H.E.R. may have been majorly low key through most of her breakthrough 2018, hiding behind shades and a mysterious public persona, but she certainly shined on the Grammys stage during an emotive performance of her H.ER. single, “Hard Place.” Adorned with a sparkling sweatsuit and her trademark dark sunglasses and carrying a see-through guitar, she was joined onstage by a full choir to play the standout song from her debut album. By the end of her performance she had received a standing ovation and proven to be the revelation of the evening so far.
H.E.R. had been bubbling underground for the past few years, receiving recognition from Insecure creator Issa Rae and adoring posts from Rihanna for her debut EP, H.E.R., Volume 1. All the love she received drove the success of her debut album, titled H.E.R., which included Grammy nominations for Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album.
She has already won an award earlier, for Best R&B Performance along with Daniel Caesar for their duet “Best Part,” which appears on both H.E.R. and Caesar’s own debut album, Freudian. Freudian also only featured female guest vocalists. H.E.R. officially announced her presence tonight, so she’d better hang onto those dark shades — the spotlight from now on is only going to get brighter. Check out her performance above.
