Jennifer Hudson to Perform Kobe Bryant Tribute at NBA All-Star Game

As the NBA‘s plan for honoring Kobe Bryant at this weekend’s All-Star Game in Chicago comes together, fans are slowly getting the details of what it will look like — which includes a performance from Jennifer Hudson. Ahead of player introductions for Sunday’s 69th All-Star Game, the two-time Grammy winner will perform in honor of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, and the seven other people killed in a helicopter crash last month.

No other details were released about Hudson’s tribute, although the league did share some new information about other performers taking part in the festivities. Prior to tip-off, Chaka Khan will sing the U.S. National Anthem. Country musician Tennille Arts will sing the Canadian National Anthem.

Previously, the NBA revealed that Chance the Rapper will perform at halftime and will be joined by Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled and Quavo.

“NBA All-Star. It happens every year. But this year is different,” Chance says in a TNT promo. “The game will have more meaning than it’s ever had before.”

“The league, the fans, the players will all pay tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant. For an entire generation he defined the title ‘NBA All-Star.’

“Chicago will glow with a warmth and a brilliance that it’s never had before. It’s the ultimate celebration.”

Queen Latifah will be joined by Chicago youth to perform Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today” during Saturday’s events. Additionally, the Chicago Children’s Choir will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Rising Stars game on Friday night.

Although Portland Trail Blazers player Damian Lillard suffered an injury that will keep him off the court, he could still take the stage Saturday night to rap under his stage name Dame D.O.L.L.A. His plan, if he performs, is to be joined by Jeremih and Lil Wayne.

“We just kind of started going over what we could do to make it count, tried to figure out Chicago artists who could be part of it,” Lillard said, as reported by News4Jax. “Jeremih is going to be on stage with me and he’s from Chicago, he’s on one of my biggest songs on my current album. And then also, I’m going to be doing a song on my previous album and that’s one of my biggest songs with Lil Wayne, too, so it’s going to be a pretty good deal.”

Another way the league will honor Bryant and the other victims of the crash is by the All-Star Game’s uniforms via a memorial patch on the jersey’s top left corner. Teams will also wear bands in memory of former NBA commissioner David Stern, who died in December after complications from a brain hemorrhage.

The NBA All-Star Game tips off sometime after 8 p.m. on Sunday on TNT. Festivities like the slam dunk contest and celebrity game will come in the preceding days.

Photo credit: Frazer Harrison / Staff / Getty