Beyoncé kicks off Kobe Bryant memorial with one of his favorite songs

Beyoncé, backed by a choir, kicked off the Kobe Bryant memorial at Staples Center on Monday, capping a friendship that had lasted for decades. But she stopped singing almost immediately and invited the audience to join her in song.

“I’m here because I love Kobe. And this was one of his favorite songs,” Beyoncé said as she introduced a spectral rendition of “XO,” from her 2013 self-titled album.

“In the darkest night hour (in the darkest night hour) / I’ll search through the crowd (I’ll search through the crowd) / Your face is all that I see,” she sang, surrounded by string players and a small choir all clad in white, before transitioning to “Halo,” a tearjerker from 2008’s “I Am ... Sasha Fierce.”

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Vanessa Bryant speaks at the memorial for her husband, Kobe Bryant, and daughter Gianna on Monday at Staples Center.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Michael Jordan helps Vanessa Bryant off the stage after her speech.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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An emotional Michael Jordan speaks at Monday’s event.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Alicia Keys performs at the Kobe & Gianna Bryant Celebration of Life.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Shaquille O’Neal brought smiles to the crowd as he shared memories of Kobe.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Phil Jackson, former coach of the Lakers, is among mourners at Monday’s event.  (Wally Sklaij / Los Angeles Times)

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Late-night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel opened Monday’s vigil.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi, whom Kobe Bryant called the “White Mamba,” talked about the Lakers superstar and his influence.  (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

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About 20,000 attended the sold-out memorial.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Michael Jordan takes a moment after speaking.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka spoke during the vigil of receiving a text from Kobe Bryant the morning of the crash, trying to arrange an internship for Lexi Altobelli, whose mother, father and sister died in the helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of Bryant and his daughter.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma, among the speakers, said, “I’m here as a father, not as a basketball coach.”  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners, many of them in Lakers jerseys, watch the proceedings.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Oregon basketball star Sabrina Ionescu, whom Bryant mentored, spoke at Monday’s memorial.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Christina Aguilera preforms at Staples Center.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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At Staples Center, center court featured roses and the overhead video board showed photos of the Bryant family.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Beyoncé leaves Staples Center.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez leave Staples Center.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The singer and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were longtime friends of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, and the #GirlDad had taken his daughters to see Beyoncé in concert. The basketball star and his middle daughter, Gianna, died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash.

“He was last in my house on New Year’s and he was just in the greatest space that I’ve seen him in,” Jay-Z said in early February at Columbia University. “One of the last things he said to me was, ‘You gotta see Gianna play basketball.’ And that was one of the most hurtful things because he was so proud.”

Bryant was “just a great human being that was in a great space in his life,” Jay-Z added (via ET).

The Lakers star had a cameo in the “Bug a Boo” video for Destiny’s Child when he was only a few years into his NBA career.

“I had known Beyoncé and Kelly [Rowland] for a long time,” Bryant told Fox Sports in 2019, explaining how he came to be in a one-on-one game against papa Mathew Knowles on the set of that 1999 video shoot. “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.”

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After Bryant’s death, Mathew Knowles — who lost the one-on-one game, by the way — told a story on the Dominick Nati Show (via Meaww) about the athlete asking him for a single front-row seat to see his daughter in concert.

“‘I wanted to watch greatness because I know I would learn from it,’” he quoted Bryant as saying. “That’s the kind of person he was. He came alone because he wanted to lock in and focus.”

Beyoncé herself remembered Bryant after his death with posts on Instagram that included throwback shots of him and Gianna.

“I will continue to diligently pray for your Queens. You are deeply missed beloved Kobe,” the singer wrote on a post featuring the father and daughter together.