R&B legend Gladys Knight says she will miss her niece Aaliyah "for the rest of my life."

Aaliyah, 22, died this weekend in a plane crash while flying home from a video shoot in the Bahamas, along with eight others. Knight was a longtime family friend who gave Aaliyah her first professional experience, inviting her to perform with her onstage in Las Vegas.

"Her star had just begun to shine so brightly. Though she was ours for only a short time, what a time it was. I love Aaliyah, and I will miss her for the rest of my life," Knight said in a press release.

Knight was married to Aaliyah's uncle, and said she can still recall the occasion of the singer's birth.

"It was a great, beautiful day ... She immediately became a special part of my life, and I became Auntie Gladys to that wonderful little girl," she said.

"I watched her grow up, and, with the rest of the world, saw her achieve success with her very special and unique talents. From an early age, I knew she had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift.

"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.

"She had a refreshing outlook for one so young, with true respect for her art and for her elders. She brought joy to my heart, and I felt blessed to encourage and support her professionally and personally as she strove for each new goal."