If I had to pick my one favourite musical artist ever, if would be very difficult, but in the end, I think it might have to be Tori Amos.  It’s very hard to sum up in just a few hundred words why I adore her so much, but I’m going to give it a try…

One of the reasons I love Tori is her drive, and the fact she always does what she wants to do. The daughter of a pastor, Tori (real name Myra Ellen) took up piano and songwriting at an early age. She then formed the band Y Kant Tori Read in the late 80s, and they made one record before disbanding. They were unsuccessful, and Tori has since dismissed the band and their album, and spoken of how she felt the need to be something she wasn’t.  So, when she went on to record her first solo album, Little Earthquakes, being true to herself was one of the most important things to her – and you can really tell this by listening to the album; it is about dealing with self-doubt and insecurities, but ultimately accepting yourself and overcoming oppression in the end.

Tori gets slack from some for being too ‘kooky’, and for her complex, occasionally obscure lyrics; and I can understand that her music may not be everybody’s cup of tea, due to its intensity. But for me, from the moment I first listened to her, I wondered where she’d been my whole life. I first got into her music when I was a teenager – I had read an interview with her and she had intrigued me, so I borrowed her best of from the library on a whim, and I’m so glad I did. The first track, Precious Things, immediately caught my attention – the opening bars made my spine tingle, and from then on, I was hooked. I proceeded to buy all of her albums – each one was like a new present waiting to be unwrapped. I’d never felt this way about a musical artist before – it was like for the first time in my life someone else out there understood me, was singing exactly how I felt; her music put into words what I couldn’t articulate.

Tori is an important artist as well not only because she is a talented musician and songwriter; she is an extremely inspiring woman, a feminist who has spoken openly as well as writing songs about her experiences with rape and miscarriage, encouraging other women to open up about them. She also founded RAINN, a charity for rape, abuse and incest victims. Her strength, which comes through in her music, is inspiring, and is one of the reasons she has such a strong and loyal fan base – I know I can speak for myself and many other fans I know when I say her music has helped me through many a difficult time. These are just some of the many reasons I respect and admire Tori so much, and feel she is one of the most important musical artists of our time.