If you don’t know about Gabriella Wilson, better known as her stage name H.E.R., you might know her through her hits such as “Best Part” featuring Daniel Cesar or “Focus”. This 21-year-old California-native singer has recently reached her second No. 1 on Billboard’s adult R&B songs chart but has been singing since she was much younger, even competing on Radio Disney’s The Next BIG Thing when she was only 12 years old.
Since then, she’s grown up and gone anonymous, recording songs under the stage name H.E.R. (Having Everything Revealed), choosing to represent herself and other women through her music. Although she’s mainly an R&B artist, it’s clear through her songs that Wilson is influenced by all genres of music, and she’s certainly no stranger to the various instruments that have put together her songs.
I was recently invited to attend H.E.R.’s concert in Boston, and from the moment she took the stage until the very last song, I was hooked. It was clear that the audience was compelled by the way she walked onto the stage, confident but incredibly humble, her sunglasses perched on her nose and her natural hair flowing around her. Instead of starting out with one of her more famous songs, she chose an R&B funk-infused song from her new album that got everyone moving as she strummed her acoustic guitar.
In a span of about five minutes, she had already gone from playing an acoustic guitar to the electric guitar to a keyboard, and finally the drums. Her energy matched the crowd as she would seamlessly switch from song to song, barely giving herself a break. When she did, however, she did it in the best possible way.
Instead of having some transition music while she picked up a new instrument or went to change something, she’d have her backup singers take the center stage, sometimes even performing half of a song. The love and appreciation that she had for the people who were performing with her were clearly shown in the way she acted around them, completely humble and grateful for their presence.
Her backup singers weren’t the only people that were shown appreciation. In her performance of her song “As I Am”, she had various videos of her fans playing in the background as she danced and sang along with them. The stage set-up was simple, but the aesthetics varied in every song. Some would use the small projector screen that was set up behind her and play videos, but other songs would just be bright colorful lights that flashed into the audience as she sang.
In a way, the set-up reflected H.E.R.’s persona: low-key and mysterious. There were moments when the lights were flashing so bright that it was impossible to take a picture or a video of her, and perhaps that was a way of preserving her anonymity. One thing is certain – she never took off the sunglasses, no matter how personal and honest she got with her audience between her songs.
I’ve been listening to H.E.R. for over a year now, and I recommend her to anyone who’s looking for new music. Her lyrics are heartfelt and relatable, and her musical talent is absolutely incredible.
If you want to hear more of H.E.R., check out her Spotify page here.
If you want to keep up with her tour, follow her on Instagram here.
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