Keri Hilson: Beautiful People 2011

Keri Hilson tells it like it is. Whether it's through a spunky four-minute single or a 140-character witticism on Twitter, the Atlanta-based songbird, also known as @MissKeriBaby to her million-plus followers, brings a refreshing frankness to her craft with pithy yet pointed hooks, like when she sings, "My walk, my talk, the way I dress/It's not my fault so please don't trip/ Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful" on the track "Pretty Girl Rock." "It may sound conceited but I want to be an example for how I believe every woman should feel about themselves. Other people's opinions, you can't allow that to penetrate your core. You have to be solid with how you feel about yourself," she explains. "Like with a painter, they paint their feelings out. All that matters is they put their soul onto that canvas, and that's all I can do with music."

The finished product, the 28-year-old's sophomore release, No Boys Allowed, marks her metamorphosis from undercover chart-topper, once writing for the likes of Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige, to a spotlight-stealing Grammy-nominated performer in her own right.  Originally penning songs as part of R&B songwriting collective The Clutch, Hilson worked mostly behind the scenes until signing with Timbaland's Mosley Music in 2006. She then made a number of appearances on the rapper and super-producer's second solo album Shock Value before finally releasing her debut In a Perfect World... in March 2009. For No Boys Allowed she's
back with an eclectic collection of bluesy ballads and bass-heavy dance tracks. Despite the album title, she continues to work with some of the industry's most celebrated males (like Kanye West, John Legend and Ne-Yo), yet she's careful to discern that they're men, not boys.

In her words, "the bullshit is what separates a man from a boy." With her powerhouse vocals, natural swagger and unswerving sense of self-confidence, Hilson now approaches the revered realm of divadom. In addition to winning best new artist at the American Music Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and NAACP Image Awards, the singer also landed a gig as the newest face of H&M's Fashion Against AIDS campaign.  As her star has risen, so too has the flurry of interview requests. "I just go with the flow," she says. "I don't wanna be briefed or prepped. And there's nothing you can't ask me. Now will I answer it? That's another story."

KERI WEARS TOP BY TESS GIBERSON, EARRINGS BY ASSAD MOUNSER AND NECKLACES BY ASSAD MOUNSER, LEE ANGEL AND FENTON/FALLON.
HAIR: CYNTHIA ALVAREZ FOR BRAZILIAN HEAT/EPIPHANY ARTIST GROUP, INC.
MAKEP: ASHUNTA SHERIFF FOR MARY/KAY/EPIPHANY ARTIST GROUP, INC.


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