Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson[3][4] was born on June 27, 1997, in Vallejo, California,[5] to a Filipino mother and a Black father, and raised in California's San Francisco Bay Area. According to an interview with Guitar Center, Wilson's father was a musician in a cover band, and hosted their practice sessions in the family's living room.[6] Additionally, members of her mother's extended family were guitarists, drummers and bassists, as well as vocalists, often playing for karaoke events.[6] Wilson states that these were some of her earliest influences, musically.[6]
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 in 2011 when she was 14. In 2014, her debut single "Something to Prove" was released under her real name.[9][10]
2016–2019: Breakthrough and I Used to Know Her
H.E.R. performing in 2018
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.[11][12] In April 2017, Barbadian singer Rihanna posted an Instagram clip with H.E.R.'s track "Focus" playing in the background. The clip has been viewed over 5 million times.[13] Additional industry support came from Issa Rae of HBO's Insecure, Taraji P. Henson of Empire, Kylie Jenner, and Kendall Jenner.[citation needed]
NPR listed H.E.R. Vol. 1 as the first selection in its "5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On".[14] 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.[15]Forbes named her one of "5 Alternative R&B Artists to Look Out for in 2017", reporting: "In the same vein as The Weeknd's enigmatic introduction to the world, H.E.R.'s image remains a mystery. The irony, though, is that her moniker is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed."[16]
Wilson's follow-up EP, H.E.R. Vol. 2 (2017) also produced by Harris, was released on June 16, 2017, and includes the single "Say It Again". She went on tour with Bryson Tiller for the Set It Off tour, and concluded her first headlining tour, the Lights On Tour, in support of H.E.R. Vol. 2.[17] She released H.E.R. Vol. 2, The B Sides (2017), produced by Harris, on October 20, 2017, and the single "2" on October 13, 2017. 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.[18]
In August 2021, it was announced that Wilson was in final negotiations to make her feature film debut in the 2023 film adaptation of The Color Purple, playing the role of Squeak.[27][28] 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.[29]
H.E.R. joined Usher's performance at Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024, playing electric guitar during "U Got It Bad" and "Bad Girl."[30]
On February 13, 2024, H.E.R. announced a new management deal with Lighthouse Management + Media, whose founder Aleen Keshishian also represents singers Olivia Rodrigo and Selena Gomez.[31] The move came after legal disputes with Wilson's previous management, MBK Entertainment, which included Wilson filing a lawsuit to be released from the MBK label.[32][33]
Musical style
Consisting mostly of R&B ballads, H.E.R.'s songs have been described as "downcast post-breakup material that sounded vulnerable and assured at once".[5] In an interview, H.E.R. mentioned that she grew up listening to Filipino ballad singers such as Sharon Cuneta and Jay R.[34] H.E.R. has also openly credited the singer Prince as one of her biggest influences.[35][36]
Addressing the secrecy over her identity, she has said: "The mystery is a metaphor for who I am, or who I was at the time of creating the project... I feel like oftentimes we don't like to be open as people about our emotions or things that we are going through. At the time [of recording], I was very closed off except for when I was writing or when I was in the studio."[37]
She explained further: "I am a voice for women who feel like they're alone in these situations. This project came from emotion, and that's what I want it to be about – not what I look like or who I'm with, but the raw emotion and support for women."[38] To NPR she said, "I feel like this is the era of the anti-star. I really just wanted it to be about the music, and get away from, 'Who is she with?' and 'What is she wearing?'"[39]
Media appearances
H.E.R. appeared as herself in the movie Yes Day (2021).[40] She performed her original song "Change" on the episode "Active Citizenship" of the 2021 Netflix educational animated series We the People.[41] On July 20, 2022, it was announced H.E.R. would be singing the role of Belle for ABC's Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.[42] The television special aired on December 15, 2022. She sang the National Anthem at Game 1 of the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. On October 28, 2023, she made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, performing “The Glass” with Foo Fighters. She made her big-screen acting debut in The Color Purple,[43] which was released in theaters on December 25, 2023.
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