VIDEO: Beyonce Performs at Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant's Memorial at Staples Center

Kobe Bryant's memorial service at the Staples Center on Monday is an emotional time for us all, especially Mamba and Gigi's close friends and family. The ceremony featured a live performance by pop icon Beyonce, who expressed her own affection for the late Bryant.

"I'm here because I love Kobe and this was one of his favorite songs," Beyoncé said while backed by a choir and violinists clad in all white.

Beyonce opened the ceremony with a performance of her song "XO," which was one of Bryant's favorite songs. It was followed up with a performance of her single "Halo."

Beyonce and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were long-time friends of Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant. Bryant had even taken his daughters to see Beyonce live in concert. Her performance is only the latest tribute to Bryant by Hollywood music artist.

“I had known Beyoncé and Kelly [Rowland] for a long time,” Bryant told Fox Sports in 2019. “Our careers were kind of parallel tracking. I was just starting to try to come into my own, they were doing the same thing. We were kind of ascending at the same time.”

It's that connection which led the Knowles-Carter's own tribute on Monday, and a relationship she'll surely cherish forever, even in Kobe's death.