Key Takeaways
- The singer’s viral “Put a finger down” video hints at a personal story of love and betrayal tied to the new album.
- We Need to Talk: Drama continues the narrative arc started in We Need to Talk: Love, deepening her R&B storytelling.
- Hilson’s return marks a creative evolution, using social media to preview themes of heartbreak and growth.
Keri Hilson has fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation of her next release, We Need to Talk: Drama, dropping this Friday (Sept. 12). The songwriter launched the first chapter of her three-part R&B album rollout with We Need to Talk: Love in April, featuring the intoxicating lead single “Bae.”
To build hype for her next chapter, Hilson joined the viral “Put a finger down” trend, a storytelling format where people reveal shocking personal experiences one finger at a time. Judging by the anecdote she teased in a post uploaded to TikTok and Instagram on Wednesday (Sept. 10), the singer is ready to delve into a bad romance.
With one hand up, she began, “Put a finger down if you have ever thought you found your soulmate. You fell in love, things are beautiful, you’re talking really seriously, you know, and all of a sudden you realize you’re being lied to.”
The drama builds as she continues, “You’re being gaslit… You’re feeling turmoil. You know, you’re noticing things, you’re feeling things, and you’re raising questions. Now you’re arguing… you’re presenting proof. It’s just, you just look up one day and you’re like, ‘How did this turn into drama?’” By that time the “Pretty Girl Rock” singer had put a finger down.
It seemed as though she was ready to spill all the details in a full-blown story time about how she fell for someone. But then the relationship fell apart — much like the video that became pixelated and ended with a phone call. In the recording, she is heard telling her beau, "We need to talk."
To hear the rest of the story, fans will have to tune in to the next scene unraveling on Friday (Sept. 12). On Instagram, a user commented, “Can not wait for the extension of the story!! Very, very, VERY excited!!” A second follower wrote, “Oh, I was snuggled up in my covers like, ‘Oh yeah, story time! Just nosy, can’t wait to hear all about it.” A guy who found the video just a tad too relatable remarked, “Lol, it’s NEVER good when a woman says we need to talk LMAO!!!!! TRUE STORY.”
Keri Hilson’s viral “Put a finger down” moment sets up We Need to Talk: Drama
Hilson’s comeback project marked her first album in 15 years. The Georgia Peach took a hiatus following the success of her sophomore LP No Boys Allowed in 2009. In April, she told Billboard, “I’ve got several albums worth of music and want to tell a cohesive story — love, drama, redemption — like a movie. I realized I had a thread that would weave this tapestry together.”
In this era of her career, Hilson is calling the shots as an independent artist. Her new music is released by Audible Art Club, her imprint under Create Music Group. Whether she is singing about heartbreak, healing, or hard truths, the superstar is inviting fans to feel every beat. Get caught up on chapter one by listening to We Need to Talk: Love below.