Christina Grimmie

Christina Victoria Grimmie (March 12, 1994 – June 10, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, and internet personality. In 2009, she began posting covers of popular songs on YouTube. After releasing her debut EP, Find Me (2011), her YouTube channel reached one million subscribers. After she reached two million subscribers, she released her debut studio album, With Love (2013).

Grimmie then became a contestant on season six of The Voice, finishing 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. Lil Wayne also offered to sign her to his label, Young Money Entertainment. She was signed with Island Records for a short time before being dropped. Grimmie released her second EP, Side A, in 2016. That same year, she took on an acting role, making her only motion-picture appearance in The Matchbreaker.

On June 10, 2016, Grimmie was fatally shot while signing autographs following a concert performance at the Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. Side B, a follow-up to Side A, was made available on Spotify and iTunes in 2017, and in June 2017, Grimmie's second and final album, All Is Vanity, was released posthumously.

Christina Victoria Grimmie was born to Tina (née Milos) and Albert Grimmie in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, on March 12, 1994. Her mother worked as a receptionist until she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her father worked at Verizon Communications as of 2014. She had an older brother, Marcus, who worked as her road manager during her performances.

Grimmie was of Italian and Romanian descent and grew up in Marlton, where she attended Bethel Baptist Christian School, Marlton Middle School, and Cherokee High School. Her father noticed Grimmie's talent for singing when she was six years old, and she started playing the piano at age 10. Despite having received piano lessons, Grimmie said she played by ear.

Grimmie began posting videos to her YouTube channel in 2009 at age 15, under the username of zeldaxlove64. Grimmie stated that she began a musical YouTube channel so that people could connect with her music and because her friend persuaded her to post her videos on YouTube. The first video Grimmie uploaded was a cover of Hannah Montana's "Don't Wanna Be Torn". She first earned recognition for her cover of Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." in August 2009. Grimmie's covers first gained attention and stood out due to her voice, personality, and interpretations of well-known songs.

Grimmie was homeschooled for her junior year of high school in 2010. That same year, she covered Nelly's "Just a Dream" with fellow YouTubers Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider in a video which received more than 190 million views over the course of ten years. Later, it also became available on iTunes and Spotify. In 2011, she placed No. 2 in the MyYouTube competition, behind Selena Gomez. As her popularity grew on YouTube, Grimmie was discovered by Gomez's mother, Mandy Teefey; Teefey and her husband Brian soon became Grimmie's managers.

Grimmie performed in the UNICEF charity concert, and also performed backup vocals for Selena Gomez & the Scene; she appeared on the first DigiTour in 2011, which was created specifically for YouTube artists. Gomez became her mentor. Grimmie appeared on the Billboard Social 50; she also opened for Selena Gomez & the Scene, Allstar Weekend and the Jonas Brothers during the Concert of Hope. She toured for six weeks with Selena Gomez & the Scene opening for them in the We Own the Night Tour.

She released an EP entitled Find Me, on June 14, 2011. The album was released independently and debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. Her debut single "Advice" was released to Radio Disney on June 11, with the music video, directed by Sean Babas, being released on July 19 on her YouTube channel. She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with fellow YouTuber Tyler Ward, performing a cover to Lil Wayne's "How to Love"; the episode aired on October 10.

On November 20, Grimmie performed at the 39th American Music Awards of 2011 pre-show alongside Taio Cruz to a special rendition of "Higher" and also won her first award. She also performed her song "Not Fragile" at the Coca-Cola Red Carpet Show along with Selena Gomez & the Scene. She and the band then appeared together in a commercial for Xbox's Kinect. Grimmie also appeared in a commercial for Doritos that same month. Grimmie was the special musical guest performing her hit song "Advice" on Disney Channel's So Random!, which premiered on December 11.

In January 2012, Grimmie moved to Los Angeles to pursue her singing career; she was signed in April to Creative Artists Agency. On Disney.com, she starred in the web show Power Up: with Christina Grimmie, which ran from March 29 to June 5. She also revealed that she would be working with a new band, Rising Tide, a teen group originally from her hometown area in New Jersey. A stripped version of Grimmie's original song "Find Me" was released on ITunes in June, and reached the front page later in July. Though Grimmie's channel mostly focused on covers and original music, she also started pursuing other interests.

By April 2013, Grimmie's channel had more than 375 million views and two million subscribers. She then opened for Gomez during the North American leg of her Stars Dance Tour, performing songs from her debut album With Love, which was released on August 6, 2013. On October 3, Grimmie's music video for "Tell My Mama" was given its exclusive premiere on Billboard.com. Grimmie said the video is "about a guy that I start liking in school, and he's sort of a dangerous kid, and I am the type of girl that tells my mom about everything." In January 2014, Grimmie appeared on an episode of the podcast Shane and Friends; Dawson was a friend of Grimmie's.

