The 62nd annual GRAMMYs aired last night from Los Angeles, but the entire day had a heavy atmosphere as basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Maria Onore, baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife and daughter, and four others died in a helicopter crash that morning.
Tributes to Bryant were common throughout the night, in performances, in speeches, and on the red carpet.
“I can’t imagine losing one of my children or a father or a family member,” said Diplo before the awards ceremony. “I was very young, my age, 41, and I had much more to do.”
Adding to the weight of the night was the fact that the GRAMMYs were being held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the same stadium where Bryant played as Los Angeles Laker for decades.
“Being here at Staples right now and looking up and seeing his shirt up there,” he said, “you only feel the energy because we are doing the Grammys here, but 82 games a year are playing in the stadium and in this arena and Kobe brought this energy to Los Angeles for 20 years. This is your backyard. This is your home.
“Someone like that transcends iconic. So he will live forever,” he continued. “I think he will be forever. I think in this building you have so much creative energy and even an athlete like him is a creative genius. He is one of us.”
Bryant was married to Vanessa Bryant and, besides Gianna, they had three other daughters: Natalie (17), Bianka (3), and a 7 month old baby, Capri.
See reactions from others in EDM here.
Photo via Jas Davis