MANILA, Philippines — Filipina-American H.E.R. won Best Video for Good for her song "I Can't Breathe" at the MTV Video Music Awards 2020.
H.E.R, whose real name is Gabriella Wilson, was also nominated in the Best R&B Video category but failed to win the award.
H.E.R. wrote "I Can't Breathe" as a protest song in response to recent police killings of unarmed Black people.
“Praying for change ’cause the pain makes you tender,” part of the lyrics said.
“All of the names you refuse to remember/Was somebody’s brother, friend/Or a son to a mother that’s crying, saying/’I can’t breathe, you’re taking my life from me,'” it added.
Before becoming H.E.R., she rose to fame by participating in Radio Disney's "Next Big Thing" in 2009. She later signed to RCA Records at the age of 14 and released the single "Something to Prove" under her real name in 2014.
She re-emerged in 2016 with the H.E.R. persona, releasing her debut EP "H.E.R. Volume 1." She then released subsequent EPs "H.E.R. Volume 2" (2017), "The B Sides" (2017), "I Used to Know Her: The Prelude" (2018) and "I Used to Know Her: Part 2" (2018).
Her first compilation album "H.E.R." was released in October 2017, consisting of tracks from the singer's first two EPs plus six additional songs. "H.E.R." was nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019, winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album.
H.E.R. was born in Vallejo, California to a Filipina mother and an African-American father.
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