Alicia Keys (born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981 in Manhattan, New York) is an American R&B/soul singer, composer, record producer, and pianist.

Biography

Family and musical background

Alicia was born on January 25, 1981 to a Italian American mother, Terri Augello, and a African-American father, Craig Cook, and was raised in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. She began playing piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite Chopin. She wrote her first song "Butterflyz" at the age of thirteen; the song was later recorded for her debut album. Keys' mother and father separated during her early childhood, thus she was raised by her mother during her formative years; her mother was the one who most supported her during the time she was developing her musical talents. However, Keys has now reconciled her relationship with her father. [1]

Education

Keys graduated as valedictorian from the Professional Performing Arts School, a public high school in Manhattan at the age of sixteen. She briefly attended Columbia University on a scholarship before devoting herself to a full-time musical career. Following her mentor Clive Davis to his newly-formed J Records label, she released her debut album Songs in A Minor in 2001, the title being a reference to both her classical aspirations and to the fact that she wrote most of the songs at a very young age.

Professional music career

Songs in A Minor (2001): The Debut

Keys' debut release, Songs in A Minor, was released in the U.S. in June 2001 on Clive Davis’ J Records, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling over 235,000 copies in its first week (50,000 of those in its first day). It went on to sell more than ten million units worldwide [2], and established Keys' popularity both outside and inside the U.S., where she became the best-selling new artist of 2001 (as well as the best-selling female R&B artist). The album's first single, "Fallin'", gained radio airplay on many different radio formats and spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Keys performed Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes televised benefit concert following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Another single from Songs in A Minor, "A Woman's Worth", made the top ten in the U.S. as well. Keys and the album won five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'".

Critical reviews of the album were mostly positive. Keys' work had a sound similar to 1970s soul singers such as Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye along with hip hop influences like those apparent in neo soul artists such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and D'Angelo. However, there were also some accusations of outright plagiarism on Keys' part, especially in the case of her single "Fallin'", which interpolates James Brown's "It's A Man's World" right down to the string arrangement.

The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)

After extensive touring, Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, released in December 2003. The album was hailed by critics and debuted at number one in the U.S., selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, the sixth highest album sales by a female and second by R&B female. To date, it has sold eight million copies worldwide [3]. The singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You" both reached the top five of the Billoard Hot 100 chart, and another single, "Diary", entered the top ten. The classical/hip-hop influenced "Karma" was less successful, peaking at number twenty but more successful on Top 40 Mainstream peaking at number three. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the sixty-three year old Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Chart for more than one year, surpassing Mary J. Blige's "Your Child" (forty-nine weeks).

At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, Keys led Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder in their version of Wonder's "Higher Ground". Also the following year in 2005 won Best R&B Video in her second year in a row for "Karma". At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she gave a performance of the album's second single, "If I Ain't Got You", and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia On My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by the late Ray Charles. That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name", and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "My Boo" with Usher. Keys went on to become the best-selling female R&B artist of the year.

MTV Unplugged (2005)

Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. [4] During this live session, Keys added brand-new arrangements to her original songs such as "A Woman's Worth" and "Heartburn", and performed a few choice covers. Part of Keys' audience also included her guest performers; she collaborated with rappers Common and Mos Def for "Love It or Leave It Alone", reggae artist Damian Marley for "Welcome to Jam Rock" and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine for a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses".

In addition to a cover of "Every Little Bit Hurts", previously performed by singers such as Aretha Franklin and Brenda Holloway, Keys also premiered two new original songs: "Stolen Moments", which she co-wrote with soul singer Al Green, and "Unbreakable". [5][6] The session was released on CD and DVD on October 11, 2005. Known simply as Unplugged, the album opened at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in first week of release. [7][8] The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest debut for an MTV Unplugged album since MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) by Nirvana, and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one.

