On the evening of June 10th, singer Christina Grimmie was tragically shot during an autograph session at a concert in Orlando.
Christina was a young rising star, starting with Youtube covers, before setting out on The Voice and releasing original music. Personally, I was first introduced to her during the summer of 2011 with a cover she did with Kurt Hugo Schneider and Sam Tsui of "Just A Dream".
I remember being amazed at her mature voice. She seemed like such a natural. That video then lead me to her channel, where I discovered her own youtube channel and her covers.
There's something about when you first come about a new artist. Its like a new world is opened up to you, if that makes any sense. You go through their early material, and you wonder how you didn't know about them sooner.
It was around this time that Christina was making it towards the mainstream, doing interviews for the American Idol 2012 Tour, along with making connections with artists like Selena Gomez. But through it all, it didn't change her. She still seemed to be that down to Earth girl who loved music.
I remember how excited I got when I found out that she would be competing on the 6th season of The Voice. Those kind of shows (The Voice, American Idol), have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. This was something different though, already being a fan of someone coming in, and watching their growth throughout the season. Christina quickly found her voice on the show, putting some interesting and creative twists on songs you wouldn't have expected.
Following her season, she was able to launch more of her original music, and begin regularly touring.
Christina Grimmie was on her way, doing what she loved to do. Fame and exposure seemingly never changed her, still just as connected to her fans as her earlier days, uploading cover requests on Youtube.
Following this tragic incident, petitions have been launched to improve security around concert venues. I could go on about changes that have to be made, both with this and in-light of the shooting that followed just days after in Orlando at the Pulse club, but I wanted this post to just be a remembrance and a look-back at Christina's great talent. While taken away far too soon, she still left us with a great showcase of her talent. We can think of what could be, but lets just appreciate and be thankful for what she gave us and how committed she was to her friends and fans.
