Christina Aguilera paid tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant, at the Staples Center, known as “the house that Kobe built,” during Monday’s “A Celebration of Life of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.”
The singer took the stage to belt out a beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria,” alongside a harp and string ensemble. Christina put her own signature twist on the classic in Italian, which was seemingly an homage to the basketball legend, who grew up in Italy and spoke the language fluently. The songstress looked absolutely flawless as she delivered her famous vocals for the tearful audience.
“Thank you, Christina, that was beautiful. And in Italian, as well,” Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the public memorial, told the singer when she finished.
The stunning performance came after Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Beyoncé and more stars honored the late basketball star and his daughter.
Michael couldn’t hold back his tears when he took the stage to share amazing memories with Kobe and how he often felt like he was Kobe’s big brother.
“We were very close friends. Kobe is my dear friend, my little brother. Everyone always wanted to talk about the comparisons between he and I. I just wanted to talk about Kobe. All of us have brothers and sisters, little brothers, sisters who, for whatever reason, always get your stuff, your closet, your shoes, everything. It was a nuisance — if I can say that word. But that nuisance turned into love,” Michael began.
“Over a period of time. Just because the admiration they had for you. As big brothers big sisters. The questions, wanting to know every little detail about life they were about to embark on. He used to call me, text me, 11:30 A.M., 2:30 P.M. — 2:30 A.M., 3:00 in the morning. Talking about moves, footwork and sometimes the triangle. [Laughter] At first, it was an aggravation. [Laughter] But then it turned into a certain passion. This kid had passion like you would never know.”
“It’s an amazing thing about passion. If you love something if you have a strong passion for something, you would go to the extreme to try to understand or try to get it. I scream, coax, every you have a love for. Would go get it. Bake someone, he would go get it. Kobe Bryant was to me, and inspiration that someone truly carried about the way you place the game or the way he wanted to play the game. He wanted to be the best basketball player he could be. As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best ‘Big brother’ I could be.”
“To do that, you have to put up with the aggravation, late-night calls or the dumb questions. I took pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant, his just trying to be a better person. A better basketball player, we talk about business, we talked about everything. He was just trying to be a better person.”
The sports and entertainment world came out in full force to attend the heartbreaking memorial on Monday. The audience featured a number of famous faces, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, and many more.
Kobe And Gianna Bryant’s Celebration Of Life: Inside The Memorial
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