1982–2007: Early life and career beginnings Keri Lynn Hilson was born on December 5, 1982, in
Decatur, Georgia. Hilson's mother owned and ran a
day care center and her father was a developer who served in the Army. Her brother is Kip and her sisters are Kelsee, Kye and Kaycee. Hilson and her siblings did not attend a school within the neighborhood, stating that "they shipped us off for an hour to get to school every day. It was just that important for us to maintain the life that they had created". Hilson's first credit as a songwriter was the song "Jump", performed by Japanese R&B singer
Michico for the latter's debut album,
I Do (2002). Hilson spent most of her teenage years working with producer
Anthony Dent as a songwriter and
background vocalist for the likes of
Usher,
Ludacris,
Kelly Rowland,
Toni Braxton,
Ciara and
Polow da Don. The following year, Hilson was featured on three singles; in June, on Timbaland's song "
The Way I Are", the second single from his album
Shock Value (2007); on
Rich Boy's "Good Things" with Polow da Don; and thereafter, in December, on Timbaland's song "
Scream" with
Nicole Scherzinger, the fifth single from
Shock Value. The former peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 — her first entry on the chart — while peaking atop nine international charts.
2008–2009: In a Perfect World... In 2008, Hilson appeared in the music videos for Usher's single "
Love in This Club" and
Ne-Yo's single "
Miss Independent". Her debut studio album,
In a Perfect World..., was released on March 24, 2009. The album contained pop-oriented
R&B songs. It was initially planned to be released the previous year; however, the album was delayed several times because Hilson wanted to make sure it came out to her liking, stating "I'm just a perfectionist. I have had many [release dates], but it's all for a good cause. The label wants to make sure the album has its proper release, and I'm thankful for that. Very grateful, even though fans look at it like it's a bad thing." In the United States,
In a Perfect World... debuted at number four on the
Billboard 200 chart, and number one on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with first-week sales of 94,000 copies. By October 2009, the album was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its first single, "
Energy", released in May 2008, peaked at number 78 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 21 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It reached the top 50 in the United Kingdom, and peaked the highest in New Zealand at number two, and was certified gold in that country. Hilson also featured on three singles in 2008; in June, on rapper
Nas' song "
Hero"; in September, on
Kardinal Offishall's "
Numba 1 (Tide Is High)"; and thereafter, in October, on
Chris Brown's song "
Superhuman". "
Return the Favor", featuring Timbaland, served as the second international single from Hilson's
In a Perfect World... album, while "
Turnin Me On" featuring
Lil Wayne, was released as the second US single. The latter achieved commercial success, reaching number 15 on the
Billboard Hot 100, and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, eventually being certified platinum in the United States. Hilson and Lil Wayne performed the song on
Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 27, 2009. The next single, "
Knock You Down" featuring
Kanye West and Ne-Yo, achieved more success, reaching number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, eventually being certified two times platinum. It also reached the top ten in Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Hilson and West performed "Knock You Down" on the
Late Show with David Letterman on May 4, 2009. "
Make Love", "
Slow Dance", and "Change Me" featuring
Akon, were released as the album's fourth, fifth and sixth US singles, respectively. Hilson performed "Slow Dance" with
The Roots on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on September 18, 2009. Hilson, along with
Gym Class Heroes,
Gorilla Zoe and
T-Pain, were supporting acts on Lil Wayne's
I Am Music Tour in North America. At the 2009
BET Awards, she was nominated in four categories, including
Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Artist, as well as
Viewer's Choice and
Best Collaboration for "Turnin Me On" with Lil Wayne. She eventually won the Best New Artist category. In 2009, Hilson was featured on five singles; "
Number One" with
R. Kelly, "She Don't Wanna" with
Asher Roth, "
Everything, Everyday, Everywhere" with
Fabolous, "
Medicine" with
Plies, and on the remix of
Sean Paul's song, "
Hold My Hand". Hilson was nominated for Breakthrough Artist and
Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the
2009 American Music Awards. The re-released edition of
In a Perfect World..., in January 2010, included the single "
I Like", which reached number one in Germany, Poland and Slovakia, and peaked within the top ten in Austria, Norway and Switzerland. At the
52nd Grammy Awards, Hilson was nominated for
Best New Artist and
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Knock You Down" with Kanye West and Ne-Yo.
2010–2014: No Boys Allowed and acting debut concert During the first half of 2010, Hilson guest featured on rapper
Trina's single "Million Dollar Girl", and on
T.I.'s single "
Got Your Back". "
Breaking Point" was released as the first single from Hilson's second studio album,
No Boys Allowed, in September 2010; it only appeared on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart at number 44, and spent two weeks on the chart.
No Boys Allowed was released on December 21, 2010. Described as a "girl power album",
No Boys Allowed was primarily of the R&B and pop genres. Despite the album's title, Hilson stated "it's not about excluding men. It's more about women understanding that there comes a time in your life when you want a man. A real man. A grown up. Not a boy. And that's not a bad thing." Speaking of the songs on the album, she explained "I write from a female perspective, but I'm also telling men what women are really thinking and feeling about them". Although the album sold 8,000 copies more than Hilson's debut album
In a Perfect World..., it failed to match that album's debut chart position of number four on the
Billboard 200, due to
No Boys Allowed being released during the festive season with several Christmas albums debuting inside the top-ten. Hilson achieved success with the album's second single, "Pretty Girl Rock", which reached number 24 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, eventually being certified platinum. Hilson promoted "Pretty Girl Rock" with live performances on televised shows, including
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the
Late Show with David Letterman and
Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "
One Night Stand" featuring Chris Brown, and "
Lose Control (Let Me Down)" featuring
Nelly, were released as the album's third and fourth singles, respectively. In 2011, she was featured on British rapper
Chipmunk's single "
In the Air", for his album
Transition (2011). In April 2011, Hilson, along with many other R&B and hip hop acts, traveled to Australia to be part of its biggest urban music festival, Supafest. At the
2011 BET Awards, Hilson was nominated for Best Female R&B Artist and
Video of the Year for "Pretty Girl Rock". In July 2011, she was a supporting act on the second leg of Lil Wayne's I Am Still Music Tour in North America, before embarking on her first headlining European tour in October. In 2011, Hilson posed nude for the May issue of
Allure magazine. Hilson made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film
Think Like a Man, released on April 20, 2012. She also appeared alongside
Vin Diesel in the
sci-fi action film Riddick (2013), in a brief role as a prisoner allowed to escape to make room for
Riddick. Hilson portrayed the character Gigi in the 2021 film
For the Love of Money. 2015–2024: Collaborations and touring On October 25, 2011, during an interview on
BET's
106 & Park, Hilson revealed that she had begun recording her third studio album. She explained, "There's some people in the world that aren't gon' like this album coming from me. As I was experiencing the world, there were things that I was also experiencing on a personal front, and in my music it's coming out. There's a specific few people who ain't gon' like to listen to this album. Very emotional, I'll say that." At the time, Hilson explained that a release date had not yet been confirmed, saying: "I just write about my experiences and keep the release dates far, far from me. When I feel that I have [good material] is when I will give it to the label. But I'm not quite there yet. I'm still working." In July 2017, Hilson was featured on Zambian singer Tiwah Hillz's single "Beautiful". Hilson announced that she would be releasing new music in summer 2019, nine years after her previous album. She performed on the Femme It Forward Tour in summer 2019 alongside
Mya,
Brandy,
Ashanti,
Monica and
Amerie. In October 2019, Hilson referred to the album as untitled, but said that it was in the final stages of mixing and production. As of July 2023, no further details about the album were released. In April 2020, Hilson was featured on Ghanaian musician
Stonebwoy's song "Nominate". She later recommended
Rihanna for a future collaboration with the Ghanaian dancehall musician.
2025: We Need To Talk On March 27, 2025, Hilson released the single "
Bae"; the single samples
Hurricane Chris's 2007 single "
A Bay Bay". On the same day, she announced the parent album, her third, would be titled
We Need to Talk; the album was released on April 18, 2025. She posted a series of videos, where she spoke about returning to the music industry; she shared, "I just don’t want to put my life or my art in the hands of people who don't give a fuck about me [...] The thing is, I don’t fear being human — I love being human in my own hands. I fear being human in their hands [...] I’d love nothing more than to release this incredible music I’ve been ‘sitting on. There have been so many blockages I have constantly fought myself to not directly speak about". On April 21, 2025, Hilson released an official visualizer video for the album's second single, "Say That". Later in April 2025, Hilson acted in the
Lifetime film
Fame: A Temptations Story, alongside Canadian singer and actress
Keshia Chanté. On April 25, 2025, "Can't Wait", a song in collaboration with
Eric Benét was released. The trilogy continued on September 12, 2025, with the release of
We Need to Talk: Drama; single "Again" was released on the same day. == Artistry ==