What You Don't Know About H.E.R.

H.E.R may be known for her powerful lyrics and mesmerizing voice, but there's a lot about the Grammy-winning singer that the world may not know yet. That was, in part, by design. H.E.R. was born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson on June 27, 1997 (per All Music).

Gabi, as she was then known, grew up in San Francisco's Bay Area and had the heart of an artist from the very beginning. At just 10 years old, she appeared on Today covering Alicia Keys' "No One" on both piano and vocals. The performance got her quite a bit of attention, and her star power was clear.

By 14, Wilson was signed to Sony's RCA Records via MBK/J Records (via Forbes). With the ability to play multiple instruments and undeniable vocal talents, it seemed she was well on her way to stardom. She released a debut single, "Something to Prove," which was the only project she put out under the name Gabi Wilson. 

Gabi Wilson got the industry talking when she took on a new, and, to them, anonymous, persona. In September 2016, she released her debut EP, H.E.R. Vol. 1. The acronym stands for "Having Everything Revealed." The EP's striking melodies, coupled with honest and relatable lyrics, struck a major chord in the R&B world. Label mates Alicia Keys and Bryson Tiller were among those who praised the album publicly (per Forbes). And though the music spoke for itself, there was a lot of intrigue as to who was behind it.

"The way that I released the music did exactly what I wanted it to, which was make people just listen to the music," she told NBC Los Angeles of her reasoning to keep her identity a secret. "'[And] just listen to the message for what it is because we tend to listen with our eyes sometimes. Sometimes it's all about hype, and I didn't want hype... I don't want people to love my music because of what I look like or who I know or whatever."

H.E.R. also worried her young age would distract from the music's message. "I feel like maybe some people wouldn't have accepted the music if they knew I was 19," she shared. "Some people, they make these assumptions before they even listen to the music." H.E.R. vision certainly worked, allowing her to release H.E.R. Vol. 2. the following year.

Tracks from the two EPs were paired with six new songs to make H.E.R., the album. The compilation album was released in late 2017 and hooked both young audiences and longtime R&B fans. It scored her five Grammy Award nominations in 2018. She ended up taking home Grammys for Best R&B Album, as well as Best R&B performance for "Best Part," a duet with Daniel Caesar.

With that success, H.E.R. kept creating. She kept to her EP-to-album model, coming out with I Used to Know Her: The Prelude and I Used to Know Her: Part 2 before releasing the compilation album in August 2019 (per Soul Bounce). She has no plans on slowing down, either with releasing music or experimenting with it. Of her next direction, she told Rolling Stone in 2019, "In general, I definitely want to hear more records with chord changes and more people taking pride in the quality of the sound rather than just taking a loop and putting a beat under it. People like Quincy Jones and even Rodney Jerkins perfected their mixes and made sure each instrument was doing the right thing. They were looking for that feeling, as opposed to looking for that hit."

It looks like she's headed in the right direction, as she was nominated for five more Grammys in 2019 and three in 2020.