Grimmie auditioned for season 6 of NBC's singing competition, The Voice, as revealed on her Facebook page. During the Blind Auditions, she performed Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". All four coaches, Adam Levine, Usher, Shakira, and Blake Shelton, "turned their chairs" for her. She opted for Levine after he told her that she had the potential to be a "huge star" due to her voice and stage presence. Selena Gomez supported Grimmie during her audition, and Justin Bieber, an artist Grimmie had frequently covered on YouTube, supported her during the finale. She finished in 3rd place, behind winner Josh Kaufman and runner-up Jake Worthington. Host Carson Daly later said he was "shocked" Grimmie did not win. All of Grimmie's performances were released on iTunes and Spotify as studio versions.

– Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

During The Voice, Levine expressed his desire to sign Grimmie to his record label, 222 Records; Lil Wayne also showed interest in signing her to Young Money Entertainment. She ultimately chose to sign with Island Records. She toured with previous contestants of The Voice, including season 5 winner Tessanne Chin, runner-up Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, season 1 runner-up Dia Frampton, season 6 winner Josh Kaufman, runner-up Jake Worthington, and fellow season 6 contestants Kristen Merlin and Jake Barker. The Voice Summer tour started on June 21, 2014, in San Antonio, Texas.

Grimmie was writing and recording music for her sophomore album, her third major release, and first release since being signed to a label. The lead single was expected to be released in July, with the album following later in the year. Grimmie announced via Facebook that filming for the lyric video for the single started on July 6.

On July 11, she announced that her new single would be called "Must Be Love". On July 15, she announced via a live stream that the song would be released on July 31. "Must Be Love" was produced by Elof Loelv and recorded at ZAC Recording in Atlanta, Georgia.

In February 2015, Grimmie collaborated with Dove Cameron and made a music video for "What A Girl Is", an original song from Cameron's show Liv and Maddie. The music video was released on Grimmie's channel and Disney's YouTube channel. It was also promoted on the official channel. On March 4, Grimmie announced that she had been dropped from Island Records and that she was working on a new album set to be released in late 2015.

The new single from the album, "Cliché", was released on March 16. On April 27, Grimmie released her second single, "Stay with Me", a collaboration with Diamond Eyes, which climbed to No. 5 on the iTunes Electronic Charts. The song also was included on 2015 UKF Dubstep, an album showcasing the top dubstep songs of the year. She was a contestant in the iHeartRadio/Macy's Rising Star Contest. On May 27, Grimmie was revealed as the winner of the contest, securing her spot to open the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival in September.

Grimmie had made a four-part video series for Side A comprising "The Ballad of Jessica Blue"; in July 2016, Brian Teefey announced that the videos would debut via Billboard then be featured on her YouTube channel. The first video, for the song "Snow White", debuted on August 11. The second video, for "Anybody's You", debuted on August 18. "Deception" debuted on August 25; "Without Him" on September 1.

Grimmie made her motion picture acting debut in The Matchbreaker, directed by Caleb Vetter. The film was released in selected theaters in October 2016 and released digitally in December.

Grimmie received her only Teen Choice Award in 2016, winning posthumously for Choice Web Star: Music. It was her third such nomination. The televised ceremony caused backlash among her fans, who said her name was used to promote the show, but never mentioned during the broadcast despite the inclusion of a tribute to victims of gun violence. Her fans also called out the Emmys for excluding Grimmie from their memoriam.

On February 17, 2017, Grimmie's family released the posthumous single "Invisible". "Invisible" is part of Grimmie's EP Side B, which was released on April 21. Following the release of Side B, Grimmie's first posthumous album, All Is Vanity, was released on June 9. On May 11, 2018, Grimmie's family released another single, "Little Girl", which Grimmie wrote and recorded to support her mother, who was battling breast cancer. On September 15, 2020, Grimmie's family released her original song "Cry Wolf". In 2021, Grimmie's family released her original song "Back to Life", along with 3 remixes.

In 2019, her YouTube channel reached four million subscribers, although it dropped below four million in 2020, settling at 3.88 million as of October 2024.

Grimmie was a light-lyric soprano, with a range spanning three octaves and three notes. In 2014, while on The Voice, Usher called her a "baby Céline Dion". Graham Nash said, "I'm amazed at the range and the control and the depth of her voice. At 20 years old? That's insane." Shakira deemed her high register "out of this world".

Grimmie grew up listening to contemporary Christian artist Stacie Orrico: "She has a really awesome voice and I was so drawn to it. I think the reason I do have a soul voice is because I grew up listening to her and she was my huge, huge influence. I wanted to sound just like her, I wrote songs that kinda sounded like something she would do." Grimmie cited Christina Aguilera as her main influence vocally, and listed her favorite singers as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Lady Gaga. Grimmie also said she admired Beyoncé for her vocals. Grimmie said she liked dubstep and DJ music, as well as rock 'n roll and heavy metal artists Metallica, Pantera, Iron Maiden, and Tool.

