The Full Story of How Brandy Ended Up at the Prom With Kobe Bryant

The famous pair naturally were all anyone could talk about before the big night at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. "It's been difficult. Very difficult," an unnamed secretary told the Philadelphia Inquirer in the week leading up to the May 25 prom, referring to the rumors (such as that Brandy was going to sing), media requests, security concerns and all the rest of the highly irregular pre-prom activity taking place.

According to the Inquirer, Kobe and Brandy arrived on the late side in a white stretch limo they shared with a group, including Kobe's teammate Jermaine Griffin and his date, Tarvia Lucas, daughter of the Philadelphia 76ers' coach at the time, John Lucas.

Some people asked Brandy for autographs and to pose for photos, but despite all the reporters gathered outside to cover the event, pictures of them from that pre-camera-phone night were relatively scarce for years (though more have surfaced in the past couple weeks). They posed gamely for the school paper photographer, Stacy Moscotti, who was told in no uncertain terms just how important getting the shot was. Otherwise, Kobe and his date were treated almost like a couple of regular kids—at least once they were inside.

"They looked just so happy," Moscotti remembered to Access Hollywood last month. "Both of them have these thousand-watt smiles, and it's just a beautiful picture."

Ashley Pietropaolo, the friend who was skeptical when Kobe said he'd get Brandy to go to prom with him, told the Inquirer that the singer was "the sweetest person I ever talked to."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7prvNpaCnnV6YvK57zZ6urGdhZn9yg5VqZq2glWKztrjLZqqtp6KuerCyjKGmsGWSp66vsNhmnKeclZl6tryMmqtmrJiaerG%2BzqZksKGknXqsu8GeZJuqqZa7tQ%3D%3D