Kobe Bryant Celebration of Life: Beyonce Performs ‘XO’ and ‘Halo’ in Honor of Kobe and Gianna Bryant

Beyonce nearly brought the house down with an emotional performance at Kobe Bryant's celebration [...]

By Michael Hein

Beyonce nearly brought the house down with an emotional performance at Kobe Bryant's celebration of life memorial on Monday. The singer performed with a live orchestra, and fans went wild. The selection seemed perfect for Bryant, they thought.

Beyonce began her performance with the first few bars of "XO," before pausing to say a few words about her relationship with Bryant.

"I'm here because I love Kobe and this was one of his favorite songs," she said, "so I want to start that over but I want us to do it all together and I want you to sing it so loud that you hear the love. Are you ready?"

She then finished out the song with the help of the band and the chorus behind her. She followed it up with an equally appropriate rendition of "Halo," then gave up the stage.

Fans were awed by the performance, gathering under the hashtag "Kobe Farwell" on Twitter to comment. Many thought that the acclaimed singer was the perfect person to give Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, a send-off at the memorial service.

"She singing Halo, I might actually tear up," one person tweeted.

"I thought I was ready to watch this. I am not," added another.

"Beyonce appears to be holding back tears while performing Halo. I still can't believe this isn't a bad dream," remarked a third.

Beyonce's performance was followed by a video tribute to Bryant, which featured highlights from his time on the court as well as clips of him making inspirational speeches. The NBA legend was with the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years, and is considered one of the sports biggest icons both on and off the court.

Monday's memorial is one of the biggest and most final for Bryant and his daughter. called "A Celebration of Life," it is being held in the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, with about 20,000 tickets sold. Friends, family and fans are all there.

The world is still mourning for Bryant, who died in a shocking helicopter crash last month at the age of 41. He was flying from his home in Orange County to his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, along with his daughter, two of her teammates, another coach and their family members.

While the memorial had fans mourning on Monday, Bryant's widow, Vanessa was also taking action. According to a report by TMZ on Monday morning, she has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the helicopter her husband and daughter were flying in. She is accusing both the company and the pilot of being reckless with her loved ones' lives.

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