Hilson has been writing music for other artists since 2001, including Britney Spears, Ciara, Usher, and Ludacris. Despite having made a name for herself as an arranger and background vocalist, lending her vocal talents to many of the songs she wrote on, Hilson remained behind the scenes for the most part until 2004, when she was featured on Xzibit's single, "Hey Now (Mean Muggin)" and made her performing debut singing the track live at the 2004 MTV Europe Awards.
In 2006, Hilson reappeared on the music scene in the video for Nelly Furtado's single "Promiscuous". Meanwhile, she signed as an artist with Timbaland's newly formed Interscope associated label Mosley Music Group and the pair started work on her debut album '"In A Perfect World...". The same year, she was featured on "After Love" from Diddy's album Press Play which was originally written for Danity Kane. She also wrote "Right Now" for Danity Kane as well as "Help", the second single from Lloyd Banks' Rotten Apple.
In 2007, Hilson made several appearances on Timbaland's solo effort, Shock Value where she featured heavily on the singles "The Way I Are" and "Scream" and the tracks "Miscommunication" and "Hello". Furthermore, she was featured on the track "Lost Girls" on Rich Boy's debut album and its second single "Good Things" and was credited as a writer and backing vocalist on Britney Spears' album Blackout. She also worked on Spears' follow-up "Circus", but the tracks didn't appear on the album.
A promotional video for her song "Where Did He Go" was released in 2008 and she went on to further promote herself as a solo artist on "Get It Girl", a track produced by Timbaland & Danja and recorded for a Verizon ringtone promotion and available also through iTunes.
She also played the lead role in Usher's music video for "Love in This Club", (as well as co-writing its "Pt. II" remix) appeared as one of the "independent women" in Ne-Yo's music video for "Miss Independent" and appeared briefly on Nelly's "Party People" music video wearing a T-Shirt with the slogan 'Hip Hop aint dead'. She soon after featured on Nas' debut single from his controversial album Untitled, "Hero".
After many pushbacks, Hilson's debut solo album In a Perfect World... has now been set for an early 2009 release. The album's first single was "Energy" and its music video was released July 14, 2008. "Energy" has peaked at a low #78 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A second single "Return The Favor" features Timbaland was released officially as a digital download on October 7, 2008 and the video, directed by Melina, premiered on October 23, 2008. In the meantime, she also featured on Chris Brown's single "Superhuman" and Kardinal Offishall's 2008 single "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)", which was originally featured Rihanna. This single failed to chart on the Hot 100.
The track "Turnin Me On" features rapper Lil' Wayne and was released as the third official single as a digital download on November 25. The video, which was directed by Erik White after he and Hilson met on the set of the "Superhuman" video, premiered on November 20, 2008. "Turnin Me On" has so far peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and recently hit #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming Hilson's most successful single as well as her first Top 50 single in the U.S.. It also peaked as the #1 Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop track. "Turnin Me On" also stood as the #1 video on BET's 106 & Park for about a week and currently is the #5 video request on that show, flucuating between the Top 5.
Recently, Keri Hilson's track "Alienated" was played exclusively on UK radio station Kiss 100 after winning the Fresh 40 mixtape deck battle with 51% against Maino's "All The Above".
It was announced on March 10th that the video for "Knock You Down"(featuring Ne-Yo & Kayne West) was in production and would be released as the fourth single.
Hilson's music has been favorably received, appearing on list of "Top Year Singles" with the songs, "Energy" and "Turnin Me On". The first was on Blender magazine list of the "The Top 144 Songs of 2008", at #61, and the latter was on Vibe magazine's "The 80 Best Songs of '08" at #67. Vibe also praised her voice and called her "ridiculously hot".
In 2010 saw the birth of No Boys Allowed and comes out on the 21st of December 2010. The First Single was Breaking Points and received positive and negative reviews, however failed to chart well. The second single Pretty Girl Rock saw more success and went on to chart respectably well. The song got that much attention that a official remix was made featuring Kanye West, which made the album too. The Suspected third Single is The Way You Love Me and a full length video (short film) appeared on Vevo. The video got mixed reviews, one side saying the video was a side to Keri that had never saw before (a more seductive side). However, some said that this side was too out there and was a bit too much.
DISCOGRAPHY:
ALBUMS:
2009: In A Perfect World...
2010:No Boys Allowed
SINGLES:
2004: Hey Now (Mean Muggin) [Xzibit feat. Keri]
2006: Help [Lloyd Banks feat. Keri]
2007: The Way I Are [Timbaland feat. Keri & D.O.E.]
