Hurts Me · Keri Hilson
In A Perfect World...
Released on: 2009-01-01
Composer Lyricist: Keri Hilson
Composer Lyricist: Jim Beanz
Composer Lyricist: Hannon Lane
Composer Lyricist: C. Nelson
How long has it been Since Shock Value? Is it 14 Years?! Anyway Here's an Extended Version you probably didn't know were exists Featuring Nicole Scherzinger And Keri Hilson, Released On November 10 2007 Produced By Timbaland & Danja
(Maniac) the Unreleased track from Timbaland, featuring Keri Hilson, Chris Brown & D.O.E. which dropped on Friday, December 11th, 2009, But unfortunately The Track Didn't Make The Cut On Shock Value 2
“Ice Box” is exactly what 2006 R&B music should be, and for that it is the single–greatest breakup song of the past 15 years. For all the growing pains hip–hop was going through in the mid–2000s, the R&B artists of the time were excelling like no other when given minimalist beats to pine and sing on.
Listeners get glimpses at his attempts to piece things together, as leading up to the chorus Omarion sings, “Girl I really wanna work this out, cause I'm tired of fighting/And I really hope you still want me the way I want you/I said I really wanna work this out, damn girl I'm trying,” but as often happens in this situation, the last–ditch attempts to repair a broken relationship prove to be futile.
While Omarion struggles to excel lyrically, his true achievement in “Ice Box” is his tone and technical skill, as delivers a painful yet defiant vocal performance about the end of his relationship. The beat is mostly unremarkable and uniform throughout the verse, as it sounds mostly like any generic R&B breakup song.
Yet, as soon as Omarion ramps up to the chorus, the tone of the song shifts dramatically from dismissal to pain, reflecting the realities of processing a breakup itself. The chorus of “I got this ice box where my heart used to be/icebox where my heart used to be,” immediately followed by Timbaland’s “I’m so cold, I’m so cold, I’m so cold,” achieves exactly the kind of passionless and desolate sound that Omarion attempts to convey through his lyrics. “Ice Box” is a masterfully produced track by Timbaland, and Omarion’s vocal performance was the ideal complement to complete the standoffish tone of the track. By skillfully wavering between grief and aloofness, pain and detachment, but most of all, uncertainty, Omarion's tone and vocal performance epitomizes the second–guessing and confusing nature of a recent breakup.
Yet, as soon as Omarion ramps up to the chorus, the tone of the song shifts dramatically from dismissal to pain, reflecting the realities of processing a breakup itself. The chorus of “I got this ice box where my heart used to be/icebox where my heart used to be,” immediately followed by Timbaland’s “I’m so cold, I’m so cold, I’m so cold,” achieves exactly the kind of passionless and desolate sound that Omarion attempts to convey through his lyrics. “Ice Box” is a masterfully produced track by Timbaland, and Omarion’s vocal performance was the ideal complement to complete the standoffish tone of the track. By skillfully wavering between grief and aloofness, pain and detachment, but most of all, uncertainty, Omarion's tone and vocal performance epitomizes the second–guessing and confusing nature of a recent breakup.
However, yet another factor enhancing the character of "Ice Box's" music video is the fact that this sultry woman is actually Solange. Ten years prior to her excellent album A Seat at the Table, the R&B artist herself performed as the woman towards which Omarion had gone so cold. Complete with a sudden journey into the woods, more heavily–choreographed dancing, and Timbaland sitting in the back of an all–white Rolls Royce, this music video is the epitome of mid–2000s R&B and easily gives “Ice Box” the crown for the best breakup song of the past 15 years
Timbaland Presents Shock Value 2 (10th Anniversary)
Shock Value II is the third studio album by American record producer and rapper Timbaland. It serves as the second volume of the platinum-selling Shock Value (2007) which topped charts worldwide and received 16 platinum certifications.
Initially slated for a 2008 release, the project was pushed into 2009 and tentatively confirmed for November 23, 2009through Blackground Records, however, it was pushed back once more and finally released on December 7, 2009 in the UK and December 8 in the US.
Timbaland spoke to MTV's Shaheem Reid back in July 2008 to confirm that he was working on the follow-up to his platinum-selling Shock Value. At the time he confirmed that he had one track with Madonna which although recorded for her album Hard Candy it had not been used and could end up on this album instead. He was insistent that he would also collaborate with Jordin Sparks, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and T.I.However, none of these collaborations (except Miley Cyrus) made it to the final track list. He also said that alongside T-Pain who will definitely appear, he hoped to get Jay-Z on board,although he ultimately failed to do so.
