Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Review
Until now, Keri Hilson has had an unwelcome knack of fading into the background, even on her own records. Her biggest hit, 2009’s Knock You Down, saw her overshadowed by a compelling turn from Ne-Yo and typical showboating from Kanye West, and of course she cut her teeth with low-key guest spots on Timbaland tracks, notably taking second billing to Nicole Scherzinger on Scream. It’s a knack that has its merits when Hilson’s penning hits for Pussycat Dolls or Usher, but less helpful when she’s trying to carve a niche for herself in the ever-competitive RnB market. It’ll take more than a few Mosley beats to get noticed when Beyoncé and Rihanna are around.
But Hilson doesn’t want to muscle out any rival divas on No Boys Allowed, her second solo album; it’s a call to action for the ladies, a loose conceptual empowerment piece. If the overall theme gets a bit shaky here and there, it’s still a neat enough idea that allows Hilson to take centre stage and reveal something about herself, her vulnerabilities, and her sense of humour. Nowhere is this clearer than on impossibly lovely single Pretty Girl Rock, where Hilson manages to rhyme "Keri… very… derri-ere" without getting her tongue permanently lodged in her cheek, and deftly turns some "I’m beautiful" vanity into a girls-against-the-world anthem. She fronts up more aggressively on the deranged The Way You Love Me and Buyou’s ragga-rap kiss-off to "broke boys" – if it wasn’t for some smoochy slow jams, men might feel a little alienated (that album title’s obviously no afterthought), but it’s good to hear some attitude nonetheless.
Those slower, more conciliatory tracks house some of the nicer touches, with Timbaland’s splendid production to the fore. On Breaking Point, he tempers shrill En Vogue-y harmonies with an oriental music box refrain, while on Beautiful Mistake he complements Hilson’s smooth vocal with the sort of splashy, juddering synths that take you right back to Thriller. The John Legend co-penned All the Boys sees Hilson’s teary, cracked tones caressed by tinkling jazzy piano, a small but inventive embellishment that lays bare the fault lines between No Boys Allowed and its more ordinary predecessor, In a Perfect World…
This sparky album keeps on catching the ear like this, and Hilson is in warm, confident voice throughout – much more of this and she’ll be hard to ignore.
--Matthew Horton
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
No Boys Allowed is the second album from Atlanta-born R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson. The follow-up to debut record In a Perfect World, No Boys Allowed features the singles "Pretty Girl Rock" and "Knock You Down" (featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo). Hilson has previusly written hit tracks for artists like Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls, and Usher, as well as being guest vocalist on mentor and label boss Timbaland's records.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Keri Hilson's done alright here, her second album consists of R&B pop style tunes with elements of dance in them. Her bostful first single 'Pretty Girl Rock' is fun tune were lyrically Keri just goes on & on.... about herself "dont hate me because im beautiful. mad cause im cuter than the girl thats wicha. no question that this girls a ten" shes so modist isnt she? - shes only having a laugh & a bit of fun. The rest of her album is mixed with some tunes equally as good. But some are more growing tunes and a few will not float your boat. But I think Keri Hilson fans will really like this album.
