Kelli Trontell, born in Southern California, has been destined for a long, fulfilling career in the entertainment industry since the ripe age of six, where her love of music was first sparked by singing hymns in church. She appeared on the original Star Search in 1993 and was a popular performer on the club circuit in Phoenix, Arizona for several years (sharing the same stage with artists such as Alice Cooper, Peter Frampton and Nils Lofgren) before heading to Nashville in 2004 to further pursue her artistry and craft her songwriting skills.
In 2007, a song Kelli co-wrote, "Right Here With Me," was selected out of 25,000 submissions as a Top 20 finalist for the first-ever American Idol Songwriter: a songwriting contest by American Idol Executive Producer Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment during the hit show’s sixth season.
Later that year, Kelli experienced another life-changing event serving on staff for the Luis Palau Nashville CityFest, which culminated with a celebration attended by nearly 100,000 in downtown Music City. During this season, God asked her to lay her musical ambitions down to "make Jesus famous." Six months after the festival closed, Kelli answered a call from Chrissy to start a new group, which is now COLMANblue.
“I am anticipating greatness and for the Lord to open doors and opportunities that we could not push through on our own,” Kelli says. “I’m holding nothing back and being very intentional to the calling that the Lord has on my life. I want to share my story and love people.”