Keri Hilson has expressed regret over dissing Beyoncé on 2009’s “Turnin Me On (Remix).” The R&B singer stopped by The Breakfast Club on Wednesday (April 9) when she clarified what exactly went down with the remix to her top 15 hit and reflected on how the detrimental situation impacted her career.
“It’s a regret,” she said matter-of-factly. “But not in the way people think. That’s a song I actually didn’t write. Those are not my words.”
When Hilson flew in for the studio session with producer Polow Da Don, whom she was signed to in a joint venture with Timbaland through Interscope Records at the time, he already had her impending verse penned by another writer (Ester Dean).
“Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best/ You can dance, she can sing/ But she need to move it to the left, left,” Hilson sings on the 2009 remix while referencing Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.”
“Automatically, I was like, ‘I’m not saying that,’” she said when she first heard the Bey-dissing verse. “That was my position. I’m an athlete. I am competitive. But I’m not nasty, I’m a finesse player. I don’t look at things like that.”
Hilson claims that Polow Da Don threatened to sabotage her career as her In A Perfect World.. debut album was yet to be released.
“I tried to fight him on it and I began writing my own,” she added. “But he — I want to be careful with the word I use — it was quite forceful… The mistake that I made was not continuing to fight. But I was in tears, I was crying, I was adamant that I did not want to do that.”
The “Knock You Down” singer continued: “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. I’m still protecting everyone involved. I’ve been eating that for years.”
“Turnin Me On” featuring Lil Wayne reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 as her debut album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Ester Dean came forward and issued an apology on Wednesday (April 9) for penning Hilson’s verse on the “Turnin Me On” remix, which she called “childish.” She wrote: “I see how it hurt people, especially women, and I take full accountability.”
In 2021, Hilson had a weight lifted off her shoulders when the singer revealed that she had a positive conversation with Beyoncé surrounding the track and finally cleared the air.
“I feel like she understood what happened, what had transpired and there was a bit of healing in that moment when we met,” Hilson said to host Persia Nicole. “I take her as a very intuitive kind of soul, as am I. She’s amazing. I’ve always felt that way, that’s the truth of the matter, but no one will believe that.”
Hilson is entering a new era and coming off the release of her “Bae” single. Look for her We Need to Talk album to arrive on April 18.
Watch the Keri Hilson interview below. Talk of the Bey diss begins around the 25-minute mark.