2007: Good Things [Rich Boy feat. Polow Da on & Keri]
2008: Scream [Timbaland feat. Keri & Nicole Scherzinger]
2008: Hero [Nas feat. Keri]
2008: Energy
2008: Superhuman [Chris Brown feat. Keri]
2008: Return The Favor [feat. Timbaland]
2008: Numba 1 (Tide Is High) [Kardinal Offishall feat. Keri]
2008: Turnin Me On [feat. Lil Wayne]
2009: Knock You Down [feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo]
2009: Slow Dance
2010: I Like
2010:Got Your Back [T.I feat. Keri]
2010:Breaking Point
2010:Pretty Girl Rock
2010:The Way You Love Me
High Heels
Keri Hilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hate heels
Love how they look
But hate how they feel (2x)
Funky fresh dressed to impress ready to hurt him
Fresh off that happy juice, tipsy and flirtin
When my girls said Keri dat shorty looking at you (who me?) yea you (yea)
Making my way down to the dance floor
Sexiness like this hey what more could you ask for
Ooo
Think I'm doing too much I can't dooo
Starting to think I shouldn't've worn these shoes
What's the price we pay
For looking this way
But I'm still
In my high heels
That's when I get to tryna be cute
Messing wit u
I'm still dancing in my high heels
Can't you tell that I'm feeling you
What you wanna do
Boy you got me out here working
While my feet are hurting
Think that you deserve it
Let me hope that your worth it
In my high heels
If you could get me out of these shoes
I'm leaving wit u
Boy I'm so ready
I hate heels
I hate heels
Love how they look
But hate how they feel (2x)
DJ put my jam on and now I'm twirking
The way he look at me then know it's hurting makes it worth it
When my girls said Keri Shake it like your feeling that dude (who him?) same dude (its true)
So I'm ready
If he keep up I'ma show him rhythm
What you gon do with him
Bump him in my system
Ooo
Think I'm doing too much I can't dooo
Starting to think I shouldn't've worn these shoes
What's the price we pay
For looking this way
But I'm still
In my high heels
That's when I get to tryna be cute
Messing with you
I'm still dancing in my high heels
Can't you tell that I'm feeling you
What you wanna do
Boy you got me out here working
While my feet are hurting
Think that you deserve it
Let me hope that your worth it
In my high heels
If you could get me out of these shoes
I'm leaving wit u
Boy I'm so ready
In Keri Hilson's song 'High Heels', the singer confesses to her love-hate relationship with heels. She loves how they look, but she hates how they make her feel. The song narrates an experience in a nightclub where Keri and her girlfriends are getting attention from other guys. Keri is tipsy and flirting, and she is dressed to impress in high heels. As she makes her way down to the dance floor, she realizes that the shoes are hurting her feet, but she continues to dance anyway. The chorus repeats twice, emphasizing Keri's love-hate relationship with heels.
In the second verse, Keri talks about the attention she is getting from a particular guy. Her friends encourage her to dance with him, and she obliges. She continues dancing in her high heels despite the pain, and the guy seems to enjoy watching her. Keri becomes more confident and aggressive as she dances with the guy, and the chorus repeats again.
The song's lyrics describe the empowerment Keri feels while wearing high heels, but also the pain and discomfort that comes with them. It's a common theme for many women who wear heels but are in pain. Keri captures this dichotomy by describing herself as "messing with" the guy while still feeling pain from her shoes. Ultimately, the song's message is that women will endure the pain of high heels as a part of feeling sexy and confident.
Line by Line Meaning
I hate heels
Keri dislikes wearing high heels
I hate heels
Keri dislikes wearing high heels
Love how they look
Keri loves the appearance of high heels
But hate how they feel
Keri dislikes how uncomfortable high heels are
Funky fresh dressed to impress ready to hurt him
Keri is dressed attractively and ready to attract attention and possibly hurt someone's feelings
Fresh off that happy juice, tipsy and flirtin
Keri has been drinking and is feeling happy and flirting
When my girls said Keri dat shorty looking at you (who me?) yea you (yea)
Keri's friends point out a guy who is looking at her
So I'm ready
Keri is ready to act on the attention from the guy
Making my way down to the dance floor
Keri is going to the dance floor
Sexiness like this hey what more could you ask for
Keri feels sexy and attractive and thinks there is nothing more she could want
Think I'm doing too much I can't dooo
Keri thinks she might be trying too hard
Starting to think I shouldn't've worn these shoes
Keri regrets wearing high heels
What's the price we pay
Keri questions the cost of looking attractive
For looking this way
Keri is acknowledging that she is dressed to impress
But I'm still
Despite her discomfort, Keri is still wearing high heels
In my high heels
Keri is still wearing high heels
That's when I get to tryna be cute
Keri feels cute and attractive when wearing high heels
Messing wit u
Keri is flirting with the guy
I'm still dancing in my high heels
Keri is still dancing despite her discomfort in high heels
Can't you tell that I'm feeling you
Keri is showing attraction towards the guy
What you wanna do
Keri is asking the guy what he wants to do
Boy you got me out here working
Keri is working to attract the guy's attention
While my feet are hurting
Keri's high heels are causing her pain
Think that you deserve it
Keri is hoping that the guy is worth the pain she is experiencing in her high heels
Let me hope that your worth it
Keri is hoping that the guy is worth her discomfort in high heels
If you could get me out of these shoes
Keri wants to take off her high heels
I'm leaving with you
Keri wants to leave with the guy
Boy I'm so ready
Keri is ready to leave with the guy
DJ put my jam on and now I'm twirking
Keri is dancing to her favorite song
The way he look at me then know it's hurting makes it worth it
Keri thinks that the guy's attention is worth the pain she is experiencing in her high heels
If he keep up I'ma show him rhythm
Keri is going to dance with the guy if he keeps showing interest
What you gon do with him
Keri is asking the guy what he wants to do
Bump him in my system
Keri is feeling the music and dancing to it
Contributed by Alexandra C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lisa DivaMeJuici
This is my favorite by her... Should have been a single! ;)
MuaYoka
Still a banger that could actually STILL be released today in 2022!
luvjnz
Thank you for this. I remember the snippet, but I am so enjoying your version. I would love to hear this on the radio today.
RichGirl
Love this song!!!
MrsCookie492
I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH!!!!!
Lex
CLASSIC!!! My boo always!!!
Ellon
Amo demais as músicas da Keri. São as melhores ♥
iamtheeliz
forever my song lol
Uniquely Jasmine C.
should've been a single
Winter Walker
I'm still mad she never made this a single