Super Bowl ‘America the Beautiful’ Singer: Who Is H.E.R., Everything to Know

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Super Bowl LV is starting with some serious talent Sunday, as the big game gets underway with a star-studded Kick-Off show. (All the festivities can be watched for free online this year) Singing “America the Beautiful” before the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers go head-to-head for the title is H.E.R., who is taking over the role from Yolanda Adams in 2020.

Also known as Gabi Wilson, the 23-year-old is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose mysterious persona created quite the buzz when she released her first self-titled album in 2017. With just seven songs, no biography and only a silhouette as the cover, the mystery of her identity didn’t last for long as her music began to garner critical acclaim.

“I reveal who I am and my stories and my emotions, and music is an outlet for me. But it’s all revealed through my music and my message. Even though I don’t show my face and I don’t tell people who I am or more about me, it’s — really, you get to know who I am in my music,” she shared of her choice to keep a low profile in a rare radio interview in 2018. Her musical talents are anything but low-profile, however, as H.E.R. can play five instruments — piano, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass guitar.

“Playing guitar is part of who I am since I was a kid. I remember watching a video of Lenny Kravitz and Prince [from the Rave Un2 the Year 2000 concert] when I was a kid. That video changed my life — it made me want to play guitar just because of how rock star it is,” she said to Rolling Stone in December 2019.

Performing since she was just a kid, H.E.R. sang in her dad’s cover band as a little girl and made headlines at age 10 when she covered Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” on the TODAY show. At age 12, she was a finalist in a singing competition hosted by Radio Disney, then signed her first record deal with Sony at 14. In 2019, she won Grammys for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album, and the artist is nominated for Song of the Year and Best R&B Song at the upcoming 2020 Grammys.

Upon being announced as a performer at the Super Bowl, H.E.R. posted on Instagram, “I’ll be in Tampa Bay for the @NFL#SBLV to sing America the Beautiful as part of the Super Bowl on @CBS Kick-Off Show at 6 PM ET. Make sure to tune in!”

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