TOP CELEBRITY ARTS: Selena Gomez Is 'Doing Well,' Says Tour Opener Christina Grimmie

Grimmie tells MTV News how Gomez's parents discovered her on YouTube.
By Christina Garibaldi

Christina Grimmie
Photo: MTV News

Selena Gomez gave everyone a scare on Friday when she was hospitalized for nausea and a headache after an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Among those anxiously asking after her health was Gomez' pal and the opening act on her upcoming tour, Christina Grimmie, who is happy to report that the singer is doing fine.

"I texted her and asked if she was OK," Grimme told MTV News on Monday (June 13). "I talked to her mom and said she's doing well."

Grimmie has become a close friend of both Gomez and her family ever since the Disney star's parents came across Grimmie's YouTube channel. The 17-year-old up-and-comer's covers of pop songs from Lady Gaga to Nelly have made her an Internet sensation — her videos have been viewed more than 142 million times to date. But after Selena's stepdad, Brian Teefey, messaged Grimmie's brother, her career began to take off for real.

"My brother texted me during math class and said, 'OK, so I think Selena's parents are trying to contact you,' " she recalled. "Obviously, my first reaction was like, 'Come on now,' but it was from Selena's [YouTube] channel. So we got together, and that's how I got hooked up with her."

Now, Mandy and Brian Teefey are Grimmie's managers, her debut EP, Find Me, drops via iTunes at midnight on Monday, and she's slated to hit the road next month with Selena Gomez & the Scene and All Star Weekend for a summer tour.

"My sound right now is pop-synthy-dance. I'm very much a rocker chick; I like to throw in some rock." Grimmie said of her album. "Hopefully, my sound will evolve into something even bigger and better, but right now I'm thrilled with my album."

And while her career gets going, Grimmie is still looking to Selena as an example of how to handle the early stages of fame.

"She's been great," Grimmie gushed of Gomez. "I can't explain it — she was in my place at one point, but what I've learned from her is, just to keep going."

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