H.E.R. Wins Song of the Year at the 2021 Grammys
R&B phenomenon H.E.R. has just bagged her fourth Grammy, this time for Song of the Year for “I Can’t Breathe.” This is her second award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards after winning Best R&B Song earlier in the day for “Better Than I Imagine.”
The Filipino-American singer and songwriter has been nominated every year at the Grammys since 2019 after bursting into the scene with her debut album H.E.R. The artist, born Gabriela Sarmiento Wilson, beat out Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Julia Michaels, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, and Roddy Rich for Song of the Year, one of the top three awards of every Grammy night.
Since her first nomination in 2019, H.E.R. has 13 Grammy nominations under her belt—and now, four Grammy wins.
H.E.R.'s Grammy winning song "I Can't Breathe" is a politically charged song addressing police brutality in the U.S.A. "I can't breathe" is also the unofficial slogan of the Black Lives Matter Movement and it originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed Black man who was killed by New York City police in 2014.
"I didn't imagine that my fear and that my pain would turn into impact, and it would possibly turn to change, and I think that's what this is about. That's why I write music. That's why I do this," said H.E.R. in her acceptance speech.
Wilson’s stage name H.E.R. stands for Having Everything Revealed, a head nod at the singer’s reputation for avoiding the limelight and letting her music do the talking for her. H.E.R. is notorious for her secrecy and lowkey presence outside her career as a performer.
Wilson, who identifies as Black and Filipino, struggled to fit in growing up, but found her voice as an artist as a blend of her two cultures.
