H.E.R. surprise performance steals spotlight at Super Bowl halftime

Usher performs with H.E.R. during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

LOS ANGELES – Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were not the only celebrity package at Super Bowl 2024 in Las Vegas on Sunday. During halftime, R&B superstar Usher welcomed on stage his surprise A-lister guests: Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, Alicia keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris – and award-winning Filipino American singer, guitarist and songwriter H.E.R.

Midway through Usher’s performance, watched by tens of millions worldwide, H.E.R. showed off her guitar skills. She channeled edgy glam in a black plunging catsuit, platform boots and her signature gold-framed sunglasses.

“CAN’T SPELL USHER WITHOUT H.E.R.,” she wrote in her Instagram post, with nearly 400,000 likes and more than 7,000 fans praising her performance, many of whom compared her to the pop music legend Prince.

“HALFTIME SHOW?!?!???? WHAAAAAAT. AND IT WAS THE GREATEST EVER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TALENT, YOUR LOVE, AND FOR SHARING THIS MOMENT WITH ME. WOW I HAVE NO WORDS. @usher WE LOVE YOU,” wrote H.E.R.

Here are some interesting facts about H.E.R. and her Filipino heritage:

• H.E.R.’s real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, and her nickname is Gabi.
• She collaborated with “Beauty and the Beast” costume designer Marina Toybina to represent her Black and Filipino culture.
• She joined the producing team of “Here Lies Love,” the broadway show about Imelda Marcos’ rise to power and subsequent fall during the People Power Revolution.
• Her favorite Filipino food is sinigang, which her Filipino grandma made for her.
• Her mother is from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, which she called “the tricycle capital of the world.” After visiting her mom’s hometown, she said she felt “even more connected” to her roots.
• She grew up watching “Home Along Da Riles” and was a fan of Sharon Cuneta, Gary V. and Jay-R.
• Her after-school snack was Choc Nut
• When she was 11, she sang “Maging Sino Ka Man” on a Filipino magazine talk show.
• Also at 11, she sang the national anthem at a 49ers game (Most Fil-Ams in the San Francisco Bay Area are avid niners).