‘Voice’ Star Jacquie Lee Reflects on a Rough 2016 in Christina Grimmie-Inspired ‘Somebody’s Angel’

Yahoo Music

2016 was a year of unprecedented loss in the entertainment industry as well as unspeakable acts of violence across globe. In her tear-jerking new music video for “Somebody’s Angel,” The Voice Season 5 runner-up, Jacquie Lee, attempts to process it all. Lee penned the soulful, evangelical ballad in honor of her friend, The Voice Season 6 finalist Christina Grimmie, who was tragically shot dead this past June.

Related: Music Stars We Lost in 2016

“As I tried to get back into my routine after Christina passed, I came across a homeless woman outside of a Starbucks. She suddenly started to open up to me about the death of her mother, and I found myself talking about Christina,” Lee, now age 19, explains in a statement about the song’s inspiration. “She said, ‘Don’t worry, she’s in a better place. She’s somebody’s angel now.’ Those words struck me and I went straight home and wrote ‘Somebody’s Angel.’ The electric guitar and blues tempo is inspired by my favorite cover Christina did of Elvis’s ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.’

“My eyes have opened up to the tragedy and loss we experience throughout our lives, and it feels like this year specifically we have all been touched by the passing of someone, whether we knew them personally or not. All of the pain, the senseless violence and the questions we don’t have answers to can be unbearable. My hope is that this song will help to heal in times of sorrow. I ran into the same woman after I recorded the track, and I told her that her words inspired a new song in memory of my friend. She said, ‘She would have wanted that,’ and I think she’s right.”

First everybody please say a prayer. Please say a prayer for christina grimmie and her family. She has touched so many people in so many ways and made a huge mark in the world. She made a huge mark in mine. A beautiful soul that will live on in my heart forever. I will never understand this. I will never understand how fucked up the world can be. I love you derp. Save a spot for me up there

A photo posted by Jacquie Lee (@jacquieleemusic) on Jun 11, 2016 at 10:52am PDT

Lee does not appear in the “Somebody’s Angel” video herself, instead letting her passionate vocals; personal hand drawings; photos of beloved fallen icons (David Bowie, Prince, Phife Dawg, Merle Haggard, Sharon Jones, and too many more); and disturbing TV news footage tell the sad story of 2016. The video ends with amateur footage of Lee and Grimmie singing together and goofing off at a party, before the screen fades to black with the simple tribute: “In memory of all those who are Somebody’s Angel now.”

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