Behind The Verse: Keri Hilson’s Comeback Hits All The Right Notes—‘I Feel Free & In Control’

Yes, it’s true—Keri Hilson is back with brand new music, marking her long-awaited return after a 15-year break from the spotlight. We Need to Talk is the first installment of a three-album series—a story of love, drama, and redemption.

The Grammy-nominated hitmaker stepped away from the music scene to reset, reflect, and rekindle her passion for music. Now, she’s starting fresh, and this time, she’s in control. In this new chapter, the singer-songwriter embraces vulnerability, opening up about her journey—from hitting “rock bottom” to standing in her power again.

Hilson sat down with BOSSIP to reflect on the making of We Need to Talk, starting over, and why this era feels different.

BOSSIP: You stepped away from the music industry 15 years ago—now you’re back with not one, but three new albums. What did that time away look like? Were you working on music?

Keri Hilson: Most of the time away I would create—sometimes for myself, sometimes for others. There were breaks of time where I would not create for one reason or another. There was a time I even lost passion for it, but I would still try—because I still liked it, I just wasn’t in love. There were times where I would sit down just kind of like, what else do I wanna do? And that was around the time where I started to be entranced by filmmaking and acting. I traveled, I wrote, I went on retreats. So yeah, I did a lot of things other than music, for sure.

We Need to Talk is your third studio album. What felt different about making this album compared to your first two?

The pressure this time was really low. I kind of wiped the slate clean, naturally, with the time that I’ve been away. No one knows what to expect out of me, so I can give whatever my heart desires. I can create from a more free place because it’s not as if “Pretty Girl Rock” is still at the top of the charts. I didn’t have the fear or the pressure of trying to top my last work.

So I felt the slate wiped clean and I was able to create from a super pure, new, updated, mature place. So I think that was different. The second album [No Boys Allowed] I created under pressure, for sure. And this time, there really was none and it did feel freer. It reminded me of the beginning when there was no pressure, when I was just a songwriter.

It seems like this time around, you’re in the driver’s seat.

Oh, for sure. I can make decisions for my own career. It’s not the same label situation that I grew up under. There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and now there’s only a couple.