2025, booking studios along the tour's routes to record demos, including studio time in Switzerland while she was pregnant.[6](https://pod.wave.co/podcast/all-of-it/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-listening-party) After the tour, most of the album was recorded in Los Angeles over a two-week period in January 2026; her earlier releases often took years to develop.[6](https://pod.wave.co/podcast/all-of-it/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-listening-party) Because she held her newborn son Zayden on her lap while recording, he is occasionally heard on the finished record, and he is credited as a background vocalist on the opening track.[7](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/god-must-really-love-me-tori-kelly/ve041cfg2jktw)
Kelly framed the songwriting as a deliberate opening up. "I wanted each song to feel like it could only come from my heart, so I challenged myself to peel back the layers and go much deeper with my lyrics," she said.[8](https://shorefire.com/roster/tori-kelly) In an interview around the release she described the record as the first music she had created as a mother, a clear break between pre-motherhood and post-motherhood work.[9](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2026/06/interviews-tori-kelly/)
## Music and lyrics
The record is a restrained fusion of R&B, soul, acoustic pop, and gospel, arranged so that the message of the songs can ring out more clearly; Kelly called it a "slow-down type of album".[3](https://www.hiresnews.com/blog/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/) Reviewers describe warm, understated production built on acoustic guitars, muted drums, soft R&B textures, and layered harmonies.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/)
Despite the title and Apple Music's "Christian" genre tag, the album is not a full gospel record. Religion functions less as a subject than as a lens through which Kelly examines marriage, motherhood, gratitude, and the anxiety that can accompany happiness.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/) Apple Music describes the album as the singer-songwriter expressing her gratitude for life, motherhood, and faith.[10](https://music.apple.com/us/album/god-must-really-love-me/1895974889)
Several songs draw directly on her new family life. "Bird", written from the perspective of new motherhood, confronts fear, responsibility, and self-doubt, and was called one of the most affecting songs she has recorded.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/) "Too Much" incorporates audio surrounding the birth of her son.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/) "Fly" features a kid chorus, one of the album's more playful production choices.[9](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2026/06/interviews-tori-kelly/) Reviewers also highlighted "Control" for capturing the tension between surrender and responsibility, and "Pray For You" for finding complexity in forgiveness.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/)
## Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "God Must Really Love Me (Intro)" | 1:05 |
| 2 | "Without You" | 3:22 |
| 3 | "Control" | 2:32 |
| 4 | "Fly" | 3:07 |
| 5 | "Pray For You" | 3:46 |
| 6 | "Dive" | 3:03 |
| 7 | "Bird" | 2:36 |
| 8 | "Hurts So Good" | 3:18 |
| 9 | "Too Much" | 3:10 |
| 10 | "Mine" | 3:34 |
| 11 | "Tokyo" | 2:48 |
| 12 | "Smooth Landing" | 2:44 |
| 13 | "Name of Jesus" | 3:06 |
| 14 | "Bliss" | 2:55 |
All tracks performed by Tori Kelly; total length 41:06.[4](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0wvNeNhezwqMMFSqtvGQUE) Apple Music's edition lists a fifteenth entry, the "Psalm 46:10" video, bringing its listed total to 15 songs across 41 minutes.[10](https://music.apple.com/us/album/god-must-really-love-me/1895974889)
## Critical reception
The album received generally positive reviews. Melodic Magazine's review argued that it is the first album where Kelly's position between pop, R&B, gospel, and singer-songwriter traditions becomes a strength, while noting that several songs prioritize atmosphere over momentum, so listeners expecting larger pop moments may find the approach muted.[5](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/) Renowned for Sound called it "a class soul record", praising the range of arrangements and singling out "Pray For You", "Hurts So Good", and the closing "Bliss".[11](https://renownedforsound.com/album-review-tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/) Shatter the Standards wrote that Kelly "writes best with some concrete presence: the locked door, the delivery room, a son's eyes that could look like hers".[12](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-god-must-really-love) On Album of the Year the album holds a user score of 70 based on 95 ratings.[13](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/13712-tori-kelly/)
Kelly promoted the record with a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music on September 10, 2026, performing "Hurts So Good", "Without You", "Fly", "Bird", "Control", and "Tokyo" with an all-woman band of Tiny Desk alumnae, alongside her rendition of [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder)'s "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" from the film *Sing*.[14](https://www.klcc.org/npr-music/2026-09-10/tori-kelly-tiny-desk-concert)
## Context in Kelly's catalog
The album follows *Unbreakable Smile* (2015), the gospel album *Hiding Place* (2018), *Inspired by True Events* (2019), *A Tori Kelly Christmas* (2020), and *Tori.* (2023).[15](https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0004806228) Kelly, who married André Murillo in 2018 and received a gospel Grammy in 2019 for *Hiding Place*, built most of this record around the demands of a new baby, with some material written during the summer 2025 European tour.[12](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-god-must-really-love) AllMusic lists recording locations including The Well in Los Angeles, Twin Studios in Paris, and U27 Studios in Stockholm, and classifies the album under gospel, contemporary Christian, and contemporary singer/songwriter styles.[15](https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0004806228)
## References
1. [Tori Kelly Announces New Album God Must Really Love Me, Shore Fire Media press release (May 5, 2026)](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/tori-kelly-announces-new-album-god-must-really-love-me)
2. [Tori Kelly: God Must Really Love Me vinyl album review, Vinyl Report](https://vinyl.report/en/explore/chroniques/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-499821)
3. [Tori Kelly – God Must Really Love Me (2026): Hi-Res Review & DR Report, hiresnews](https://www.hiresnews.com/blog/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/)
4. [God Must Really Love Me, Tori Kelly, Spotify pre-release listing](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0wvNeNhezwqMMFSqtvGQUE)
5. [Tori Kelly finds comfort in the ordinary on God Must Really Love Me, Melodic Magazine (June 29, 2026)](https://www.melodicmag.com/reviews/album-ep-reviews/tori-kelly-finds-comfort-in-the-ordinary-on-god-must-really-love-me-album-review/)
6. [Tori Kelly: 'God Must Really Love Me' Listening Party, All Of It with Alison Stewart](https://pod.wave.co/podcast/all-of-it/tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me-listening-party)
7. [God Must Really Love Me, Tori Kelly, Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/god-must-really-love-me-tori-kelly/ve041cfg2jktw)
8. [Tori Kelly Press Page, Shore Fire Media](https://shorefire.com/roster/tori-kelly)
9. [Tori Kelly Interview, EUPHORIA Magazine (June 12, 2026)](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2026/06/interviews-tori-kelly/)
10. [God Must Really Love Me – Album by Tori Kelly, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/god-must-really-love-me/1895974889)
11. [Album Review: Tori Kelly – God Must Really Love Me, Renowned for Sound](https://renownedforsound.com/album-review-tori-kelly-god-must-really-love-me/)
12. [Album Review: God Must Really Love Me by Tori Kelly, Shatter the Standards (June 11, 2026)](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-god-must-really-love)
13. [Tori Kelly Albums, Songs – Discography, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/13712-tori-kelly/)
14. [Tori Kelly: Tiny Desk Concert, NPR Music (September 10, 2026)](https://www.klcc.org/npr-music/2026-09-10/tori-kelly-tiny-desk-concert)
15. [God Must Really Love Me Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0004806228)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license