Horrific Murder of ‘The Voice’ Star Christina Grimmie And The Legacy She Left Behind
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Most of us grew up watching the powerhouse vocalist Christina Grimmie make a name for herself on her very popular YouTube channel in 2009. So when she tried out for season six of The Voice in 2014 everyone was excited. From then on, her life changed forever and fans fell in love with her spirit and incredible singing talent. In 2016, the world was completely shocked when news of her death spread and left the world absolutely heartbroken.
Christina Grimmie Conquered YouTube And ‘The Voice’
At the age of 15, Christina’s YouTube channel really began to take off after she began posting covers singing some very popular songs. She established a great friendship with Selena Gomez and went on to open for her on her 2011 We Own The Night Tour. Christina released an EP even before her time on The Voice called “Find Me.” She then went on to open up a second tour for Selena to perform songs from her debut album called “With Love.” Finally, Christina decided to take her singing talents to The Voice in 2014. She had an iconic four-chair turn after a jaw-dropping audition of “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. It was a tough choice, but Christina opted to join Team Adam after he said he saw the potential for her to become a “huge star.” And, he was right.
She went on to dominate the competition with stunning covers and a memorable duet with Adam. She ended up placing third overall in the competition, and everyone was completely shocked that she didn’t win including host Carson Daly.
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Christina had offers for record deals coming at her left and right after conquering The Voice. Adam wanted to sign her to his label, while Lil Wayne wanted to sign her as well. In the end, she chose to sign with another label, Island Records. She began releasing original music including a major collaboration with Disney star Dove Cameron. Christina also made several television appearances and guest performances on talk shows. Her EP “Side A” was released in 2016 after she won the iHeartRadio/Macy’s Rising Star Contest. Not to mention Christina had the support of several well-known artists including Justin Bieber who was always a huge fan of hers. Christina also starred in the Indie movie The Matchbreaker.
Her Shocking Murder And How Fans Continue To Honor Her Legacy Today
Christina was well on her way to becoming a huge star in the music world. But it was taken away in such a shocking and tragic way. On June 10, 2016, Christina was performing with the band Before You Exit at The Plaza Live in Orlando Florida. After her performance, she was signing autographs for fans that attended the show inside of the venue. When opened her arms to 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl to give him a hug, he shot her. He was tackled by her brother Marcus who was also her tour manager, and the gunman shot himself dead. She was in critical condition lying on the ground with four gunshot wounds and was later pronounced dead. An investigation pointed towards the gunman being a deranged fan that took his obsession to the next level.
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News of Christina’s death led to complete devastation for her fans, The Voice community, celebrities and everyone around the world. Adam was “absolutely devastated and heartbroken” and could not believe the news. He later led his team on The Voice in a tribute to Christina with her family in the audience and offered to pay for all of the funeral expenses. Other celebrities dedicated later performances to her including Demi Lovato and Charlie Puth. Christina’s death raised questions and more awareness about ending gun violence and mental health issues, especially after the Pulse Nightclub shooting happened the day after her murder. The Christina Grimmie Foundation was created by her family to help support people who have been affected by gun violence and breast cancer which her mom had later passed away from.
Christina’s brother Marcus continues to carry on her legacy, most recently helping victims of the Borderline shooting. He has also released unpublished music that his sister never got to release herself. Christina’s music has a ton of streams and followers on Spotify, in which sales have been donated to her foundation even to this day.
