Tori Kelly Shares Heartbreaking New Song, ‘Blink Of An Eye,’ For Murdered Christina Grimmie [Video]
Tori Kelly is sharing a heartfelt new song she wrote for former The Voice star Christina Grimmie, who was shot and killed during a meet-and-greet with fans after a concert in Orlando, Florida, on June 10.
Tori shared a video of herself performing the original song, titled “Blink Of An Eye,” accompanied by an acoustic guitar on YouTube on July 10, just one month after Grimmie lost her life aged just 22-years-old.
“This song was written for Christina Grimmie after she passed away tragically,” Kelly told fans in the tribute video’s description, adding that she “needed to write this song.”
“My heart was & is still so heavy when I think of her not being with us,” Tori continued. “However, I am still comforted knowing that I’ll get to see her again someday in heaven. My prayers go out to her family & loved ones.”
Kelly then alluded to the numerous tragic events that have taken place in the months following Grimmie’s death.
“Even though this song had specific meaning, more recently I’m overwhelmed at the pain & the brokenness in the world today,” Tori continued in the video’s description. “And so this is really just me grieving. At all of it. Life is so short.”
At one point in the heartbreakingly poignant song, Tori even acknowledged that it could have been her who lost her life at the hands of what CNN described as being an “obsessed fan” who shot Christina multiple times following her Florida concert.
“When you took your last breath/You had so much life left/Can’t help but think it could’ve been me out there/Chasing a dream when suddenly it all stops in a heartbeat,” Kelly sings.
Justin, who is thought to have met Grimmie a number of years ago through her close friendship with Selena Gomez and her family, reacted to the song on social media, telling Tori that she has “a gift.”
“You have a special gift,” Bieber tweeted to Kelly after the Grammy nominee posted a link to her acoustic new tribute to Grimmie on the 140-character site.
“God bless.”
This marks the first time Kelly has publicly spoken out about Christina Grimmie’s death since Kelly tweeted out that she had “no words” after hearing of Grimmie’s tragic and untimely death last month.
“I have no words. RIP Christina,” Tori wrote. “See you again, love. isaiah 25:8.”
Tori also paid tribute to Grimmie on Instagram on June 11, posting a screenshot of a tweet Christina sent out back in 2013.
Simply captioning the snap with a heartbroken emoji, Tori posted Christina’s message that read as follows.
“Sometimes God allows terrible things to happen in your life and you don’t know why. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trusting Him.”
Making Kelly’s tribute even more poignant, just months before she was shot dead, Christina shared a snap of herself at an event with Kelly, revealing in the photo’s caption that she was hoping to work on new music with Tori in the future.
The amazing @torikelly. What an honor to meet you. Let's write together soon (': ?? pic.twitter.com/xFqJjgwSF5
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) September 19, 2015
“The amazing [Tori Kelly]. What an honor to meet you,” Grimmie wrote alongside the photo of herself and Kelly. “Let’s write together soon.”
Heartbreakingly, the two will now never have the chance to team-up in the studio, though the musicians’ careers do share numerous similarities.
Both Christina and Tori began their musical careers on YouTube, posting numerous videos of themselves covering popular hits before both opted to take their talents to reality singing shows.
Grimmie finished in third place on season six of NBC’s The Voice in 2014, while Kelly made it to the top 24 on Fox’s American Idol during season nine in 2008.
What do you think of Tori Kelly’s tribute to Christina Grimmie?
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images and Angela Weiss/Getty Images for The Humane Society Of The United States]