The Album is currently nominated for four Grammy Awards:

• Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Unbreakable";
• Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Was Your Woman"
• Best R&B Song for "Unbreakable"
• Best R&B Album for "Unplugged"

Current projects

New Music: Charity Single

• Keys and Bono recorded a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up", in recognition of World AIDS Day (December 1). Keys and Bono's version of the song has been retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)"[9], to show the two musicans' support for helping to raise awareness of people living with HIV and AIDS and acknowledging the 25 million Africans (40 million people worldwide) living with the disease. Cingular Wireless announced the debut of an exclusive Music Tone ringtone available only through the Cingular Sounds music program, 100 percent of the proceeds from the ringtone sales will go to Keep A Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides life-saving AIDS medicines directly to children and families with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

New Music: Featured Artist

• Keys contributed her vocals to two tributes albums by late soul singers Ray Charles and Luther Vandross. Keys' duet with Jermaine Paul (one of her backing vocalists featured on her World Tours and on her Unplugged album) of Vandross' song "If This World Were Mine" can be heard on So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, released in September 2005 [10], is currently nominated for the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. This is Keys' fifth nomination at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Keys duetted with the late Ray Charles on his song "America the Beautiful" as part of his tribute album Genius and Friends, also released in September 2005.

New Music: Third Studio Album

• Keys has already began working on her third studio album, which is likely to be released in 2007. Keys' longtime songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Borthers, Keys has said that the two will start working seriously on Keys' third studio in the latter half of 2006 [11]. Keys' has explained that her new upcoming album have a more raw and edgier feel than her first two albums [12].

New Recording Studio

• Keys recently opened a new recording studio in New York, which she co-owns with her co-production and co-songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers [13]. Keys and Kerry Brothers are co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises [14], a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her award-winning albums as well as create music for other artists.

Film

• Keys is a soon-to-be actress; she will play piano prodigy Philippa Schuyler in an upcoming movie entitled Compositions in Black and White scheduled for release in 2007 (shooting to begin in 2006) [15]. She is currently shooting a film alongside Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven and Ryan Reynolds entitled Smokin' Aces (scheduled for release in 2006) [16], in which she plays an assassin.

Philanthropy

• Besides being a musician, Keys is also an active philanthropist. She is a spokeswoman of the organizations Keep A Child Alive [17] and Frum Tha Group Up [18]. Keep A Child Alive aims to provide lifesaving medicine for children and families living with HIV and AIDS, whilst "Frum Tha Group Up" is devoted to inspiring, encouraging and motivating American youths to achieve success on all levels.

• Keys also participated in other humanitarian efforts in 2005 by performing at several exclusive concerts and television shows. On July 2, Keys performed in Philadelphia as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts. The mission of the concerts was to raise awareness of the on-going poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action by doubling aid, canceling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa. In August 2005, Keys performed on ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a benefit program shown on music video channels to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The following month, Keys performed at Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, another Hurricane Katrina benefit concert.

Trivia

• VH1 conducted a recent poll that asked music lovers which artists topped their wish lists this holiday season (Christmas 2005). Keys' "Unplugged" ranked #2 in a telephone poll commissioned by VH1 that surveyed a random national sample of approximately 1,000 20-49 year-olds who listen to music. Ray Charles' "Genius and Friends" ranked #1 [19].

• In 2005, TIME magazine named Keys one of "The Most Influential People In The World."

• In July 2005, The Sun newspaper reported that Keys had been voted the second most powerful artist in the pop industry in the Los Angeles Times 2005 Pop Power List, after fellow R&B star Usher. The list was compiled by producers such as Jermaine Dupri, Rick Rubin and entrepreneur Russell Simmons.

• Keys became an Honorary Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on September 24, 2004.

• She is seen in episode number 1-22 of "The Cosby Show". She played the role of a girl named Maria, who was one of Rudy's friends. She was then credited as her real name, "Alicia Cook". The episode was called "Slumber Party" and aired on March 28, 1985.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Books

• Tears for Water; 2004
• The Songbook; 2006
• Diary of Alicia Keys; 2007

Tours

• Tour in USA (2001)
• European Tour (2001-2002)
• Asian/Australian Tour (2004)
• The Verizon Ladies First Tour (2004) [With Beyoncé Knowles & Missy Elliot]
• European Tour (2004)
• The Diary Tour in USA (2005)

Awards and nominations

As of 2005, Keys has won over seventy awards, including nine Grammy Awards. She is one of only four female artists awarded five Grammys in one year, the others being Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones and Beyoncé Knowles. For a list of awards and nominations, see Alicia Keys' Awards and Nominations.

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (US)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

• Official site
• Alicia Keys Fan.Com
• Alicia Keys at the Music City
• Alicia Keys at the Internet Movie Database
• Alicia Keys lyricsde:Alicia Keys

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