Selena Gomez paid tribute to her longtime friend, fallen singer Christina Grimmie, during a concert in Miami.
A former contestant on The Voice, Grimmie was fatally shot this past Friday (June 10) and passed away the next morning. Gomez was struck with emotion while performing “Nobody,” collecting herself shortly thereafter to speak more openly about Grimmie.
“When she was 14, we met her and my parents and I signed her,” Gomez said emotionally during the concert. “One thing about Christina and her family is that she holds her faith so closely to her. And I think it’s not about a religion and it’s not about anything or good deeds. It’s just that she had faith, and I don’t really understand how this really happened, but I would like to dedicate this next song to her.”
Following her speech, Gomez played the Hillsong Worship song “Transfiguration” as a tribute to Grimmie. According to Billboard, Gomez had nixed her own meet and greet following the Miami concert fearing for her safety as Grimmie was shot while signing autographs for fans following a concert with Before You Exit.
But Gomez was not the only one in the music industry touched by Grimmie’s death -- her former coach Adam Levine even offered to pay for her funeral. Her manager Brian Teefey also set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses and donations have reached upwards of $100,000.
Grimmie’s brother Marcus shared the news about Levine in a Facebook post that read, “I found out this morning that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for her funeral and plane flight, and I was blown away.”
The singer initially rose to fame on YouTube and then went on to place third on The Voice’s sixth season.
