The 62nd Grammy Awards opened on Sunday with a touching tribute to NBA superstar Kobe Bryant just hours after the beloved athlete was killed in a helicopter crash.

“Tonight is for Kobe”, - singer Lizzo told the audience before she began belting out an energetic performance of her hit, “Cuz I Love You”.

Host Alicia Keys then took the stage to ask viewers to keep Bryant, 41, his daughter, Gianna, and other victims from the helicopter crash that took their lives on Sunday in their prayers.

“Here we are together on music’s biggest night celebrating the artists that do it best, but to be honest with you we are all feeling crazy sadness right now,” Keys said as she entered the stage, adding that “Los Angeles, America and the world-wide world lost a hero.”
She said the audience was “heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.”
“Right now Kobe and his daughter Gianna ... are in our spirits, they’re in our hearts, they’re in prayers, they’re in this building,” she added. “Take a moment and hold them inside of you and share our strength and our support with their families”.