Still reeling in from this year’s Oscars? Well, we don’t blame you. After months of delay due to the ongoing pandemic, Hollywood’s biggest night still pushed through. The creme de la creme of Hollywood united to award outstanding cinematic work of the past year.
The talk of the town may be Anthony Hopkins’ shocking win over the departed Chadwick Boseman for the Best Actor in a Leading role award, but there’s one news Filipinos should celebrate about: Fil-Am musician H.E.R, which stands for Having Everything Revealed, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Yes, the song Fight For You, which she made in collaboration with Dernst Emile II and Tiara Thomas for the movie Judas and the Black Messiah bagged the coveted prize at the 93rd Academy Awards.
“I am so, so, so grateful, not only to win but also to be a part of such an important, important, story,” H.E.R. whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, said in her acceptance speech as per Philstarlife.com. The contemporary R&B artist also showed gratitude to her parents–her mother, who was at the awards ceremony with her, and her father, who was a musician and helped shape her musical influences and contemporary R&B sound.
She also said that she hopes her win inspires the young and the minority to follow their dreams. “Me being up there is a message to all the young Black and Filipino girls. You can be up here too. What you say matters, what you sing, what you write–it matters. It’s a reflection of who we are,” she explained.
H.E.R. has had an amazing year so far as she managed to bag a Grammy and an Oscar this 2021. She only needs to win an Emmy and Tony in order to be part of the elite EGOT Winners’ Circle. At only 23 years old, it seems like the possibilities are endless for this young singer/songwriter.