Grimmie was a Christian. Her family attended Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford, New Jersey, before they moved to Los Angeles. Grimmie had cited her mother, Tina, a three-time breast cancer survivor, as a major inspiration for her musical career. Tina Grimmie died at the age of 59 on September 2, 2018, after a "courageous and brave battle with breast cancer".

Grimmie was an animal rights activist and participated in fundraising events for the Humane Society of the United States. The Christina Grimmie Animal Medical Fund was created in her honor, and she posthumously won the "Impact Award" from the industry for her animal rights activism. She also worked with PETA to promote pet adoption, after adopting a dog in 2014. In her honor, she received a leaf on PETA's Tree of Life, which honors heroes for animals. Grimmie was an anime fan, and had a Twitch channel where she frequently streamed.

On June 10, 2016, Grimmie performed with the band Before You Exit at the Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. After her performance ended at 10:00 p.m. local time, Grimmie held a meet-and-greet with her fans inside the venue. Fans were lined up as Grimmie signed autographs and took selfies with them. At 10:24 p.m., 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, who was in line, approached Grimmie when it was his turn. She opened her arms to hug him.

Loibl then pulled out a Glock pistol and shot her three times at point-blank range. Grimmie's brother, who was selling merchandise at a nearby table, jumped towards and tackled Loibl, and the men scuffled; Loibl broke free, backed against a wall, pulled out another pistol and shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Grimmie was on the floor bleeding from the back of her head, with a weak pulse. After CPR was performed on her by an attending physician, she was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition; by 10:59 p.m., she was pronounced dead. An autopsy performed the following day concluded that Grimmie had been shot once in the head and twice in the chest.

The Orlando Police Department said Loibl had traveled by taxi to Orlando from his home in St. Petersburg, Florida, bringing two handguns, two extra magazines full of ammunition, and a large hunting knife. Orlando police chief John Mina stated that "The suspect traveled to Orlando apparently to commit this crime and then had plans to travel back to where he came from." According to Orlando police, the bags of the attendees would normally have been checked, but there were no metal detectors at the venue, nor were the attendees frisked.

One witness complained that the security was concerned about food and beverages being brought into the theater, but did not catch Loibl's guns. Witnesses described Loibl as "nervous" and "kinda creepy".

Dozens of artists and other celebrities took to social media in response to Grimmie's death. The Voice tweeted, "There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice".

On June 23, Billboard magazine published an open letter advocating gun control, addressed to the United States Congress, demanding that universal background checks become federal law, referring to Grimmie's death and also the Pulse nightclub shooting, which occurred in Orlando less than 30 hours after Grimmie's death and killed 49. The petition carried nearly 200 signatures of famous musicians and music industry executives. Selena Gomez was a prominent signee of the document.

On August 21, NBC broadcast a post-Olympics preview episode of The Voice dedicated "in loving memory of our friend Christina Grimmie." Her former coach, Adam Levine, wrote that he and his wife were "absolutely devastated and heartbroken ... This is yet another senseless act of extreme violence." Blake Shelton wrote "I'm stunned and disgusted and heartbroken that we lost that sweet little girl." Longtime friend and former tour-mate Selena Gomez was performing only a few miles away from Grimmie at the Amway Center at the time of the murder. The following morning she wrote, "My heart is absolutely broken. I miss you, Christina." Gomez also tearfully dedicated her performance of Hillsong's "Transfiguration" to Grimmie's memory at her Miami concert the following night on June 11, and then canceled a meet-and-greet scheduled to take place that night, citing fear and grief. Gomez later checked into rehab and put her tour on hold.

Many others dedicated performances to Grimmie, such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Demi Lovato, Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, Charlie Puth, and Rachel Platten. Dove Cameron, who had previously collaborated with Grimmie, expressed her grief over the course of a few days on Twitter. Before You Exit, with whom Grimmie had performed before her murder, tweeted, "Today we lost an angel, sister, and a beloved friend."

Loibl’s family left a handwritten note on their doorstep offering their condolences and apologies for their son's actions, with "no other comments". Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, paid tribute by saying the YouTube family was "heartbroken" and "shocked" to hear of Grimmie's murder, with YouTube officially paying tribute on their website.

Selena Gomez & the Scene – A Year Without Rain Tour (2010–2011)

DigiTour – Lancaster PA, Washington D.C., New York NY (2011)

Selena Gomez & the Scene – We Own the Night Tour (2011)

IHeartRadio Music Festival – Las Vegas, NV (2015)

Rachel Platten – The Wildfire Tour (2016)

Before You Exit – January and February UK/Europe Tour (2015)