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The Grammy-nominated singer, known for hits including “Knock You Down,” “Pretty Girl Rock,” and her work with Timbaland on “The Way I Are,” performed on Saturday, August 29, at Nibiru Arena in Costinești. She shared the bill that night with Fat Joe during the three-day event (August 28–30) dedicated to the sound and culture of the 2000s.
RETROGRADE closed NIBIRU’s inaugural summer season. The new entertainment destination between Costinești and Tuzla billed itself as Europe’s largest of its kind, running daily events from mid-July into early September and drawing millions of visitors.
Keri Hilson Brings 2000s R&B to Romania’s Black Sea Coast for NIBIRU’s RETROGRADE Festival
Headliners across the weekend included Timbaland and Eve on Friday and Busta Rhymes on Sunday, with Ja Rule also on the lineup. Organizers framed the festival as a nostalgia event that connected generations around MTV-era hits still widely recognized more than 20 years later.
Romanian coverage described packed crowds and a lively atmosphere that spilled onto the beach the next morning. Attendees and organizers highlighted the cross-generational appeal of the 2000s catalog. NIBIRU reported tens of thousands attending the festival nights as part of a first-season total exceeding 2.6 million visitors to the complex.
This Romania date stood out because most of Hilson’s 2026 bookings were in the United States—festival and package shows in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Omaha, and Hawaii—plus earlier appearances in Kazakhstan. Tour aggregators listed only a handful of remaining U.S. dates after the summer, with no additional confirmed European legs appearing in major listings as of early September.
Hilson’s live activity in 2026 coincided with her return to recording after a long hiatus. She discussed a new album, We Need To Talk, her first in 15 years, and expressed interest in more touring, including smaller venues where she could connect directly with audiences. The Romania booking placed her back on a large outdoor stage with fellow 2000s names, including her frequent collaborator Timbaland, in a market where those records still carry strong recognition.14
NIBIRU’s model—multiple themed festivals across one seasonal site rather than a single weekend event—gave the Romanian coast a high-profile international R&B and hip-hop booking that had been relatively rare. For Hilson, it was a visible European stop during a year focused on reconnecting with fans through both new music and catalog performances.
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