One Month On, A Fan Remembers The Late Christina Grimmie

June 10, 2016 was a cold day for many in the music industry and around the world.

In a shocking and senseless act of violence, singer and songwriter Christina Grimmie was shot down by a deranged fan outside of her own concert. As Grimmie’s arms were outstretched to hug the fan, he turned the gun on her. Heroically, Christina Grimmie’s older brother, Marcus Grimmie, then tackled and restrained the gunman, before he turned the gun on himself.

To many, Christina Grimmie will be remembered for her untimely death. Although, to her fans, she is remembered as ‘ZeldaXlove’, her YouTube channel name, where it all began. One month on, let’s remember what she achieved and what made her special.

Born March 12, 1994 in New Jersey, Christina Grimmie’s music journey started at the age of five. An avid singer, she began playing and teaching herself piano at the young age of five. As Christina’s talent grew, so did her passion, and on February 9, 2009 she began to post videos of her vocal/ piano covers to YouTube under the username ‘ZeldaXlove’ (a reference to her love of gaming, in particular The Legend of Zelda). Often these videos featured the people Christina Grimmie loved most, including her older brother and best friend Marcus as well as family, cousins and friends.

Almost immediately after her first video post, Christina Grimmie’s fan base increased rapidly. As of this writing, the ‘ZeldaXlove’ channel has more than 3,686,200 subscribers and well over 430 million views.

Soon after her star began growing, Christina Grimmie also started using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect to her fans, who she quite often thanked for her success and referred to as her ‘frands’ (a cross between friends and fans).

Christina Grimmie’s achievements included the release of her self-produced record Find Me in 2011, followed by placing third in Season 6 of The Voice that same year. Christina also released her second personal album, With Love, in 2013. In 2014, Christina was featured on The Complete Season 6 Collection, a compilation record of songs by The Voice Season 6 contestants.

Earlier this year, Christina released her final album, Side A, from which she was performing songs on tour when she was killed. Chrisina was also an avid animal advocate and ambassador for the Human Society.

For many, myself included, Christina Grimmie was an incredible inspiration, whose voice brought hope, love and joy to the lives of many. From the other side of the world, Christina reached out to us through our laptops, computers and TVs, and touched many of our lives. In her short 22 years, Christina Grimmie left her mark on this world and on the hearts of all that joined her on her journey to stardom.

One month on from her death, we remember Christina Victoria Grimmie, not from the tragedy that was her end, but from everything she gave to the world before she left. Christina Grimmie’s family has uploaded the following video to her ‘ZeldaXlove’ YouTube channel in her memory.

Olivia Blasi is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. Learn more about the contributors program.

Photo: YouTube / zeldaxlove64 Christina Grimmie.