Hundreds in line for slain ‘Voice’ singer’s services

In this June 29, 2014, file photo, “The Voice” Season 6 contestant Christina Grimmie performs as part of “The Voice Tour” at Cobb Energy Centre, in Atlanta. Family and friends are gathering in New Jersey on Friday, June 17, 2016, for a viewing and memorial service to remember Grimmie, who was fatally shot a week earlier, as she signed autographs after a show in Orlando, Fla.

MEDFORD, N.J. (AP) — Hundreds of friends and fans stood in line and thousands more were expected Friday at a memorial service for “The Voice” singer Christina Grimmie.

The 22-year-old was shot to death last week as she signed autographs after a show in Orlando, Florida. Her assailant fatally shot himself.

Among those offering their condolences to Grimmie’s family were Alissa and Joseph Canto. The husband and wife from outside Rochester, New York, said they drove 7 hours to come to the services at Fellowship Alliance Chapel.

The couple, both 24, said they’ve been fans since Grimmie launched her YouTube channel as a high school student.

“We have been fans for years but we didn’t know how much we appreciated her until she passed,” Alissa Canto said.

A public memorial service was scheduled for later Friday night.

Authorities said Grimmie was gunned down by Kevin Loibl the night of June 10 as she signed autographs after the Orlando show. A motive for the shooting has not been determined. Authorities said she had no personal connection to Loibl, who fatally shot himself after being tackled by her brother.

Grimmie was a YouTube star who was widely known from her appearances on NBC’s “The Voice” two years ago. She lived in Evesham, a small community about 20 miles from Philadelphia, before moving to Los Angeles in 2012.

Pop star Adam Levine, who mentored Grimmie when she finished third on “The Voice,” offered on Monday to pay for the funeral expenses.

Grimmie was buried in a private ceremony Thursday.

Inside the church on Friday, a large picture of her was displayed on an easel and her music was playing as people filed past to pay their respects.

Grimmie often cited her mother’s ongoing battle with breast cancer as her inspiration, including during her first appearance on “The Voice” in 2014, where her mother sobbed in the wings at her rendition of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.”

Her killing was the first of three tragedies for Orlando in the last week. Early Sunday, a massacre at gay nightclub Pulse left 49 dead in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On Tuesday, a 2-year-old Nebraska boy was attacked by an alligator and killed at Walt Disney World.