|
|
|
Keri Hilson - In a Perfect World…
| Slantmagazine |
|
In a perfect world, artists would create music, record labels would release it, and the public would decide whether or not it was worth their salt. In an imperfect world, however, economically strapped labels have become increasingly wary of putting out albums that might not recoup their investment. Ciara's long-delayed junior effort is finally seeing the light of day next month thanks to the early success of a highly marketable duet with Justin Timberlake, while Keri Hilson's debut, In a Perfect World…, belatedly hits shelves this week following a series of failed singles (one need look no further than a reference to MySpace—so 2007!—on the song "Alienated" for proof of the album's long gestation period). Was the Timbaland protégé's premier disc worth the wait? Lil' Wayne puts it best on the album's third single (and first hit) "Turnin' Me On": "I know that you kinda hyped," he admits, before adding, "I hope that yer vagina tight." The track is definitely tight, and Perfect World sports plenty of potential follow-ups: "Get Your Money Up" contains all of the proper ingredients for a hit circa 2009 (gratuitously Auto-Tuned vocals, sub-Timbaland beats, multiple guest artists, and subject matter centered on crass materialism), while "Knock You Down" features a candy-dipped hook and yet another guest rap by Kanye West rhyming atop a thumping club beat. West's gasp-filled performance—marred by loud, ill-placed breaths—suggests he's been sprinting a little too quickly from studio to studio in an apparent effort to collect the most guest-spot checks in the industry, and the song's cheeky domestic abuse metaphor is, at best, poorly timed, but hey, it's already garnering airplay at urban radio, so who cares, right?...full text |
|
|
| Wikipedia |
|
In a Perfect World... is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson.[3] The album was originally slated for release in 2007 but was pushed back multiple times into 2009, as Hilson stated herself, mainly due to budget cuts at her record label.[1][4] After numerous delays the album was released on March 24, 2009.[5]Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Promotions & Releases 2.1 Singles 3 Reception 3.1 Critical response 4 Track listing[15] 5 Release history 6 References 7 External links [edit] Background Hilson explained the title as the following,“ It’s my way of saying nothing in the world is perfect and no person in it is, either. None of us is exempt from certain hardships and heartbreaks. It was really important for me to write songs that women can relate to from real situations. I didn’t want to do an album that painted myself as perfect because no matter how things look, no one is.[3] ” The album includes production by Timbaland, Polow Da Don, Danja, The Runawayz, King Logan & Cory Bold with others yet to be confirmed. Writing contributions have been provided by from Jim Beanz, Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo and The Clutch. The album also contains guest appearances from Akon, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Keyshia Cole, Trina, Kanye West, and Ne-Yo. In March during the run up to the album release, Hilson filmed a short promotional movie to promote the album. The video which is only several minutes long features Kanye West as Hilson's love interest. The track "Make Love" is played in the background. The video can be found on the official Keri Hilson YouTube channel along with Hilson's video blog countdown to the album release. [edit] Promotions & Releases Hilson said in an interview with blog Concrete Loop in 2007 that the first single off of her long-awaited debut would be the Danja-produced "Happy Juice," however she would be replacing Stat Quo's verse with one from Ludacris, stating "I really need somebody from Atlanta on this to represent with me". The single release was shelved, as Interscope encountered budget cuts and projects were set back, including Hilson's release. Keri Hilson later went on to perform "Return the Favor" at Verizon/People Pre-Grammy party dedicated to Timbaland, this was supposed to be the first release from the album.[6] However as you can see below the it was released as the second single. [edit] Singles The midtempo ballad "Energy" eventually became the first world single and was released as a digital download on May 27, 2008. The video premiered on July 14, 2008. It charted at number 78 on the Billboard Top 100, number 21 and 72 on R&B 100 and Pop 100 respectively. The single performed best in New Zealand where it charted at number 2 but failed to significantly chart elsewhere. The UK release never materialised. "Return the Favor" was released officially as the second worldwide single (first UK single) on October 7, 2008 and the video, premiered on October 23, 2008. The single failed to chart within any of the top 100 charts of the major music markets. However its video was released to UK music channels on March 16, 2009 to serve as the first UK single, it is recieving good airplay on UK radio. "Turnin' Me On" (featuring Lil Wayne) was released as the third worldwide single on November 25, 2008.[7] The single has been Hilson's most successful solo offering to date as it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top 100, number 2 and 28 on R&B 100 and Pop 100 respectively. It was also the first single to chart in Canada although it did only reach number 80. "Knock You Down" (featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo) is scheduled to be the "fourth worldwide single" from the album as confirmed by Hilson on her YouTube video blog. [edit] Reception [edit] Critical response 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,[8] 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".[9] The album itself also recived positive reviews. Allmusic gave the album four out five stars and Hip Hop Galaxy gave four and a half out of five stars[10]. Amazon.com also gave the album a positive review, saying "Speaking up for all the ladies, In A Perfect World . . . also looks to empower women to be strong, independent and determined".[11] PrefixMag said "This album will melt your face with truth, justice and hooks."[12] The famous hip-hop site HipHopDx gave it a mixed review, three stars out five and said that "Any one of her artist friends would lend a helping hand to her debut, and they have, but not in the way she anticipated."[13] Giving the album a B+, Entertainment Weekly said "With assists from talented friends like Timbaland, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, Keri Hilson — who's penned songs for Britney Spears and Usher, among others — gracefully emerges from behind the scenes with In a Perfect World..., a seductive debut CD full of slick, radio-friendly cuts."[14]...full text |
|
|
| Hiponline |
|
Nurtured between Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group and Polow’s Zone 4 Inc., “In A Perfect World…” boasts amazing sounds from a slew of hitmakers like Timbaland, Polow, and Danja. The album features guest appearances by Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Akon, Keyshia Cole, and Ne-Yo. It’s a watershed moment that meets both goals-it sounds and feels great. Speaking up for all the ladies, In A Perfect World . . . also looks to empower women to be strong, independent and determined. “No human is exempt from the realities of life- heartbreak, failure, success…” Keri comments. This takes all forms throughout the album which reveals Keri’s ability to translate every day trials and tribulations into engaging music. Review: “Turning Me On” f/ Lil Wayne – Vanilla pop track with Lil Wayne doing his thing with digital vocal effects and all. We could use less of the vocal effects. Seriously. It’s getting old. “Get Your Money Up” – Same deal. Vanilla pop song except this time Hilson takes the robotic vocal effects from Wayne and slaps them on her voice. It’s past lame....full text |
|
|
Go to "Keri Hilson " lyrics