by Nydia

Have you heard of the popular song “Gimme More” as sung by Britney Spears? Or “The Way I Are” as made popular by Timbaland? These are just some of the songs written by Keri Hilson. The name may not have been familiar 2 years ago but since then she has released her own album, and all three of the singles she has released so far have been on the Billboard Top 100. “Energy”, “Turning Me On” featuring Lil’ Wayne and “Knock You Down” featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo have all been hits from her debut album “In A Perfect World…”, but so far the single that has been the most successful for Keri is “Knock You Down”, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop 100.

Born in December of 1982, Keri Hilson was raised in Decatur, Georgia. During her teenage years Hilson learned how to play the piano and studied singing. She later became a member of a band named “D’sign”. That band, however, was let go by its label before album recording had even started. Hilson didn’t let that stop her, she continued her passion for music, and while in high school she wrote her own songs and became a backup singer. It was during the year 2001, at the mere age of 19, when she began to write songs for the big names in the music industry. WOW!! At 19 I was working at Arby’s. It all started when she got a deal to help Ciara, where together with Sean Garrett they came up with the single “Oh Baby”. Ever since then, Keri has been doing various songwriting for artists. Keri has since written some of the biggest hits for artists who will undoubtedly go on to become legends.

Hilson is part of a collective of writers and producers known as “The Clutch”. If you don’t know who the “Clutch” are… I think we may have a problem, but no joke, they are some of the best collaborative groups of songwriters out there. Keri had always been comfortable staying behind the scenes until she was featured, “Hey Now (Mean Muggin’)”, the first single from Xzibit’s album: “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and now… She is one of the most recognized and successful singer/songwriters in the U.S. I mean come on, who would have thought that they could write songs for Britney Spears at the age of 20?

“I come across a lot of people who are opportunists and they’re like, ‘If it happens, it happens.’ I’m not one of those. I’m a go getter,” was a direct quote given by Keri for her official website biography. Goes to show that if you work hard your dreams will eventually come true, and that’s why Keri Hilson is my favorite artist for the month of July.

Make sure you check out her album which is available for download now on Itunes and visit her MySpace/official website for upcoming tours and news.
http://www.kerihilsonmusic.com / http://www.myspace.com/kerihilson

About Nydia

I’m a college graduate with B.A. in Communications and a minor in Public Relations and I have a huge passion for music, family, friends, and life. I was a DJ for my college radio station, and this year I started my own web show called “Under the Covers with Nydia” in which I interview up & coming bands, you can check it out ~ www.youtube.com/user/inbedwithnydia.
I try to live life to the fullest cause you only live once. My life is mirrored by this quote, “When your best years are behind you, did you do everything you wanted to do?” – Unknown