Remember Simone Battle from The X Factor? She appeared on the U.S. version of the show in 2011 and was mentored by Simon Cowell. She made it to the top 17 of the competition before being cut and then just last year it was announced that she had joined G.R.L., a group that resembles a rebooted Pussycat Dolls. Unfortunately, it was confirmed earlier today that Simone was found hanging in a closet in her West Hollywood home on Friday morning.
While the cause of Simone's death hasn't been released because her autopsy hasn't been completed yet, sources close to the case say that it appears that the young singer committed suicide. Simone's father told TMZ that his daughter was found hanging in a bedroom closet of a guest house that she had resided at in a West Hollywood neighborhood.
Just last year Simone had been hand picked by Robin Antin to join G.R.L., a group that the choreographer/director hoped would achieve the same level of success that her Pussycat Dolls found before splitting up back in 2010. The group just released their self-titled debut EP on July 29 and it's a shame that Simone seems to have taken her own life before she could reap the reward for all of the hard work that she put in with fellow G.R.L. members Emmalynn Estrada, Lauren Bennett, Natasha Slayton and Paula Van Oppen.
G.R.L. took to their Twitter account to acknowledge the loss of one of their own, saying:
Words cannot express the depth of our loss. Simone's incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart.
— G.R.L. (@grl) September 6, 2014
We will carry her memory with us in everything we do. — G.R.L. (@grl) September 6, 2014
Clearly the ladies are stunned by the tragic loss of Simone and once that get their feet back under them they'll have some serious decisions to make regarding how to move forward as G.R.L. Can you believe that this stunning, talented woman is no longer with us? Were you a fan of Simone's work as a soloist or with G.R.L.? Tell us your thoughts on her untimely death in the comments below.
