Keri Hilson

Southern Belle Keri Hilson certainly falls in line with the current trend in urbanized, R&B music. She knows the value of making friends in high places.

Hilson, who established herself behind-the-scenes as a songwriter and music arranger for pop tarts like Ciara and Britney Spears, has appeared in videos by superstars like Usher and Ne-Yo. Musically speaking, her closest cousin would be Rihanna, but at present time, Hilson isn't anywhere close to orbiting Rihanna's stratosphere. Sure, she possesses the same creamy smooth vocals and similar, big ticket contacts and connections which should help propel her to the same level as Miss R.

Hilson sprinkles her second album, In a Perfect World with several A-list, high-profile guest appearances. She goes big and easily snared Timbaland. The noted producer/rapper shows up on the upbeat "Return the Favor," which is no surprise since Hilson and Tim go way back; she performed on his hit "The Way I Are" and he signed her to his label. Lil Wayne pipes in on "Turnin' Me On," while "Energy" is a shimmery, slightly electronic ditty about love, where all eyes are and ears are finally focused on Hilson. She's no longer content to take a back seat to other songstresses. Armed with her connections and a tight collection of tunes, this Georgia peach has all the necessary tools to steal the spotlight from her fellow urban, rhythmic pop princesses.

— Amy Sciarretto
12.10.08

After lengthy delays and some surprisingly low-performing singles, In a Perfect World... was issued in March 2009 and happened to sync up with Keri Hilson's first solo Top 20 hit, the coquettish trunk rattler "Turnin Me On." Prior to this, Hilson was quite familiar with high chart positions as a songwriter and featured vocalist. She co-wrote Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am" and Omarion's "Ice Box," both of which went Top Five hip-hop/R&B, as well as Ludacris and Blige's "Runaway Love," Timbaland's "The Way I Are" (featuring Hilson on vocals), and Britney Spears' "Gimme More," all of which were Top Five pop hits. Throw in some other prominent features, including Xzibit's "Hey Now (Mean Muggin')," Diddy's "After Love," two additional highlights from Timbaland's Shock Value, and Nas' "Hero," and you have an established track record for a serious singing/songwriting threat -- Siedah Garrett to the tenth power or stiff competition for Ne-Yo and the-Dream. With all but three of the 14 tracks produced by some combination of Timbaland, Polow da Don, and Danja, In a Perfect World... nonetheless reflects the versatility Hilson demonstrated prior to its release. It's a songwriting showcase as much as it is a coming out for a full-blown artist, yet more about what Hilson can do than who Hilson is. If she wasn't so adept with her pen, didn't fill the songs with her beaming personality and casually fluid voice, and didn't have top-level producers providing mostly excellent beats, it would be a mess. Sonically and (especially) lyrically, the album covers most bases when it comes to pop-oriented R&B, all scattered across a set that is heavy on solid club tracks (including the kinetic clap-and-bounce of "Get Your Money Up," a female anthem) and passable-to-steamy ballads (ranging emotionally from seductive to regretful). The slower tracks don't match up to their opposites, or even the bittersweet midtempo cut "Alienated," but they're not enough of a snag to prevent the album from being one of 2009's most replayable R&B releases. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide