Keri Hilson’s Role in Lifetime’s ‘Lust’ Fulfills Her Screen Dreams

Singer Keri Hilson is about to get married on Lifetime, but her character in the TV movie Lust: A Seven Deadly Sins Story — which premieres on Saturday, April 10, at 8 p.m. ET — might not get a happily-ever-after.

“Tiffanie (Keri Hilson) is about to have the wedding of her dreams to her soul mate, the dashing Damon King (Tobias Truvillion),” Lifetime teases in a synopsis. “But when Damon’s old friend Trey (Durrell ‘Tank’ Babbs) arrives, fresh from prison to step in as Damon’s best man, Tiffanie’s whole world gets rocked.”

The splashy TV gig is part of Keri’s “manifestation season,” as she told Associated Press in a recent interview. Read on for more details on the singer’s life now…

In her AP interview, Keri — who, for the record, appears to be single — admitted that her acting career took her by surprise.

“I always dreamt of leading a film — never thought that I ever actually would or even feel capable of doing so,” she said. “I love throwing myself in situations where I’m forced to grow and learn and catch up and be challenged. I’m really loving this shift that just occurred so naturally.”

In addition to Lust: A Seven Deadly Sins Story, Keri starred in the TV One movie Don’t Waste Your Pretty earlier in 2021 she’s starring in a short-film later this year, and she’ll reportedly appear in a full-length theatrical release soon, per the AP.

Keri broke out as a R&B singer in the late 2000s with her hit songs “Knock You Down,” “Turning Me Down,” and “Pretty Girl Rock.” In fact, “Knock You Down” hit No. 1 on the Billboard 100 and earned Keri a Grammy nomination. She’s also an accomplished songwriter with credits on songs by Jennifer Lopez, Timbaland, and Britney Spears.

But Keri hasn’t released a studio album since 2010’s “No Boys Allowed,” and she told the AP that she’s giving all her attention on her acting career at the moment. “I have to be in an authentic space to pursue anything. It’s got to be genuine for me,” she said. “For now, all of my focus is in learning a new craft.”

In its synopsis for Lust, Lifetime elaborates on the complications Keri’s character faces in the movie: “Sexy and mysterious, Trey triggers a passion in Tiffanie that she never expected, and suddenly the life she’s always planned with Damon is uncertain. But Trey still carries wounds from his history with Damon, and his intentions toward both Tiffanie and Damon are not to be trusted.”

And in a recent Essence interview, Keri says the takeaway for viewers is that lust is “not worth it.”

She explains: “It has the capacity, the propensity, the possibility of ruining your whole life, your marriage, your relationship. Even if you’re single, you’ve gotta contain lust. It can damage your reputation, your career, whatever else. We see a lot of that these days, especially on social media, we see how lust can really destroy empires.”