Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Not only is H.E.R. absent from the Google search results for “H.E.R.” (yep, even with the quotation marks) but another new artist on the rise comes up, a male duo called Her. This is like MØ and M.O all over again. Anyway, the H.E.R. I’m talking about is Gabi Wilson, a 21-year-old R&B singer from California. She made her debut on RCA in 2016, and initially kept her identity a secret, as she says this enabled her to be more honest and open in her music. Fittingly, the name H.E.R. stands for “having everything revealed.” So far she’s released two EPs and a compilation album, similar to Robyn’s Body Talk project. Her style is R&B ballads, and it’s all very #mood with no big hooks. Nonetheless, the music is critically acclaimed, with supporters including Rolling Stone and Apple Music, and she is truly talented. Her vocals are very natural and effortless, and she’s an accomplished musician, playing electric guitar in her live performances. She was nominated for two BET Awards and performed at the ceremony last month, including a duet with fellow Future Pop star Daniel Caesar. She has also collaborated with Khalid (but who hasn’t these days?) and Snakehips, and she is a real “singer’s singer” with celebrity fans including Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Usher.