Meet H.E.R the R&B star who won 2 Grammy, an Oscar and a BET award in the first half of 2021

The first time I heard H.E.R was on the song she did with Wizkid in 2020, Smile to be precise, I didn’t really check her up until recently when  I also saw her in a 2021 Netflix Movie titled YES DAY because she looked so much like Rihanna (the Love of my life).

It might be shocking to you that H.E.R whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson has bagged a BET, Grammy, and an Oscar Award in the First Half of 2021.

Who is H.E.R? 

H.E.R (an acronym for Having Everything Revealed) is an American singer and songwriter whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson was born in Vallejo, California to a Filipina mother and an

African American father. Raised in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, performing as Gabi Wilson, she was introduced to the public as an artist as a young child, covering Alicia Keys on piano on the Today Show.

She appeared at the famed Apollo Theatre in NYC on September 23, 2007, covering Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway Of Love.” She made her acting debut at the age of nine, starring in the Nickelodeon TV film School Gyrls. 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'”, sung 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.

In 2011, Wilson signed a record deal with Sony’s RCA Records via MBK Entertainment at the age of 14, later releasing her debut single titled “Something to Prove” under her real name.

Re-emerging in late 2016 with a new persona, Wilson released her debut EP, H.E.R. Vol. 1 on September 9, 2016, under RCA, followed by four subsequent EPs.

How did she bag such prestigious Awards in a matter of 6 months?

The 24 years old won her first two Grammy awards in 2019, for her first compilation album H.E.R.(album), consisting of tracks from her first two EPs plus six additional songs. The album which was was nominated for five Grammy Awards won the Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album.

This year, She won additional Two Grammy Awards, Her song “I Can’t Breathe” won the Song of the Year category,  while “Better Than I Imagine” (with Robert Glasper and Meshell Ndegeocello) won the Best R&B song category

She was also awarded the Academy Award  (Oscar Award) for Best Original Song for “Fight for You” from the film Judas and the Black Messiah (2021).

Finally, She beat  Beyoncé for the best female R&B category at the BET Award.

It is important to note that  H.E.R recently released her debut full-length album titled Back of My Mind so check it out!