American singer-songwriter H.E.R., whose Grammy-winning hit “I Can’t Breathe” became an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement, says she’s still amazed at the power of music to inspire, and that she’s a color picker. Likes to see young women. Guitar up.
Fresh off playing Belle in Disney’s tribute to “Beauty and the Beast,” she makes her big-screen debut in the musical “The Color Purple” — based on the Alice Walker novel that Whoopi Goldberg made the stars. Oprah Winfrey was last filmed by Steven Spielberg in the 1980s.
Born Gabriela Sarmiento Wilson, she already has five Grammy Awards, a Best Song Oscar, and nearly two decades of performing experience — despite being just 25 years old.
On Tuesday, he unveiled his latest guitar collaboration with guitar maker Fender: The HER Limited Edition Blue Marlin Stratocaster.
In an interview with Reuters, HER, who has an African-American father and a Filipina mother, said she hopes it will help inspire women from her own background.
Below are excerpts edited for length and clarity.
Q: What does getting your own Fender Artist signature guitar mean to you?
Her: “I think a lot of women, especially young black women, young Filipina women, don’t really think that this kind of thing is possible and I barely thought it was possible. So it’s crazy to know that. I’ve done it… It’s inspiring a lot of women who want to play instruments and pick up a guitar and know they can…[The guitar is]called the Blue Marlin because I grew up fishing with my dad and I think it’s one of the best looking fish ever.
Q: How do you feel about being a role model and knowing that you can have that kind of impact on people, which is what happened with “I Can’t Breathe”?
She: “Somebody says to me ‘Oh, ‘I can’t breathe’, I marched to that song’ or ‘My grandpa started thinking differently because he heard that song’ and I’m like, wow. It’s crazy how music can do that, but it’s also crazy that I can do it and I’m really grateful.
Q: How old were you when you started making music?
She: “I was five, six when I started playing the piano and then I picked up the guitar when I was seven, and he (her father, musician Kenny Wilson) taught me to play the blues. .. I started performing when I was six years old. The first time I was on stage was with my dad and his band and I remember at one point my mom booked me like gigs, e.g. That there are festivals and things around.
Q: What was making “The Color Purple”?
Her: “I’m so grateful that technically it was like my first debut, officially working with Oprah and Spielberg. It’s crazy… We just had so much fun and the cast was amazing. It’s exciting.”