I do have to say another negative to this album is no not the songs, its the acctual album. Whats the first thing you look at when looking at the album?. The cover. The covers awful, it just doesnt work at all. And the album name no boys allowed has to be the worst name I've heard for an album in many years. Its almost as if shes saying 'no males can buy this', 'girls only' I think she may loose a lot of male fans with an album like this. But if the cover was changed to something more universal and the name was changed to something a lot better. It would have a more better feel & would be seen overall much better. But the songs are alright..... 4 out of 5
Heres The tracklist for This 'New Version':
1."Buyou" (featuring J. Cole)
2."Pretty Girl Rock"
4."Bahm Bahm (Do It Once Again) / I Want You"
5."One Night Stand" (featuring Chris Brown)
6."Lose Control / Let Me Down" (featuring Nelly)
7."Toy Soldier"
8."Breaking Point"
9."Beautiful Mistake"
10."Gimme What I Want"
11."All the Boys"
12."Pretty Girl Rock" (featuring Kanye West)
13."Hustler"
14."Lie to Me" (featuring Timbaland)
15."Won't Be Long" (featuring Timbaland)
16."Fearless"
17."So Good"
18."I Like" (Jost & Grubert Radio Mix)
I do have to say another negative to this album is no not the songs, its the acctual album. Whats the first thing you look at when looking at the album?. The cover. The covers awful, it just doesnt work at all. And the album name no boys allowed has to be the worst name I've heard for an album in many years. Its almost as if shes saying 'no males can buy this', 'girls only' I think she may loose a lot of male fans with an album like this. But if the cover was changed to something more universal and the name was changed to something a lot better. It would have a more better feel & would be seen overall much better. But the songs are alright..... 4 out of 5
Heres The tracklist for This 'New Version':
1."Buyou" (featuring J. Cole)
2."Pretty Girl Rock"
4."Bahm Bahm (Do It Once Again) / I Want You"
5."One Night Stand" (featuring Chris Brown)
6."Lose Control / Let Me Down" (featuring Nelly)
7."Toy Soldier"
8."Breaking Point"
9."Beautiful Mistake"
10."Gimme What I Want"
11."All the Boys"
12."Pretty Girl Rock" (featuring Kanye West)
13."Hustler"
14."Lie to Me" (featuring Timbaland)
15."Won't Be Long" (featuring Timbaland)
16."Fearless"
17."So Good"
18."I Like" (Jost & Grubert Radio Mix)
Format:Audio CD
Keri Hilson's first album, In A Perfect World..., was a good but patchy affair. No Boys Allowed is a much more consistent R&B album that flows well from beginning to end. The title is intended to mean that Hilson wants men in her life rather than boys, and a lot of the songs tend to revolve around this theme. "Breaking Point", for example, riffs on the theme of every woman having a breaking point in a relationship beyond which she cannot take any more, "Buyou" is about financial independence, and "The Way You Love Me" is an overtly sexual track about her appreciation for her man's prowess. The album is mostly filled with midtempos (with the ballad "All The Boys" and the frantic "The Way You Love Me" being one of the few exceptions), and the best indicators of the album are probably "One Night Stand" and "Lose Control", both of which you should be able to find music videos for on YouTube).
There are some missteps on this - some of the lyrics could have been considerably better written in places, especially in some of the guest raps (see, for example, Nelly's section of the otherwise very good "Lose Control") - but the music is strong throughout. Even the weaker tracks have grown on me since I bought this album ten months ago. "Pretty Girl Rock" is probably the standout here, with the message that every woman ought to feel beautiful and take pride in themselves, but it can come across as a slightly egotistical if read incorrectly.
However, if you're thinking of getting this album, I recommend the digital-only deluxe version of this album (No Boys Allowed) - it's much better value and the additional tracks are definitely worth it.
There are some missteps on this - some of the lyrics could have been considerably better written in places, especially in some of the guest raps (see, for example, Nelly's section of the otherwise very good "Lose Control") - but the music is strong throughout. Even the weaker tracks have grown on me since I bought this album ten months ago. "Pretty Girl Rock" is probably the standout here, with the message that every woman ought to feel beautiful and take pride in themselves, but it can come across as a slightly egotistical if read incorrectly.
However, if you're thinking of getting this album, I recommend the digital-only deluxe version of this album (No Boys Allowed) - it's much better value and the additional tracks are definitely worth it.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
bought this on itunes, immediately loved it... cant stop listening to it :)
best songs:
- Breaking Point
- Lose Control
- Beautiful Mistake
- Pretty Girl Rock
- The Way You Love Me
- Toy Soldier
- All The Boys
- Gimme What I Want
- Bahm Bahm
...I realise thats pretty much the entire album, but thats how good it is! :-) Keri just gets better and better x
best songs:
- Breaking Point
- Lose Control
- Beautiful Mistake
- Pretty Girl Rock
- The Way You Love Me
- Toy Soldier
- All The Boys
- Gimme What I Want
- Bahm Bahm
...I realise thats pretty much the entire album, but thats how good it is! :-) Keri just gets better and better x
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Music > Pop
- Music > R&B & Soul
- Music > Rap & Hip-Hop
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
