H.E.R. made her Grammy Awards debut tonight with a performance of her song “Hard Place.” The rising R&B star is up for five awards tonight, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
The multi-instrumentalist took the stage strumming her guitar, offering up simmering vocals as the song grew more lush and her band came towards the front. About halfway through, she was surrounded by her background singers and a string section. Towards the end, H.E.R. showed off her guitar-playing skills, shredding her way through a solo.
H.E.R. got her start as a pre-teen when she was pegged as a child prodigy. She performed on shows like The View before getting signed to RCA. She waited until 2016 to start releasing music under the mysterious moniker H.E.R. and has chosen to not directly address her identity while keeping her eyes covered with reflective sunglasses at all times.
H.E.R. has released several EPs, which were compiled into the self-titled, Album of the Year-nominated compilation. She has yet to release her debut album. Along with recognition in two of the Big Four categories, H.E.R. is up for three nominations in the R&B categories, including nods for her songs “Best Part” with Daniel Caesar and “Focus.”