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a14 people & arts
Wednesday 16 March 2022
H.E.R. does juggling act with concert tours, acting, Grammys

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and woman.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — H.E.R. "It's the growth of me as a
won top Oscar and Gram- musician, but also just as
my music honors last year, a person," she said. "I think
but those supreme acco- that's special. It's a special
lades were just a precursor thing for me and I hope
for the singer-songwriter's that people join me and
next moves. continue to be on the on
The R&B star enters the the ride with me."
Grammy Awards as one After working with H.E.R.,
of the leading nominees producer Hit-Boy said he's
again, she's the new glob- looking forward to the
al ambassador for L'Oreal singer's tour and other proj-
Paris, she was recently hon- ects calling her a "different
ored at Billboard's Women breed."
in Music event and she will "She's an entertainer and
start filming "The Color Pur- musician," said Hit-Boy, who
ple" musical this month in produced "Trauma," a song
Georgia. She'll embark on on H.E.R.'s debut studio al-
her 19-city Back of My Mind bum "Back of My Mind," a
tour in early April while sep- Grammy album of the year
arately joining Coldplay for nominee. "She separates
their world tour as a sup- herself from a lot of others
porting act later this month. as a musician. She under-
Plus, H.E.R. is still fitting in stands when you play her
studio time to record new certain chords and exactly
music. It might seem like a H.E.R. appears at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. what they are, what exact-
super heavy workload, but Associated Press ly to put on top of them."
the singer says she's willing Along with touring, H.E.R.
to carry the weight. cian before anything. Now many. That's the challenge, but will venture into the world
"I do take up a lot of space. I'm just organically show- The four-time Grammy win- also the fun part." of film for the Oprah Win-
I do carry a lot with me. I'm ing myself and speaking ner said she found inspira- H.E.R. kicks off her tour in frey-produced "The Color
supposed to," said H.E.R., on certain things and just tion to perform in stadiums Los Angeles on April 5, just Purple" musical — a project
whose protest anthem being me. I want people to — where she "wants the two days after the Gram- she says will give "people
"I Can't Breathe" won a feel my presence — wheth- drums to really hit" — after mys, where she's up for something they haven't
Grammy for song of the er it's in the music industry watching Kanye West and eight nominations includ- seen from me." It'll be her
year in 2021. In the same or the world." Drake's benefit concert at ing album and song of the acting debut alongside
year, she took home best H.E.R.'s upcoming tours and the LA Memorial Coliseum year. Both tours will run in a starry cast that includes
original song for the soulful Grammys offer that plat- late last year. conjunction with each oth- Fantasia, Colman Domin-
"Fight for You" from the "Ju- form. She'll perform for the "It inspired me to go into er, but she says the stadium go, Taraji P. Henson, Dani-
das and the Black Messiah" first-time in her career in a rehearsal and just fine tune shows with Coldplay are elle Brooks and Halle Bailey.
soundtrack at the Acad- stadium when she makes everything and come up "really spread out" location H.E.R. called being the
emy Awards. She co-wrote her first appearance on with some really great ar- and date wise while her global ambassador for
both songs. Coldplay's tour on March rangements and make it an tour touches some of those L'Oreal an honor. She said
"In the beginning, I want- 25 in Monterrey, Mexico. experience," she said. "The same domestic cities and she's been using the plat-
ed to be about the music Other touring cities with sound is different in an are- other markets too. form to empower young
and not necessarily who huge stadiums include na and even in a theater H.E.R. said the tour will be girls and women of color
I am and what I look like," Paris, Los Angeles, London, than in a stadium. I want to an opportunity to show her just like the singer, who is
she continued. "I'm a musi- Dallas and Frankfurt, Ger- make sure I fill the space. evolution as a music maker Filipino and Black.q

Anna Deavere Smith among winners of arts academy prizes

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor- Summer" and "The Rug the Medal for Spoken
playwright-educator Anna Merchant." He has also Language. Also on Tues-
Deavere Smith, play- edited such anthologies day, the academy gave
wright Adrienne Kennedy as "Writing New York" and the Distinguished Service
and author-essayist Phil- "The Art of the Personal Es- to the Arts award to Ed-
lip Lopate are among this say." win Frank, the 61-year-old
year's recipients of career The academy announced poet, essayist and founder
achievement prizes from Tuesday that the 90-year- of the publishing imprint
the American Academy old Kennedy, known for New York Review Books,
of Arts and Letters. such plays as "Funnyhouse which releases everything
Lopate, 78, won the of a Negro" and "Sleep De- from overlooked literature
$100,000 Christopher privation Drama," won its of the past to contempo-
Lightfoot Walker Award Gold Medal for Drama. rary books in translation.
for contributions to Ameri- Smith, 71, whose credits The 52-year-old visual artist
can literature. His books range from such one-per- Kara Walker, whose silhou-
Actor-writer Anna Deavere Smith attends a special screening include the essay collec- son stage shows as "Fires in ettes have been exhibited
of HBO Films' "Notes From The Field" in New York on Feb. 21,
2018. tions "Bachelorhood" and the Mirror" to the TV series worldwide, received a
Associated Press "Against Joie de Vivre" and "The West Wing" and "Nurse Gold Medal for Graphic
the novels "Confessions of Jackie," has been given Art.q