Childhood Friend Reflects On Life Of South Jersey Singing Sensation Shot And Killed
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In the wake of the shocking death of singer and South Jersey native Christina Grimmie, friends are grieving the loss of a very talented and selfless person.
"I remember in 8th grade when she actually got up in our music class, and it was somewhat of an open mic type of deal," said Peter Innaurato, who grew up in Marlton as a friend of Grimmie. "She got up and she sang a song and everybody was so impressed."
Innaurato says after that day Grimmie began to make YouTube videos which earned her more recognition.
"Next thing you know, she's touring with Selena Gomez and she's on 'The Voice,'" he said, "and she's just growing as a musician and an artist."
But Innaurato says that fame and success didn't change the sweet, devout Christian girl that he knew.
"At the end of the day it wasn't about her singing, it wasn't about the fame or whatever," he said. "It was all about staying true to herself, staying humble, and she was very focused on her beliefs."
Grimmie was just 22-years old.
"She was growing, and she was going to get there," Innaurato said. "It was just a matter of time before she took off with some type of hit."
Innaurato said the loss of his childhood friend is immeasurable.
"She just treasured the important things in life," he said. "All the success and the fame didn't get in the way of what really mattered."
Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown told CBS3 that even as Grimmie rose to fame, coming in third place on the 6th season of "The Voice," she never forgot where she came from.
"She was a truly a rockstar," Brown said. "She was someone who came and did our 4th of July event in front of 30,000 people a couple years ago and was really a rockstar. She didn't have to do it, didn't get paid a penny for it, but it was something she felt like she wanted to do and give back to the community. We're going to dearly, dearly miss her and it's just such a tragedy."
Eyewitness News reporter Trang Do contributed to this report.
