Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men paid a surprise tribute to Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and the victims of the helicopter crash on Sunday at the 2020 Grammy Awards. In an extremely touching moment, Alicia took the stage at the Staples Center to address what has been an arguably difficult day as many in the community of Los Angeles and around the world mourn the loss of one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ brightest stars, who spent many years shooting hoops right there at the Staples Center.
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“Here we are. Together. On music’s biggest night celebrating the artists that do it best. But to be honest with you, we’re all feeling crazy sadness right now. Because earlier today Los Angeles, America and the whole wide world lost a hero. And we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” Alicia began.
“Right now Kobe and his daughter Gianna and all of those that have been tragically lost today are in our spirit, they’re in our hearts, they’re in our prayers. They’re in this building. And I would like to ask everybody to take a moment and just hold them inside of you. Hold them inside of you. And share our strength and our support with their families. We never imagined in a million years we would have to start the show like this. Never, never, never, never, never,” Alicia added.
She was then joined on stage for a raw and emotional performance alongside Boyz II Men. They sang the Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday.”
The performance, which was a surprise in the Grammy Awards lineup, was a poignant moment to what has been a shocking and traumatic day. Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, 13, were traveling to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks, California, at the Black Mamba Academy when their helicopter, which was carrying 9 people in total, crashed. All on board perished in the accident, according to multiple reports.
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Alicia concluded the performance by telling the audience that tonight, they’d do what musicians do best.
“And I know that we’re going to do what we’re here to do. I know that we’re going to all join together and do what we do in happy times. We’re going to sing together, we’re going to laugh together. We’re going to dance together. We’re going to cry together. We’re going to bring it all together. We’re going to love together and we’re going to make sure that we are celebrating the most powerful energy, the most beautiful thing in the world, the one thing that has the power to bring all of us together. And that’s music. So it’s the most healing thing in the world. So let us get some human going,” she concluded.
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