Keri Hilson is setting the record straight about the controversial track that put her at odds with Beyonce and, in her own words, left a lasting scar on her career.
Back in 2009, the now 42-year-old singer dropped the remix to Turnin’ Me On—a fiery track that instantly sparked speculation she was taking aim at Beyonce and Ciara, igniting swift and brutal backlash.
‘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 sang, nodding to Beyonce’s 2006 hit Irreplaceable. ‘She need to go have some babies / She needs to sit down, she fake.’
Now, Hilson is revealing she never wanted to go there in the first place, calling the track a ‘regret’ during a candid interview on The Breakfast Club and insisting she wasn’t behind the venomous lyrics.
‘Those are not my words,’ she said, explaining that while on tour with Lil Wayne, her then-producer Polow da Don pushed her to record a remix—and brought in another writer for the diss-heavy verse.
‘I tried to fight him on it and I began writing my own,’ she said. ‘But he—I want to be careful with the word I use—it was quite forceful.’
Keri Hilson is setting the record straight about the controversial track that put her at odds with Beyonce and, in her own words, left a lasting scar on her career; (Hilson in 2021)
Back in 2009, the now 42-year-old singer dropped the remix to Turnin’ Me On—a fiery track that instantly sparked speculation she was taking aim at Beyonce and Ciara, igniting swift and brutal backlash; (Beyonce in 2009)
Hilson didn’t name the lyricist but said they ‘went on to become famous.’
That songwriter was later revealed to be Ester Dean, who confirmed her involvement after Hilson’s interview, proudly calling the song a ‘hit’ on social media.
Dean would later work with Beyoncé herself, co-writing Start Over and Countdown on her 2011 album 4.
While reflecting on the track, Hilson made it clear she’s always been competitive but never malicious.
‘I’m not a dirty player,’ she told the Breakfast Club crew, adding that Polow subscribed to the ‘shock-jock mentality.’
Still, the damage was done. Hilson said the fallout from the diss stuck with her for years—and still haunts her to this day.
‘I had to eat that and I am still eating it to this day,’ she said. ‘Because I’m getting asked about that 15 however many years—16, 17 years later—it’s like I’ve worn the scarlet letter, really.’
The rumors of a rift only intensified in 2011 when Hilson appeared to snub Beyoncé again—this time by refusing to hold a magazine with the superstar on the cover.
‘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 sang, nodding to Beyonce’s 2006 hit Irreplaceable . ‘She need to go have some babies / She needs to sit down, she fake’; (seen in 2009)
Now, Hilson is revealing she never wanted to go there in the first place, calling the track a ‘regret’ during a candid interview on The Breakfast Club and insisting she wasn’t behind the venomous lyrics; (Hilson in 2011)
‘I didn’t want to hold no magazine of with her on [it],’ Hilson admitted. ‘I just froze, I just was, like, shook whenever anybody brought it up.’
‘It’s a conversation I don’t want to have publicly just because I don’t want to piss anybody off,’ she continued. ‘I don’t want to make things even more weird than they already were. I just wanted it to go away.’
Back in 2022, Hilson reiterated that the whole situation was orchestrated to make her look like the villain.
‘Was not my lyrics, was not my writing, was not my doing,’ she said at the time. She added that she was a new artist just trying to chase her dream—and ended up paying the price.
‘Then, I’m caught. Do I tell the truth? Do I expose them early in my career? I’m super young, super new. This [is] my first album. It just soiled my whole dream.’
A little over a decade ago, Hilson was on track to become one of R&B and pop’s biggest breakout stars. She worked with some of the biggest names in music—Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Akon, Kanye West, Nas, Chris Brown, Fabolous, and more.
But by 2011, she had stepped back from the spotlight. For nearly a decade, Hilson laid low to focus on her mental health.
Despite everything, the singer says she’s made peace with herself.
That songwriter was later revealed to be Ester Dean, who confirmed her involvement after Hilson’s interview, proudly calling the song a ‘hit’ on social media
Dean (pictured) would later work with Beyoncé herself, co-writing Start Over and Countdown on her 2011 album
‘I’ve forgiven myself,’ she told The Breakfast Club. ‘But I’ll never forget what that moment cost me.’
Fortunately, the ice between Hilson and Beyoncé has since thawed. In a 2021 interview with Persia Nicole, Hilson revealed that the two women eventually had a private moment of healing.
‘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. ‘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.’
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