On June 10, singer-songwriter Christina Grimmie was fatally shot at a meet-and-greet following her concert in Orlando, FL. Grimmie, who rose to fame on YouTube through her renditions of popular music and after placing third on Season 6 of “The Voice,” was rushed to the hospital but was confirmed to have passed away a few hours later by Orlando Police.
Fans took to social media shortly after to offer their prayers and condolences to Grimmie and her family. The Orlando show was the third-to-last segment on band Before You Exit’s “All the Lights” tour, for which Grimmie opened.
The Michigan Daily spoke with Grimmie prior to her show in Lansing, MI on June 2. During the interview, Grimmie spoke of her new music, rising social media presence and excitement for upcoming tour dates.
Many of Grimmie’s covers of Top 40 singles garnered millions of views on YouTube, and she was praised for her ability to effectively strip down songs to just keyboard and vocals. Grimmie appeared as a contestant on Season 6 of “The Voice,” and was placed third under coach Adam Levine. In her interview with the Daily, Grimmie said that, while she would never stop making covers of other music, as that “springboarded” her career, her focus had also shifted to her own music.
“I don’t want to be the cover girl forever; that gets old after a while, even to the viewers,” Grimmie explained. “I never grew up thinking, ‘I can’t wait to be a cover girl.’ It was always, ‘I can’t wait to release my music.’ ”
“‘The Voice’ did so much for me in terms of proving I can, withstanding that sort of pressure and professionalism,” Grimmie said when speaking of the hit NBC show and the support provided by Levine, her coach. “It’s about being able to handle everything and keeping a level head through it.”
“I think it’s just determination and I acquired that through ‘The Voice’ more than through any other way,” she added.
Earlier this year, Grimmie released Side A, an EP driven from her personal experiences. Grimmie said she didn’t expect to release some of the songs she wrote on the record, but she was excited with the emotional response she received.
“The music itself is a little bit darker,” she said. “It was just things that had been on my mind for quite a bit that I hadn’t released before; It’s special to me.”
“Some days I don’t want to write anything at all, and other days I’m writing like four songs,” Grimmie added on her songwriting process. “It depends on the experiences, the people you meet and little trials here and there that you go through.”
Grimmie was working on a full-length album. While she said she expected to release a Side B EP to follow her most recent music, she wanted to wait until she had more intimate content.
“I want to release some of the new stuff because there’s a lot being made right now that I’m proud of,” she added. She projected that she would have had the record completed by the end of 2016.
In the interview, Grimmie also spoke of her long withstanding connection to her fans.
“Thanks for coming to the show, if you’re coming to the show,” Grimmie added. “My set is just fun and interactive. I love to talk to my crowd; I talk too long most of the time because I love talking to them.”
Grimmie’s fans loved her as well. Her death sparked a national sense of mourning. Her powerful voice was taken from us at an incredibly young age, but her music and spirit will live on in the people who loved her.