Wilson
Gabriella âGabiâ Wilson (born June 27, 1997), better known under the acronym H.E.R. for âHaving Everything Revealed,â is an American R&B singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalistâwith the guitar being her signature instrument. Wilson was formerly known for keeping her real identity under wraps:
The mystery is a metaphor of who I am, of who I was at the time of creating the project. I feel like oftentimes we donât 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.
Raised in Californiaâs San Francisco Bay Area to a Filipina mother and an African-American father, Wilsonâs childhood was always filled with music. Artists such as Prince and Lauryn Hill contributed to the creation of her musical identity. Between 2007 and 2010, she performed in several broadcasts, including The Maury Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and also competed in Radio Disneyâs The Next BIG Thing with her song âMy Music.â Wilson subsequently signed a record deal with Sonyâs RCA Records by the age of 14, and released her debut single âSomething to Proveâ in 2014.
After a few singles and musical appearances under her real name, Wilson reappeared in 2016 when she dropped her debut EP, H.E.R., Vol 1, on SoundCloud as H.E.R., followed up in 2017 with H.E.R., Vol. 2âboth mixing an R&B, hip-hop and soul sound. On October 20, 2017, she released her debut compilation album, H.E.R., consisting of tracks from her first two EPs plus seven additional songs. In early 2018, the California native was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance for her collaboration with Daniel Caesar on âBest Part.â
Following the two EPs, I Used to Know Her: The Prelude and I Used to Know Her: Part 2âreleased in August and November 2018, respectivelyâWilson released her sophomore compilation album, I Used to Know Her, on August 30, 2019. It includes hit songs âHard Placeâ and âCouldâve Beenâ featuring Bryson Tiller. In 2019, Gabi Wilson saw another five nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
In March 2021, H.E.R. received two Grammy Awards for the Song of the Year for âI Canât Breathe,â and Best R&B Song for her featuring in Robert Glasperâs âBetter Than I Imagine.â A month later, Wilson won her first Oscar with the Academy Award for Best Original Song for âFight for Youâ from the film, Judas and the Black Messiah.
On June 18, 2021, H.E.R. finally released her highly anticipated debut full-length studio album, Back of My Mind. It includes 2019 single âSlide,â and 2020 singles âDamage,â âHold Onâ and âCome Throughâ featuring Chris Brown. As usual, she was nominated in seven categories for the 64th Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Album of the Year.