H.E.R. Artistfacts

H.E.R. song list

H.E.R. Artistfacts

June 27, 1997
H.E.R. is Gabi Wilson, a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Vallejo, California who was raised by an African-American father and Filipino mother.
Wilson was discovered, aged 10, as a piano prodigy. She appeared on the Today show covering Alicia Keys' music and was scooped up by Keys' management company.
Wilson signed to RCA at 14 and dropped a track, "Something to Prove," under her real name.
She released her debut EP, H.E.R. Volume 1 (2016), the singer's first music under her performing moniker. Prior to H.E.R's performance, on the Late Late Show on January 8, 2019, the songstress explained to host James Corden about the meaning behind her stage name.

"It stands for Having Everything Revealed," she said. "It represented this time of becoming a young woman and going through heartbreak, and all these things that happen... I call it the evolution of woman."

Wilson added that the name is also a way to ensure that the focus of her career is on her music and not her image. "The best way for me to release my music was to be honest, and in order for me to do that, I felt like, let me not put my face on my music. Let me not put a name on my music, and just give my music the way that it is; its pure message," she explained. "That's all you can see: H.E.R."
Wilson has several pet snakes that live with her at home. She told The Guardian in a November 2018 interview that her favorite is named Mike.
H.E.R's father was in a cover band and the first musical thing he taught her was a blues scale on a guitar. "I learned how to play blues before anything else – a simple blues groove," she told Radio.com. "Anytime there was a jam session in our living room, I could keep up."
Gabriella Wilson marked a milestone when the H.E.R. Stratocaster was made available for purchase in September 2020. It meant she became the first ever Black female artist to launch a signature guitar in the history of Fender.

Comments: 1

C Del Rio from Fairfield, California Amazing talent. You are such an inspiration. When you were in sixth grade my husband was your teacher, at Solano Middle School. He said you were so talented. You have achieved so much. Your new song "I can't breathe" says it all. It should be blasting from rooftops. Thank you, THANK YOU, for using your talents to remind everyone to be aware of social injustice. Your music touches us all. Music can cause change, awareness.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

How Dry I AmIrving Berlin

Irving Berlin wrote "How Dry I Am" in anticipation of Prohibition, envisioning a bleak future without alcohol.

Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth

You wouldn't know it from the upbeat melody, but "Walkin' On The Sun" by Smash Mouth is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

Year Of The CatAl Stewart

The title of Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat" comes from Vietnamese astrology. The Year of the Cat comes every 12 Years: 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023...

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On MeElton John

Recording "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Elton John was frustrated and sang the line "don't discard me" with an exaggerated American accent, which is why is sounds strange.

DiamondsRihanna

Rihanna's 2012 hit "Diamonds" was written by Sia Furler, who two years later had a huge hit on her own with "Chandelier." Sia also wrote the David Guetta hit "Titanium."