H.E.R.

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson^[1] (born: June 27, 1994 (1994-06-27) [age 30]), better known online as H.E.R., is an American R&B singer and songwriter. ^[2]

History

Early Life

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson was born on June 27, 1997, in Vallejo, California, to a Filipino American mother and an African American father and raised in California's San Francisco Bay Area.^[3]

Career Beginnings (2007-2011)

At age ten, performing as Gabi Wilson, she played an Alicia Keys song on the piano for the TODAY^[4] and at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City on September 23, 2007, covering Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love".^[5][6] She made her acting debut at the age of 9, starring in the Nickelodeon television film School Gyrls created by Nick Cannon. She also performed on Maury in 2007, Good Morning America, and The View in 2008. At this time, she was managed by Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment. She performed at the 2010 BET Awards covering Keys' "Fallin'", sang a tribute to Keys at the ASCAP Awards, and competed on Radio Disney's The Next BIG Thing at age 12, with her song "My Music" featured on Radio Disney.^[7]

2011-2016

In 2011, at age 14, Wilson signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records via J Records, in a deal arranged by her manager Jeff Robinson's MBK Entertainment. Her debut single "Something to Prove" was released under her real name.^[8]

Breakthrough (2016-2019)

Rebranding in late 2016 with the new H.E.R persona, Wilson released her debut EP, H.E.R. Vol. 1 on September 9, 2016, produced by songwriter David "Swagg R'Celious" Harris. She received support from Usher, Tyrese, PUSHA T, and Wyclef Jean; labelmates Alicia Keys and Bryson Tiller helped get the word out through Twitter co-signs, shoutouts, and re-posts.^[9] Additional industry support came from Issa Rae of HBO's Insecure, Taraji P. Henson of Empire, Kylie Jenner, and Kendall Jenner.

NPR listed H.E.R. Vol. 1 as the first selection in its "5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On".^[10] Calling the music "Slow-burning R&B that zooms in on emotional highs and lows," Rolling Stone included H.E.R. in its March 2017 "10 Artists You Need To Know" roundup.^[11]

The compilation album H.E.R. was released on October 20, 2017, comprising the songs from each of the three EP's in this series. The album won Best R&B Album and received four other nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.^[12]

2020-Present

On September 20, 2020, she sang Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U" for the In Memoriam segment of the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. In February 2021, during the pre-game festivities for Super Bowl LV, she performed "America the Beautiful", singing and playing guitar.^[13] On June 17, 2021, her single "Damage" topped the US R&B radio chart.^[14]

In August 2021, it was announced that Wilson was in final negotiations to make her feature film debut in the upcoming film adaptation of The Color Purple, playing the role of Squeak.^[15][16] She also sings a duet with Tauren Wells on the song called "Hold Us Together".

On November 30, 2021, the Apple Music Awards announced H.E.R. as the winner of Songwriter of the Year.^[17]

Discography

Albums

• Back of My Mind (2021)

Compilation Albums

• H.E.R. (2017)
• I Used to Know Her (2019)

EPs

• H.E.R. Volume 1 (2016)
• H.E.R. Volume 2 (2017)
• H.E.R. Volume 2, The B Sides (2017)
• I Used to Know Her: The Prelude (2018)
• I Used to Know Her: Part 2

Singles

• Something to Prove (2014)
• I Can't Breathe (2020)
• Find a Way (2021)
• Blessed & Free (2021)
• The Glass (2023)

Tours

Headlining

• Lights on Tour (2017)
• I Used to Know Her Tour (2018)
• Back of My Mind Tour (2021)

Supporting

• Set It Off Tour - Bryson Tiller (2017)
• Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour - Chris Brown (2018)
• This Is America Tour - Donald Glover (2019)
• Music of the Spheres World Tour - Coldplay (2022)

References