"Shock Value 2" features a long list of guest artists, among them Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Brandy, Keri Hilson, JoJo, Drake, The Fray, Soshy, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Daughtry and More...
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the lead single for the album "Morning After Dark" with Timbaland's new artist SoShy. Timbaland described the song as
“
very interesting — it features this new artist on my label called SoShy from Paris. We're both rapping. The song, I can't describe it, it's so different. It's not different for me, but I can tell you this — it fits everything going on with the vampire theme. It fits everything with Twilight.
”
He added that "that record has the most unique sound from the whole album".
Timbaland told MTV that will.i.am's work on "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas inspired him to make "If We Ever Meet Again": "When I did this song, I was in love with this record called..... you're gonna be surprised. The record didn't have anything to do with ['If We Ever Meet Again'], but when I heard [the Black Eyed Peas'] "I Gotta Feeling", I said, 'I want a record just like that on my album.' I said, 'I gotta do me a "I Gotta Feeling" record.' Me and one of my producers, Jim Beanz, we came up with this concept. I said, '["I Gotta Feeling"] is happy, but I like it.' It gives a good feeling".
Timbaland and Drake came about through a discussion between Mosley and Jay-Z. In an interview with Shaheem Reed of MTV News, Mosley quoted him saying "'Yo, man, you gonna wanna get in the studio with this guy named Drake. I'm telling you. He's the next cat.'" Mosley, Graham, and Harmon have collaborated on "Off That", featured on Jay-Z's eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3(2009).Timbaland stated that he was attracted to Drake because of his tone, saying "His tone is ridiculous right now. I love his tone."
The album did not chart as highly as the previous Shock Value album, which had debuted at number five in the US in 2007, with 138,000 copies sold in its first week. Instead, Shock Value II debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at an underwhelming number 36, with 37,834 copies in its first week. It fared better on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, entering at number seven. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, the album only managed to chart at number 25 in its first week. These positions failed to match those of Shock Value I (2007) which reached number two and number one in the UK and Ireland respectively.
LYRICS:
Your hands on the steering wheel, and it's steering me wrong
Can't you feel me here, you know you need to come home
You keep looking at me, but your keeping me on
Perfect fit but I'm starting to slip, and I hope my grip is strong enough because
You love me, you know it, don't do this, don't blow it.
Can't you see my life is on your hand
you got me wrapped around your finger
If I'm your woman then be a man
Please don't take me off
Your gonna lose my love
Now I'm feeling outta place, how'd I end up in your pocket
I must have been in the way, of you keeping your promise.
Shes running her hand across your chest, and touching the t-shirt that I brought.
I know she feels me close to your heart, and you just play it off.
You know that you love me
You love me, you know it, don't do this, don't blow it.
Can't you see my life is on your hand, you got me wrapped around your finger.
If I'm your woman then be a man, please don't take me off, your gonna lose my love.
Please don't make the biggest mistake of your life
If you care for me then how come our loves on the line.
So don't let five minutes undo your commitment
You made to me when you said I do. I do
Can't you see my life is on your hand, you got me wrapped around your finger.
If I'm your woman then be a man, please don't take me off, your gonna lose my love
Can't you see my life is on your hand, you got me wrapped around your finger.
If I'm your woman then be a man, please don't take me off, your gonna lose my love
Can't you see my life is on your hand, you got me wrapped around your finger.
If I'm your woman then be a man, please don't take me off, your gonna lose my love
Timbaland Feat. Keri Hilson - Hold Your Breath (Full version)
here is "Hold Your Breath" which previously leaked with a low quality back in 2010. This track should've been included on Keri's 2nd studio album "No Boys Allowed"
Keri Hilson - In A Perfect World 💿 (10th Anniversary)
KERI HILSON’S DEBUT ALBUM STILL REVOLVES TO THIS DAY.
On March 24, 2009, exactly 10 years ago, Keri Hilson released her debut album In A Perfect World… via Mosley Music Group/Zone 4/Interscope Records.
In the years leading up to the album’s release, she worked as a songwriter who co-penned hits for artists like Mary J. Blige’s “Take Me As I Am” (2005), Pussycat Dolls’ “Wait A Minute” (2005), Omarion’s “Ice Box” (2006), Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” (2007), Bobby Valentino’s “Anonymous” (2007), and Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” (2007).
