Sultry songstress Keri Hilson said that she was forced to sing the song that dissed Beyoncé, putting her in the crosshairs of the swarming Beyhive that tormented her for more than a decade.
While visiting “The Breakfast Club” morning radio show to promote her new album, Hilson finally reveals the behind-the-scenes scoop of what really went down with the song in question, “Turning Me On (Remix),” that allegedly also took a swipe at singer Ciara.
Keri Hilson said she was taken advantage of
Hilson recounted that, as a young and overeager singer-songwriter on the verge of a breakout success, her boss and label owner, Polow Da Don, was very “forceful” in pushing the record, despite her repeated and vehement objections. Hilson says now that she should have fought even harder to decline to sing a song that she did not write and did not like.
“It’s a regret. But not in the way people think,” Hilson said about halfway through the interview. “That’s a song I actually didn’t write. Those are not my words. I was on tour, and Polow [Da Don] wanted me to do a remix to ‘Turnin’ Me On.’ He produced the record. I was on tour with Lil Wayne. I wasn’t able to lay anything down. He had been on me for a couple of weeks, [saying] we need to do a remix.”
When she flew back home to record with Polow she was placed in an awkward position of obeying her boss or seeing her career crash on the runway before it could even take off.
“He had another writer in our camp at the time… He had her write this,” she recalled to the co-hosts. “He played it for me. Meanwhile, I’m thinking I was coming in to write a remix to ‘Turnin’ Me On.’ Automatically, I was like, ‘I’m not saying that.’ That was my position. I’m an athlete. I am competitive. But I’m not nasty, I’m a fitness player, I don’t look at things like that.”
Hilson said she was in a no-win situation.
“My album wasn’t out yet, I was told it’s not coming out if you don’t do this. I was super young. I felt I had no choice,” she said, adding that she’s protecting the female writer who went on to blow up in the game. “I’m still protecting everyone involved. I’ve been eating that for years.”
Hilson said that, after repeated demands, she crumbled under the pressure and sang the diss song.
“I was in tears. I was crying. I was adamant that I did not want to do that,” she said. “I was super young. I felt I had no power. I felt I had no choice.”
Keri Hilson said she spiraled into deep, dark depression
The backlash from the “Turning Me On (Remix),” was immediate and overwhelming. The Beyhive buried her like an avalanche and lambasted her at every opportunity for over a decade.
Dezmon Gilmore, who said he was Hilson’s publicist at the time, said in “The Breakfast Club’s” Instagram comments section: “I can confirm everything she’s saying, and I’m happy to see her grow and restore her power! Everyone said it was a mistake, but label execs didn’t want to listen, her career was ruined because of someone else’s ego.”
Most fans sympathize with Keri Hilson’s torment
Now that there have been scores of Lifetime movies that detail the often ruthless and exploitative aspects of the music industry through biographical films on TLC, Bobby Brown, New Edition, Toni Braxton and others, fans have a better understanding.
“Why ask her about this its been over a decade, (her) career was ruined over it! SMDH,” one fan said in the comments section.
“I heard the interview this morning and it was really good. Her honesty, the accountability for herself and her finally standing up for herself was so good. I want to see her win! And F whoever put her in that situation in the first place.”
A third person is irate about what happened to Hilson. “We were truly ROBBED of the talent and experience of Keri Hilson. Immediately when I first heard her I knew I was a fan. Also she is just gorgeous! I loved seeing her live a couple years ago. She still got it! I pray that this go round, she gets the longevity and recognition that she was robbed of.”
One fan demands that Hilson outs all the people that allegedly exploited her and then abandoned her to the winds. “Keri don’t protect the writer the writer on here. Standing tall. She don’t care about your mental and emotional distress. 😮”
