Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B recording artist, singer, songwriter and actress. Keri Lynn Hilson was born in Decatur, Georgia.Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s. At a young age, Hilson became addicted to TV talent shows, Star Search and Showtime at the Apollo, which inspired her to begin plotting a career in music at the age of twelve. Hilson's mother hired a piano teacher to encourage those talents, however, she mainly wanted to sing. Hilson then converted those sessions into vocal lessons, accompanying the teacher on piano. In her mid-to-late teens, she began her career as a songwriter and background vocalist, working under producer Anthony Dent, who is known for his work with Destiny's Child and Diddy. Together, they formed two failed girl groups, Pretty Toni and D'Sign, and Hilson met Usher, Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Ciara and producer Polow da Don, many of whom she wrote songs or did backup vocals for. After Hilson graduated from high school, she enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta. She eventually stopped working for Dent and began working more with Polow. Hilson also became part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch, while still attending school. In 2006, Polow introduced Hilson to Timbaland, who signed her to his record label, Mosley Music. As a member of The Clutch, Hilson co-wrote numerous hit singles, including Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am", Omarion's "Ice Box", The Pussycat Dolls' "Wait a Minute", Britney Spears' "Gimme More", Nas' "Hero", and Ciara's "Like a Boy". She also featured on Rich Boy's song, "Lost Girls", which appeared on his self-titled debut album. In 2007, Hilson made several appearances on Timbaland's second solo album, Shock Value, including the singles, "Scream" and "The Way I Are", which reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, Hilson made cameo appearances in the music videos for Usher's "Love in This Club" and Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent". In 2009, Hilson released her debut studio album, In a Perfect World..., which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, and spawned the hit singles "Knock You Down" and "Turnin Me On". The album debuted number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The re-released edition of In a Perfect World... included the hit single "I Like", which reached number one in Germany. Hilson earned two Grammy Award nominations for the album, including Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Knock You Down". As a prominent guest vocalist in both the R&B and hip hop genres, Hilson has featured on several singles by other artists, including "Superhuman" with Chris Brown. In 2010, she released her second studio album, No Boys Allowed, which spawned the hit single "Pretty Girl Rock".