In A Perfect World… was originally slated to release in mid-2008, following her and Timbaland’s international success with “The Way I Are.” That year, she released a couple of singles, along with accompanying music videos: the emotionally-tapped “Energy” and the futuristic-sounding “Return the Favor.”
Still, the release date for Perfect World was bumped multiple times. In a later interview with MTV, Hilson remained optimistic about the entire situation. “I have had many [release dates], but it’s all for a good cause,” she said. “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.”
It wasn’t until Hilson released her saucy single “Turnin’ Me On” featuring Lil Wayne in December 2008, when the album release looked more promising. In A Perfect World… eventually orbited its way to fans across the world a little over three months later.
The majority of the 14-track album was co-produced by Timbaland and Polow Da Don. It included additional features from Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole, Trina and Akon. Kanye and Ne-Yo were contributed to, what would become Hilson’s biggest hit, “Knock You Down.” The warming tune peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Hilson a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010.
Hilson not only co-wrote the latter Timbaland single, which appeared on his Shock Value album, she was also a featured artist. The desirable track reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which only helped bring worldwide name recognition for Hilson.
When it was time for Hilson to shift gears from songwriter to solo artist, she recalls it being pretty smooth. “Honestly, being a songwriter was like the more realistic side but the dreamer Keri had always dreamt of being an artist,” Hilson tells Rated R&B.
“I remember it being a very welcomed transition. As a matter of fact, during that time, I was actually signed and shelved for maybe three or four years before I actually came out. So, the transition didn’t go exactly as it appears for everyone else. I was already signed as an artist but I just had to wait for my turn.”
Although she had to wait her turn, she didn’t let any time go to waste. As mentioned previously, she used the time to focus on songwriting. “It allowed me the opportunity to grow financially,” she explains to Rated R&B.
“When you get signed, you have an advance and you sign your deal and you have to work solely on your project. If that gets shelved, and you have no other means of income or livelihood, then you’re jacked. It was a really welcomed thing for me. By the time I came out, it was awesome. God’s timing.”
“Knock You Down” featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo became a hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and also scored you a Grammy nomination. What do you remember most about recording this song?
Ne-Yo was already on the song but if you could remember that I shot a video called “Make Love.” It was just like a teaser video for my album. So, Kanye [West] agreed to do it. It was the same day my album was being mastered in Canada. After we were nearly done the filming, Kanye asks, “So how’s your album coming?” He’s like, “I love your work. I can’t wait to work with you.” I said, “It’s going really good but it’s something missing.”
He made a face like, “What do you mean?” I said, “The only thing that’s missing is you.” He said, “Oh, well can I do it tonight?” I said, “Yeah, it’s actually being mastered tonight so you have to do it tonight.” He was like, “Yeah I mean that.”
He had an event to go to — he and Amber [Rose] were at the shoot. He and Amber went to their event, then really showed up to the studio. I was super honored. I was just playing him records because he wanted to hear what I was working on. I played him the song “Alienated” because I had wanted him to get on that. He liked “Knock You Down” but I was like, “Ne-Yo is on it already. I don’t think that song needs two features.” [laughs]. He just insisted and we let him do the verse. He killed it. It was long as hell and there was a lot a drama because we had to shorten his verse. It was like 60 bars! It was so long. We had to cut it down to like 20 bars — even that’s a long verse.
“Get Your Money Up” featuring Keyshia Cole and Trina is an anthem. How did it come together and what led you to use Auto-Tune?
That idea was started by a rapper name [Earl Hayes], who ended up involved with that murder-suicide with the dancer Stephanie [Moseley]. He actually began that song idea just in a night with Polow Da Don. When I heard it, I loved it. He did it in Auto-Tune because he’s a man singing a girl’s song, so he did it heavily Auto-Tuned. It was really interesting. I’m not a person that needs Auto-Tune but I like it for the effect, so I kept it.
Teyana Taylor was originally featured on the “Get Your Money Up.” Were there any other artists who were considered for the part?
To be honest, I don’t ever recall hearing the Teyana version. Maybe Polow had her do it. Maybe he sent it to her or she sent it to him. I’ve never heard the Teyana version. I know there was a Lil Kim version that I did hear. And maybe there were others. It’s possible, that’s kind of the way Polow works [laughs].
