Her shining moment. Christina Grimmie, who was shot and killed after a concert in Orlando on Friday, June 10, at age 22, was best known for being a bubbly YouTube star and a beloved contestant on The Voice.
The singer catapulted into the spotlight in 2014 after her incredible blind audition stunned the NBC singing competition’s season 6 coaches, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and Shakira.
Grimmie performed an amazing rendition of Miley Cyrus’ 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball,” resulting in all four judges turning their chairs in hopes of working with the aspiring entertainer.
After calling the singer “engaging and passionate,” Levine, 37, said, “You’re more comfortable than I am up there, almost, and that is the moment where you realize that this person could be a huge star. I really believe that.”
When the Maroon 5 frontman asked Grimmie who inspired her the most, she immediately gushed about her mom.
“She’s had breast cancer three times and I thought she wouldn’t get to see me do anything like this, so I love my mom and I’m happy I got to do this for her,” she explained, as the camera panned backstage to show her mother in tears.
Grimmie excitedly chose Levine as her coach. The duo worked side by side throughout the season and she ultimately went on to the finals, finishing in third place.
During The Voice’s top 12 performance night in April 2014, she told Us, “I grew up mostly by myself. I mean, I hung out with people, but I didn’t go to parties. I didn’t go to friends’ houses. I stayed at home and worked on my range, my technical abilities, my pitch. I’ve always been crazy about that.… It paid off that I worked really hard.”
As previously reported, the songwriter was fatally shot by a 27-year-old gunman at the Plaza Live theater on Friday. Her brother immediately tackled the man, who then shot and killed himself. Grimmie’s rep later confirmed to Us Weekly that she died.
Police stated that the suspect, who appeared to be a “deranged fan,” did not know Grimmie and had traveled to Orlando with two handguns, ammunition and a large hunting knife to commit the crime.
Levine and his wife, Behati Prinsloo, released a statement on Saturday, writing, “Behati and I are absolutely devastated and heartbroken by Christina Grimmie’s tragic death. Our hearts go out to her family. Christina was a natural, a gifted talent that comes along so rarely. She was taken from us too soon. This is yet another senseless act of extreme violence. I am left stunned and confused how these things can conceivably continue to happen in our world.”
