BIORAPHY:

An exotic beauty with enchanting melodic vocals and talented keyboard playing, Alicia Keys is one of the most titled and commercially successful representatives of the musical environment of all time. She’s been called the princess of soul, but in her more than 20-year career, the singer is worthy of the title of queen. She is praised in the press as a star who has raised the art of music to the highest level.

Childhood and family:

The future star of the world stage was born in the noisy and multifaceted New York, or rather in Harlem, in one of its poorest areas. Her mother is of Irish, Italian and Scottish descent. The father was African American. Besides this, it is quite difficult to say anything more specific about him. When the future singer was only five years old, her father left the family and never appeared again.

Despite all the difficulties and difficulties associated with the poverty surrounding her and the constant lack of money, Alicia Keys always followed her own path and clearly knew what she wanted to achieve in life. Among many of her peers, who from an early age were involved in the drug business and other illegal activities, the girl always remained a black sheep. But I was never shy about it.

At an early age, at the insistence of her mother, she began attending the Performance Arts School of Manhattan, where she began to learn the basics of playing the piano. This activity gave her great pleasure. Alicia was an excellent student. She was appreciated by her teachers, and at some point she became the real pride of her school. She played the keyboard beautifully, sang in the local choir and even composed her own melodies. According to some reports, the song Butterflyz, which was later included in the album “Songs in a Minor,” was written by a girl at the age of fourteen.

Thus, thanks to music and her bright talent, Alicia managed to break out of the gray reality surrounding her and break through to the light. After graduating from school, the girl entered the prestigious Columbia University, but left after four weeks. During this period, Alicia Keys threw herself into her work and began building a career as a successful pop singer.

As Keys said in an interview, being born into an interracial family was an advantage for her, as it gave her the opportunity to feel connected to different cultures. Craig and Teresa separated when their daughter was just two years old. Alicia continued to live with her mother in a poor Manhattan area.

Already in early childhood, the baby diligently attended music and dance classes, and at the age of four she first appeared on television in the TV series “The Cosby Show”, where she performed a cameo role in an episode of Slumber Party. From the age of seven, Alicia began to enjoy playing the piano, subsequently mastering the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Fryderyk Chopin.

When she was 12 years old, Keys became a student at a prestigious performing arts school, where she chose choral singing lessons as her specialty. Two years after the start of her studies, the girl composed her first songs.

Music and films:

The singer’s creative biography began with a trial contract with the So So Def label and participation in the recording of the soundtrack to the 1997 science fiction film Men in Black. On June 5, 2001, the presentation of Alicia’s first studio album took place, which was called Songs in A Minor. The album became a commercial success, selling 12 million copies worldwide, and the girl herself was named best R&B artist and best new artist.

In addition, the debut album brought the vocalist five Grammy awards in 2002, one of which was in the Song of the Year category for the sensual composition Fallin’. Alicia became the second American performer after Lauren Hill who was lucky enough to go on stage to receive an award five times in one evening.

The talented performer recorded her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, which repeated the success of the first – it sold 8 million copies worldwide, and also won four Grammy Award nominations in 2005. The lyrical composition “If Ain’t Got You”, written and produced by the singer herself, won in the category “Best Female Vocal Performance in the R&B Genre.”

In 2006, Alicia released the live album Unplugged, which immediately reached the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Such success had previously only been achieved by the rock band Nirvana in 1994.

As an actress, Keys began appearing in episodes of television series such as “American Dreams” and “Dreamers.” The artist first appeared on the big screen by participating in the filming of the thriller “Smokin’ Aces” in 2006. Alicia played a character named Georgia Sykes. The film also stars Ryan Reynolds and Andy Garcia.

The singer’s discography expanded with another work – the album As I Am in 2007, the work received three Grammy statuettes. Her acting career did not stand still at this time either – the girl played one of the key roles in the drama “The Secret Life of Bees.” This work brought the young actress a nomination for the NAACP Image Awards.

On December 1, 2009, the fourth record, entitled The Element of Freedom, was released, which took first place in the British album chart. Shortly before this, the public rejoiced at Keys’s collaboration with rapper Jay-Z; in a duet they recorded the track Empire State of Mind, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Girl on Fire, the performer’s fifth work, was released three years later and took fifth place in the album hit. USA parade.

The singer’s sixth studio album, Here, was released on November 3, 2016. It was received positively by music critics and listeners. Here reached the top position on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week.

Alicia Keys’ music is a mix of jazz, soul and R&B using keyboard instruments. The leitmotif of her work is love and heartbreak, empowerment and rights of women. The woman names Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Prince as her main inspirations among musicians.

