page_title: Knock You Down
section_title: Critical reception
hierarchical_section_title: Knock You Down / Critical reception
caption_attribution_description: Ne-Yo at MuchMusic.
context_page_description: "Knock You Down" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, recorded for her debut album, In a Perfect World.... The song features guest vocals from Ne-Yo and Kanye West. All three artists co-wrote the song with its producer Nate "Danja" Hills, as well as Kevin Cossom and Marcella Araica. The song was released first released to rhythmic and urban airplay in the United States as the album's fourth single in the US, and it would later serve as the third worldwide single.
  The song is a contemporary R&B and hip hop song, which includes elements of pop music. The lyrics of the song pertain to how love "knocks you down." Part of the song refers to Michael Jackson; coincidentally it was released at the time surrounding the death of the singer. The song received generally mixed to positive reviews, with critics divided as to whether Ne-Yo and West overwhelmed Hilson's appearance. However, reviewers also complimented that the song was radio-friendly. It was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
context_section_description: Chris Williams of Billboard said "with a vocal assist from Ne-Yo and a clever guest rap by Kanye West, it appears Hilson is intent on a knockout punch of her own." Dan Nishimoto of Prefix Magazine said the song was one of the better radio-friendly tracks on the album. Melinda Newman of HitFix said that "the mid-tempo track is undeniably catchy and will embed itself within your brain after only a few listens." Sophie Bruce of BBC Music positively received the song, calling it the album's "biggest potential hit." Although Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song three out of five stars, complimenting production by Danja, and saying that the song sounded like a more obvious hit than "Return the Favor", he complained that "getting two R&B A-listers to appear on your track should be a real coup, but not when one's got a more distinctive voice than you and the other steals the show with some typically ballsy rapping." Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters criticized the repetitive hook, stating "Hook-wise, it’s a little like listening to an album of kids chanting while playing double-dutch." He also said that Hilson's vocals "show promise but fail to distinguish the Hilson brand from the crowd."
  "Knock You Down" was nominated for three awards. At the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards, the song was nominated for Record of the Year (Songwriters Award) as well as Best Collaboration. At the 52nd Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, but lost to Jay-Z's "Run This Town", another song in which West is featured. Entertainment Weekly named "Knock You Down" the fourth best song of 2009. Slant Magazine listed it the 19th on its list of the best songs of 2009.
caption: Critics were divided as to whether the song's features overwhelmed Hilson. Nick Levine said that Ne-Yo (pictured) had a more "distinctive" voice than Hilson
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