“Slow Dance” is a fan-favorite. What do you remember most about working on this song with Justin Timberlake?
I love Justin. He was like kind of a mentor to me during that time. We were all at Timbaland’s studio — Thomas Crown Studios. I was working on my stuff. He was working on his stuff. And the track was playing. Justin was doing a driveby walking by our session. We just start playing around with some Prince-ish melodies. That’s really how it started. We ended up beginning the song together, then he eventually went on to his own session and then I just finished it. I finished writing it and Jim Beanz — I had him doing some arrangement on it after it was finished being written, which is he’s really good at that. I love my arranging now, but when it comes to wanting other flavors, to me that’s Jim’s expertise. I had to color a few records on my album. I call it coloring because it’s kind of like filling in gaps and filling in the blanks of arranging.
The latter part of the album finds you in a vulnerable place. You wrote vulnerable songs for other artists in the past. Was it easy for you to open up this time as the artist?
To be honest, that’s not hard for me at all. By the time I had worked on my album, I realize that was my strength. My strength was saying things women would not say or talk about. I think at that point I had realized my strength was talking about things that did not make me perfect and that’s why I named the album In A Perfect World... I was like, “Listen, the last thing we need is another woman coming into the game pretending to be perfect.” I’m not saying we didn’t have those artists — we, of course, had the Mary J. Blige’s. I think that’s why I was able to write with some of the more vulnerable artists because that was the perspective that I became so gifted in.
I was always disappointed that the most vulnerable records weren’t released as singles. I still feel a disappointment that people don’t really what I truly am about. The more vulnerable side of me is what I wanted people to hear but my label must’ve thought differently. Of course, I have pop appeal but you can be pop and talk about some real shit [laughs].
“Tell Him The Truth” is pretty vulnerable. Was there a particular situation you went through that you were singing about on this record?
I’m going to be honest, it’s about cheating. It’s about being curious as a young person. I was in my early 20s when I wrote that. I had a boyfriend at the time and there were things that I experienced. I’m grateful that I did because I learned early how it feels to hurt someone and how it feels to be hurt. Having that perspective was important to me and writing about that was equally as important. It was kind of therapy for me at that moment. I remember crying as I was writing it.
In addition to the solid tracks on the standard album, you also had great songs that were released as bonus tracks.
Honestly, that hurt me so bad because there are records that I felt needed to make the main album not just the international or the deluxe.
Yes, “Quicksand” would’ve been a great fit on the album…
That’s good ole politics because [“Quicksand”] was a better record than a couple of records that made the album. You have to play politics. The execs have their feelings. Your production company and your label have their feelings. I had to play the politics game but never again. I’ll tell you that!
So, you believe politics created hurdles for this album?
I feel like for as good as that album was, it could have been 10 times better if I didn’t have to play politics. The things that I believed strongly in, worked. The things I had to play politics in, flopped. Singles that I had to kind of be forced to do didn’t work. The things I truly believed in did work.
Any last remarks looking back at In A Perfect World… 10 years later?
First of all, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years in some respect. But in other respects, it feels like ages ago. As a human being, I’ve just grown so much since that time. I’m still proud of that. That was my first baby and I really put a lot of care into that project. The outer space stuff wasn’t intentional but there was a lot of intention in every other realm of the album. It was a couple of years in the making from start to finish. I remember being in tears walking down Best Buy when it released. I was just in tears. That album was a cumulation of a dream that I had been pursuing for 12 years to that point. Songwriting for eight or nine years was a fallback plan. I just knew if I didn’t give up, that it would happen. It was an emotional time. It was like I could breathe for the first time. I was finally seeing my childhood dream come alive.
Stream In A Perfect World… below.
Today marks 10 years since the release of my first studio album, “In A Perfect World...” I didn’t mean to be gone so long, I only needed my real world to be perfect...it is now. Thank you for your patience. The wait is over. I’m ready. Summer 2019. pic.twitter.com/GcXT2roKGl
Keri Hilson has previewed quite a number of tracks for her upcoming album "Love Is A Religion", which is yet we are waiting to get a release date, Danja & Polow Da Don are involved in the Production along with other producers, we know that she recorded some tracks with Timbaland for this album, so let's hope she saved a seat for timbo on this LP
"Love Is a Religion" marks Keri’s first album since 2010’s No Boys Allowed. No word on when L.I.A.R. is set to drop, but we can say that the album is finished and ready to be released.
