Fans, Colleagues Remember Aaliyah

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LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Fans left messages of love and loss Tuesday on a giant, makeshift memorial for singer Aaliyah, who died when her plane crashed in the Bahamas.

``Keep on singing up in heaven,″ read one of hundreds of messages scrawled on a 10-foot-high billboard outside Tower Records in West Hollywood promoting Aaliyah’s last album.

Brandie Torres, 11, and sister Celina, 10, signed the billboard.

``It felt very sad,″ Celina said. ``We watched her videos on MTV and my dad brought us to get her CDs.″

Colleagues also mourned the 22-year-old singer-actress, who died with eight others when the plane crashed after takeoff Saturday.

``She was a special, special talent and I am feeling awful about the people who were on the plane and the people who passed that day, period,″ said singer Patti Labelle as she arrived at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards on Tuesday night. Aaliyah was among those nominated for awards, but she did not win.

``What brings peace to my heart is that she was able to do what she loved to do,″ said singer-actor Tyrese.

Rhythm and blues legend Gladys Knight, who was married to Aaliyah’s uncle, said the singer displayed enormous talent early in life.

``When she first performed with me in Las Vegas, she was still quite young, but she already had it _ that spark the world would later see and fall in love with,″ Knight said in a statement.

Aaliyah was a nominee for rhythm and blues, soul or rap song of the year at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, which were being taped Tuesday for broadcast on Saturday.

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On the Net:

http://www.aaliyah2001.com

http://www.soultrain.com/losa/los.html