Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, who goes by the stage name H.E.R., will perform “America the Beautiful” before the Super Bowl on February 7.
H.E.R. is a 23-year-old musician who was nominated for a whopping five Grammys in 2020, according to Oregon Live.
I’m ‘Kind of Nervous’
In a recent interview with ET Online, H.E.R. admitted she’s “kind of nervous” about performing but stated that she’s also “excited and blessed” to be part of it all.
“Honestly, I am so excited to just be performing at the Super Bowl,” H.E.R. said. “It’s a huge stage and it doesn’t get any bigger, you know? But I think the goal, for me, is to make [the song] my own. I’m a huge fan of the different versions of ‘America the Beautiful,’ but I really want to bring some different elements in there… make it H.E.R.”
She added, “I’ve been in rehearsals a lot, and I’ve been watching a lot of other performers,” she added, of how she’s preparing for the big moment. “I’m just going to try to tell myself to have a really good time. But I’m going to be in there, getting my warmups in, and just praying that everything goes well.”
Who Is H.E.R.?
H.E.R. hails from Vallejo, California, and has been singing since she was a child, according to Oprah Magazine.
The outlet adds that her name is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed.
After speaking to the artist, Oprah Magazine wrote, “In modes of incognita similar to the wigged Sia and the masked Pussy Riot, H.E.R. would prefer to keep her identity concealed—though not for reasons like her fellow musicians (for Sia, it’s to stay mysterious; for the feminist protest punk rockers, it’s so they don’t get arrested). For H.E.R., she prefers anonymity to celebrity, because she would rather let the music speak for itself.”
How was her identity revealed in the first place? According to Oprah, it was only after fans “dug” through SoundCloud they were able to identify the singer with the beautiful voice.
This year, country singer Eric Church teamed up with R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan to belt out the National Anthem.
Sporting News writes, “With the pairing, the NFL seems to really be hammering home the “unity” theme that has permeated American society, with Church, a country singer, and Sullivan, an R&B singer, to try and bridge the gap for those coming from all music tastes.”
Speaking to ET Online, Wilson shared that she is a huge fan of Sullivan’s.
“I’m a huge, huge Jazmine Sullivan fan … it’s definitely a perfect moment,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Man, I really gotta show up now, because Jazmine is going to be on that stage with me,’ you know?”
The singer added, “We haven’t gotten a chance to speak, but I know we’ve been cheering each other on, making comments on these [social media] posts. The fans are really excited, so I think this is going to be a really entertaining show. I think this is going to be a great year.”
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