{"id":231301,"date":"2025-09-16T12:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T12:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/231301\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T12:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T12:04:17","slug":"usc-students-surprise-five-time-grammy-award-winning-artist-h-e-r-annenberg-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/231301\/","title":{"rendered":"USC students surprise five-time Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R \u2013 Annenberg Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

When five-time Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. made her way to USC\u2019s campus on Thursday, she was prepared to answer questions from fans. She didn\u2019t know that these fans had a surprise in store for H.E.R. <\/p>\n

While H.E.R. typically is known for selling out iconic arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl, this time, H.E.R. managed to completely fill up every seat in USC\u2019s Bovard Auditorium. USC students Lionna Romans, Rachel Barton, Joshua Grossman, Eyen Paredes and Jaden Lehman performed H.E.R.\u2019s hit songs \u201cBest Part\u201d and \u201cThe Journey\u201d for the artist and the audience.<\/p>\n

\"ALionna Romans and classmates perform H.E.R.’s \u201cIt\u2019s the Journey\u201d at USC\u2019s Beyond Category event. (Photo by Travis Ellison) <\/p>\n

As the academic journey of these seniors at USC Thornton School of Music comes to an end, they are excited to add one more impressive performance to their repertoires. \u201cThornton does an exceptional job at giving us the tools to succeed,\u201d Romans said in an interview. But for her, performing is more than just an addition to a resume. <\/p>\n

\u201cPerforming for me feels like a really out-of-body experience,\u201d Romans said, \u201cIt\u2019s like a spark, and then just like that, it\u2019s over, and it was the best thing ever. And then I\u2019m just chasing that high every time that I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

H.E.R. smiled from ear to ear and mouthed the word \u201cwow\u201d as she watched her songs being performed. When the performance was over, she ran up and hugged every performer. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have looked up to H.E.R. for a really long time,\u201d said Grossman, \u201cI think she has one of the most beautiful, unique voices out there, so the opportunity to be able to be a part of this and be on stage at the same time as her is so surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, USC students buzzed with excitement to see H.E.R. Many were excited to ask questions about her musical journey and creative development process. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to see H.E.R. She\u2019s a really good singer, and her come-up story is something I would like to learn more about. It\u2019d be really cool to talk to her and ask a few questions,\u201d said sophomore Joseph Edwards, a business of innovation major. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super excited. I\u2019m looking forward to the Q&A section to find out more about the music-making process,\u201d said student Sahara McPoland, a human biology major.<\/p>\n

Thornton posted<\/a> about the live Q&A with H.E.R. \u2014 hosted by Dean Jason King \u2014 on their website and opened it up to all students, faculty, staff and guests to attend without charge. Some students expressed that they were not aware of the event taking place. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know she was coming. We were on our way to a meeting [when we heard] about the event, we hopped in line,\u201d said senior Neena Harris, a legal studies student.<\/p>\n

H.E.R. took the stage to discuss her musical journey from childhood, with King moderating the event. She described navigating her teenage years, being inspired by rock and roll when her father took her to a Buddy Guy concert when she was seven years old. H.E.R. credited that moment as instrumental in her musical journey. <\/p>\n

\u201cH.E.R. is a model for students of what is possible at a young age if you\u2019ve got ambition, but if you also have skills and technique and discipline and you are willing to commit yourself to your craft, the sky is the limit,\u201d King told Annenberg Media in an interview. <\/p>\n

\"H.E.R.H.E.R. shares a smile while answering student questions at USC\u2019s Beyond Category event. (Photo by Travis Ellison) <\/p>\n

During the Q&A, students asked H.E.R. about navigating creative blocks, taking risks and using music to empower others. H.E.R. remained candid as she encouraged students to use their voice to advocate for and empower others. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere will never not be an opportunity to use your voice. There will always be an opportunity where there is a struggle, where there is human suffering, and that\u2019s not going to end. Some of us are vessels, so we just have to be obedient to,\u201d said H.E.R. <\/p>\n

When asked about exploring rock and roll and Black artists, such as Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s \u201cCowboy Carter\u201d album, H.E.R. was open with audience members. <\/p>\n

\u201cMusic can mean different things to different people\u2026.It\u2019s more about the presentation of it than the sound to me,\u201d said H.E.R. \u201cI\u2019m not an R&B artist because I\u2019m Black. I\u2019m an R&B artist and I\u2019m Black,\u201d <\/p>\n

The Q&A session concluded with H.E.R. teasing her upcoming album and expressing her excitement about using music to free herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I will feel free when this record is out. I think the purpose of this album is to free myself,\u201d said H.E.R.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When five-time Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. made her way to USC\u2019s campus on Thursday, she was prepared to answer…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":231302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,124704,124696,124705,124703,2961,124701,224,5337,975,40512,124702,124697,124698,124700,124699],"class_list":{"0":"post-231301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-eyen-paredes","11":"tag-h-e-r","12":"tag-jaden-lehman","13":"tag-joshua-grossman","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-lionna-romans","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-music","19":"tag-performing","20":"tag-rachel-barton","21":"tag-usc-events","22":"tag-usc-guest-speakers","23":"tag-usc-thornton-school-of-music","24":"tag-usc-thorton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115213884972785297","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}