Will Keri Hilson ever get a hit as a solo act? This is the question that many critics have been asking themselves since Hilson debuted her ‘In A Perfect World…’ LP in 2009. Although she has managed to land multiple singles in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, Hilson has yet to do so as without the assistance of other artists featured on her tracks.
From her own massive hit ‘Knock You Down (Ft. Ne-Yo & Kanye West)’ and the club-banger ‘Turnin’ Me On (Ft. Lil Wayne)’ to her guest appearance on Timbaland’s ‘The Way I Are’, Hilson has made her mark on the charts time and again. As a songwriter, she has crafted moderately successful tracks for both Britney Spears (‘Break The Ice’) and for Timbaland (‘Scream’ – on which she was featured alongside Nicole Scherzinger). Yet, none of the songs that she has released on her own have managed to make a dent on the charts.
For instance, ‘Energy’ – the 1st single from Hilson’s debut album – failed to make it pass #78 on the Billboard 100 and only managed to scrape the #21 spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs tally. Her second individual release, ‘Slow Dance’, performed even more poorly by only peaking at #49 on the US R&B charts and completely missing the Hot 100 altogether. While Hilson did accomplish a hit in Europe with ‘I Like’, many argue that the song only achieved such status a result of it being associated with the hit German film ‘Zweiohrküken’.
So what is the possible cause of the seemingly impossible task of Hilson finding her way to the top 10 of the charts on by herself? Many speculate that she simply lacks the ‘it’ factor and raw energy (no pun intended) that her chart rivals Ciara and Beyonce possess. Certainly Hilson’s material has been sufficiently promoted by her label, and she has both the talent and the looks to be easily marketed to a wide audience. Whatever the reason, Hilson needs to deliver a successful solo effort on her next LP or else she will continue to be known as the Collaboration Queen by her doubters.