Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men offer musical tribute to Kobe Bryant at Grammy Awards

Tom Gatto

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Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men offer musical tribute to Kobe Bryant at Grammy Awards image

The music world turned the start of this year's Grammy Awards ceremony into a mini-memorial for Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier in the day.

With the industry's greatest stars gathered at Los Angeles' Staples Center, where Bryant regularly thrilled Lakers fans and celebrated many of his career accomplishments, the opening minutes of the show featured a performance by Lizzo dedicated to Bryant, and a collaboration by Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men also honoring the NBA icon.

The CBS cameras cut to the arena's upper deck, where Bryant's retired Nos. 8 and 24 are being illuminated throughout the program.

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Keys finished the segment with a brief speech expressing sadness.

Later in the program, a split-screen image of Bryant and the late rapper Nipsey Hussle served as the finishing touch to an on-stage tribute to Hussle. After John Legend sang the final notes of the tribute, DJ Khaled took over on the mic to honor both men. 

There were tributes to Bryant outside Staples Center, as well. Mourners set up a small shrine in the hours leading up to the show.

Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, reportedly were among nine people killed when the helicopter in which they were riding crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday morning local time.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.