Tag: Jess Glynne

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: H.E.R. Performs “Slide” for Vevo

Born Gabriella Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as H.E.R. (an acronym for Having Everything Revealed). Wilson first gained attention when she participated in Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing contest in 2009. By 2014, she had signed with RCA Records and released her debut single “Something to Prove” under her birth name. 

Back in 2016, Wilson re-emerged with her current solo project, H.E.R., releasing her debut EP H.E.R. Volume 1, a seven song collection of slow-burning, post-breakup material, which managed to sound both vulnerable and self-assured. RCA Records initially released the effort that September to limited promotion — but the album effort eventually landed at #28 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop charts thanks in part to social media co-signs from Alicia Keys and Bryson Tiller, as well as an attention grabbing cover of Drake’s “Jungle.” Wilson followed-up with 2017’s  similarly styled H.E.R. Volume 2, which debuted at #22 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop charts. 

Continuing the rapidly growing buzz surrounding her, the EPs were soon combined and released as H.E.R. with six additional tracks, including “Best Part,” a #32 R&B/hip-hop hit, previously heard on Daniel Caesar’s Freudian. 

Last year H.E.R. teamed up with pop superstar Khalid for “This Way,” which appeared on the Superfly Soundtrack. That August, Wilson released her third EP, I Used to Know Her: The Prelude, which landed at the top of R&B/hip-hop charts, thanks to the success of “Could’ve Been,” a duet with Bryson Tiller. By the end of the year, Wilson received five Grammy nominations — Album of the year and Best R&B album for H.E.R., Best R&B Performance for “Best Part,” Best R&B Song for “Focus,” and Best New Artist, winning Grammies for Best R&B Album and Performance. 

Since the Grammy Awards, she has collaborated with a diverse and eclectic array of artists including Chris Brown on “Come Together,” Jess Glynne on “Thursday,” Ed Sheehan on “I Don’t Want Your Money” and YBN Cordae on “Racks,” “21” and “Slide.” Some of that material was released on the compilation album I Used to Know Her while others were released as stand-alone singles or the albums of her collaborators. She’s also been nominated for five more Grammy Awards at the forthcoming 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Album and and Record with I Used to Know Her and Song of the Year for “Hard Place.”  

Recently Vevo invited the Grammy Award singer/songwriter and guitarist for a live session that included the two-step inducing “Slide” Featuring a shimmering and strutting neo-soul/classic soul arrangement and an infectious hook, the song is a perfect vehicle for Wilson’s sultry and self-assured vocals and some ambitious yet accessible songwriting. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Soulful Honky Tonk of London’s Yola

Yola is an up-and-coming London-born and-based singer/songwriter, who has led a rather remarkable life. She grew up extremely poor, and as a child was actually banned from making music. The up-and-coming British singer/songwriter has also overcome being in an abusive relationship, stress induced voice love and literally being engulfed in flames in a house fire, which inspired her Dan Auerbach-proudced full-length debut Walk Through Fire, which is slated for a February 22, 2019 release through Easy Eye Sound. 

Since then, Yola opened for the James Brown and joined renowned trip hop act Massive Attack before traveling to Nashville to work with Auerbach and a backing band that features musicians, who have worked with Elvis and Aretha Franklin.  Adding to a growing national and international profile, the up-and-coming British artist has received praise from NPR, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, Refinery 29, Billboard, American Songwriter, BrooklynVegan, Nashville Scene, Paste and Stereogum. Additionally, she will be appearing on BBC’s Later . . . with Jools Holland New Year’s Eve edition, where she’ll be performing alongside Michael Buble, Jess Glynne and the legendary Nile Rodgers. 

Walk Through the Fire‘s latest single, “Ride Out in the Country” is a Muscle Shoals-like take on honky tonk country that recalls Sandra Rhodes’ under-appreciated Where’s Your Love Been as its centered around twangy guitar chords, lap steel guitar, some Rhodes electric organ, a soaring hook and Yola’s easy-going soulful vocals. However, at its core the song is an achingly sad breakup song, written from the prospective of someone reeling from a devastating breakup, complete with the recognition that your former partner has moved on and maybe you should too, even if it’s profoundly difficult. Of course, the song’s narrator feels she has only one option — to get into the car and drive, and experience some of life’s small pleasures: having the wind in your air, of being out in open space with your thoughts, memories and regrets. 

Directed by Reid Long and Kip Kubin, the recently released video stars Yola driving through the country in an old Ford truck — but to eventually bury the bodies of two people in a shallow grave. On one level, the video’s main character is essentially burying a part of her past in an attempt to quickly move on.