Amber Riley dedicates Jimmy Kimmel performance to former co-star Naya Rivera

Amber Riley gave a powerful performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, during which she honored the memory of her former Glee co-star Naya Rivera.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! gave fans an emotional run yesterday, with Amber Riley honoring her former Glee co-star with a powerful and heart-wrenching performance of “A Moment.” As Riley sang her song, a montage of images rotated behind her, showing the late Rivera as a means of honoring her memory.

Rivera was found dead in California’s Lake Piru this summer following a five-day search for her. Only 33 years old, the former actress and singer appeared to have drowned saving her four-year-old son. Hollywood mourned the loss of the woman who positively impacted so many lives, and her Glee co-stars each spoke out about what she meant to them.

Riley was among the Glee alumni to mourn her friend on social media, writing in an Instagram post, “I’m so mad the world will never see how high you could have soared. Her brain was brilliant. She was smart and as quick as a whip. Always had me in stitches, we would be in tears laughing so hard at one another.”

Watch Riley’s tribute to Naya Rivera here:

The episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was guest-hosted by Lil Rel Howery, who also took a moment to express his grief over Rivera’s death. “We both lost an amazing friend in a tragic accident and we both will miss her forever,” he said.

Following the news of Rivera’s death, the Glee creators also set up a college fund for her son, another way of paying tribute to her. The impact the late actress had on everyone who worked with her is clear — as is the fact that Hollywood won’t be forgetting about her anytime soon.