Christina Aguilera Honors Kobe & Gigi Bryant With Stunning ‘Ave Maria’ Performance

REX/Shutterstock

Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s beautiful memorial on February 24 featured a special performance by Christina Aguilera of ‘Ave Maria’ that left not a dry eye in the house at the Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant‘s February 24 memorial at the Staples Center was filled with joyous and emotional speeches and performances, including one from Christina Aguilera. The singer’s rendition of “Ave Maria” was absolutely gorgeous. Christina did her version of the Schubert classic in Latin. Standing in an absolutely silent Staples Center, the lights growing red, Christina delivered her famous, crystal clear vocals as the audience watched on in awe. Christina looked beautiful, too, wearing a black suit with lace sleeves, her blonde hair straight and parted down the middle. You can watch Christina’s heartbreaking performance below.

The rest of Kobe’s memorial was truly extraordinary. Beyonce started off the celebration by singing “XO”, which she said was one of Kobe’s favorite songs. Wearing a gold suit, she stood strong before a choir as she sang her hit angelically, following it by “Halo”. The Staples Center was completely enraptured during the performance. She said she “loved” her friend and his daughter. After a series of speeches, including a touching monologue from Vanessa Bryant herself, Alicia Keys took the stage to play Beethoven‘s “Moonlight Sonata” — a song that Kobe once learned to “honor” his beloved Vanessa without any prior musical training. Alicia hosted the Grammys, which happened the same day that the world found out Kobe and Gigi had perished, along with seven others, in a helicopter crash.

Since the father and daughter’s deaths on January 26, they have been honored by innumerable tributes from their friends, family, and famous admirers. At the NBA All-Star Game on February 16, Jennifer Hudson belted out a stunning version of “For All We Know”, in honor of Kobe and Gianna, an aspiring basketball pro herself. Jennifer took that stage in Chicago with a giant photo of Kobe projected behind her, singing that sweet song about grief and loss: “For all we know we may never meet again / Before you go make this moment sweet again / We won’t say Good night; until the last minute / I’ll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it.” It brought the house down.

To see more photos from Kobe and Gigi’s joyous, emotional memorial, scroll through the gallery above. What a beautiful tribute to two beautiful souls it turned out to be.