Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

Jennifer Hudson will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant at NBA All-Star game

Chaka Khan to sing national anthem
At left, in a March 4, 2018, file photo, Kobe Bryant attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars in Los Angeles. At right, in a May 28, 2019, file photo, Jennifer Hudson sings "Amazing Grace" in tribute to Aretha Franklin during the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners awards luncheon at Columbia University in New York. Jennifer Hudson is coming to the All-Star Game to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with her voice. (AP Photo/File)
At left, in a March 4, 2018, file photo, Kobe Bryant attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars in Los Angeles. At right, in a May 28, 2019, file photo, Jennifer Hudson sings "Amazing Grace" in tribute to Aretha Franklin during the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners awards luncheon at Columbia University in New York. Jennifer Hudson is coming to the All-Star Game to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with her voice. (AP Photo/File)
By Melissa Ruggieri
Feb 13, 2020

Jennifer Hudson is scheduled to perform a tribute to Kobe Bryant at the Feb. 16 NBA All-Star game in Chicago.

The R&B star will sing prior to player introductions to honor Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven others who perished in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

The game airs at 8 p.m. on TNT.

Hudson, who also sang in tribute to Whitney Houston to open the Grammy Awards the night after Houston’s untimely 2012 death, dealt with her own tragedy with the 2008 killing of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Along with Hudson, fellow Chicago natives Chance the Rapper and Common will take part in the All-Star events; Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled will perform during halftime.

Chaka Khan – recently revealed as Miss Monster on "The Masked Singer" – will handle the national anthem.

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About the Author

Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.

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