Christian and pop musician Christina Grimmie, a former competitor on "The Voice," was shot after a man approached her with two guns as she signed autographs after an Orlando, Fla., concert Friday night, police said. The 22-year-old singer died early Saturday morning. The suspect fatally shot himself as well, after Grimmie's brother tackled him, according to authorities.
The singer had performed at The Plaza Live theater Friday night, along with the band Before You Exit, when the shooting broke out. She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and died a few hours later, reports CNN.
Police said it was unclear how someone got two guns inside the venue and that his motive was still a mystery.
Grimmie achieved much interest in her version of the song "In Christ Alone," and she had indicated the Bible is her favorite book. She had described herself as a "full-on Christian who loves Jesus." Her lyrics reflected her morals and beliefs, and how she lived her life. In her public profiles, she stated Jesus was her "Lord and Savior," and that she sung for Him.
In 2014, Grimmie participated in Season 6 of NBC's singing competition The Voice, and finished in third place. Adam Levine, her coach on the show, announced in the finale that regardless of the results, he would sign her to his label, 222 Records. Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne also supported her on the show and Lil Wayne offered to sign her to his label, Young Money Entertainment. She signed to Island Records for a short time.
On The Voice Facebook page Saturday morning, a brief tribute was paid to Grimmie: "There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice. Our hearts go out to the friends, fans and family of Christina Grimmie."
Born in New Jersey, Grimmie first got popular in July 2009 as a YouTube artist zeldaxlove64.
In May 2010, Grimmie acquired Selena Gomez' parents, mother Mandy and stepdad Brian Teefey, as her new management team. She worked as a backup singer to Gomez, and performed one of her original songs as the opening act for Gomez at her UNICEF charity concert on October 26, 2010.
On March 20, 2011, Grimmie was part of the third annual Concert for Hope, where she performed her original songs alongside Disney Music Group artists Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers and Allstar Weekend. In April/May 2011, she joined YouTube's The Digitour, the first ever nation-wide YouTube Tour, on five occasions.
Grimmie's Debut Album "Find Me" was released on June 13, 2011, exclusively on iTunes. Two days before, on June 11, her single "Advice" premiered exclusively on Radio Disney. Three days before, on June 10, her single "Ugly" premiered exclusively on Artistdirect.com.
Upon release, "Find Me" almost instantly made it to #2 of the U.S. iTunes Store Top 10 Album Charts, beating albums, such as Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", Adele's "19″ and Britney Spears' "Femme Fatale."