The singer’s style can be described as gospel and vintage soul, diluted with drum rhythm and bass. Keys prefers not to limit himself to narrow boundaries and experiments with pop-rock sounds.

In 2019, the woman became the host and main character of the Grammy Awards, striking the concert hall by playing two pianos simultaneously. Her abilities were appreciated by the organizers of the event and were invited to host the ceremony again next year. The presentation of Alicia’s seventh studio album was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Alicia’s signature disc was released in the fall of 2020. The same year, the artist’s autobiography, More Myself: A Journey, was published. The second part of the signature disc, Keys, was presented in 2021 as the eighth studio album, and then in honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of the Songs in A Minor album, its reissue was released.

The Christmas album Santa Baby will delight fans of the artist’s talent in the fall of 2022.

Alicia Keys’ Star Trek:

Alicia signed her first professional contract with producer Jermaine Dupri and the So So Def label behind him (which at that time was a division of Columbia Records). The result of the joint collaboration was the composition “Dah Dee Dah”, which, in fact, paved the way for the young singer to the professional stage. In 1997, this song became the title theme of the acclaimed blockbuster “Men in Black” and instantly became a hit in Canada and the United States of America.

Another important success in the singer’s career was her acquaintance with producer Clive Davis, who invited Alicia to record her first solo album. In addition, according to some reports, it was he who managed to profitably sell the artist’s new songs to several large Hollywood companies. Thus, soon Alicia Keys’ compositions graced such films as “Shaft,” “Doctor Dolittle 2” and some others. In 2001, the singer’s first album, “Songs in a Minor,” appeared on the shelves of American stores, which immediately became very famous in the New World and brought the young performer five Grammy statuettes at once. In total, sales of the debut album exceeded 10 million copies.

However, all this was only the beginning of a long journey. In 2003, the singer released a new album, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” which again became very successful. Several compositions presented on the disc became national hits in the United States of America, and also brought the girl four more Grammy awards. Alicia Keys’ third album, “As I Am,” was released in 2007. In just the first two weeks of sales, the record sold more than a million copies. This figure remained a record for a long time in the USA and Europe. One of the main hits featured on the album was the song “Another Way to Die”, which became the theme song for the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. It is very noteworthy that this song, performed in a duet with the White Stripes, is the only duet in the history of the legendary Bond film.

Also in 2007, Alicia Keys first appeared on television as a professional actress. The girl’s debut work was a role in Joe Carnahan’s film “Smokin’ Aces.” The debut turned out to be successful and very soon new works appeared in the singer’s filmography. These were the films “The Nanny Diaries” and “The Secret Life of Bees.” The acting work of Alicia Keys in the last of these films was recognized by critics as particularly successful.

Alicia Keys now:

In 2009, our today’s heroine returned to musical activity. During this period, the singer presented to the public her fourth album, “The Element of Freedom,” which also became very popular and successful. Currently, Alicia Keys is one of the most titled singers on the world stage. Her personal collection includes fourteen Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, ten Billboard Music Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, thirteen NAACP Image Awards and several others.

Personal life:

Alicia Keys is happy in her personal life with her husband Kasim Dean (creative pseudonym Swizz Beatz), who is a famous rapper and composer. A closed wedding ceremony took place in mid-summer 2010 on the French island of Corsica, and on October 14 of the same year their first child was born – a boy named Egypt Daoud Din. On December 27, 2014, an addition awaited the family – the second child of Alicia and Kasim, Genesis Ali Dean, was born. In addition, the couple is raising two more children from the man’s previous relationship.

Alicia is an active user of Instagram (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation; it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation). On her personal page, she does not hesitate to publish photos without makeup, shots from the carpet and from the family archive. The performer even launched a campaign on social networks under the heading “No Makeup,” believing that cosmetics deprive girls of their individuality. The public often finds Alicia similar to Zoe Kravitz. The celebrities are friends; Keys even attended a colleague’s wedding.

Discography:

2001 – Songs in A Minor
2003 — The Diary of Alicia Keys
2007 – As I Am
2009 – The Element of Freedom
2012 – Girl on Fire
2016 – Here
2020 – Alicia
2021 – Keys
2022 – Keys II
2022 – Santa BabyFilmography
1985 — “The Cosby Show”
2006 — “Trump Aces”
2007 — “The Nanny Diaries”
2008 — “The Secret Life of Bees”

Interesting facts:

• The singer is actively involved in charity work and participates in various social events. She was involved in a campaign to fight breast cancer and recorded a cover of Don’t Give Up with Bono to raise awareness of the fight against AIDS.
• One of the artist’s pseudonym options was Alisha Wilde, but her mother, who always had influence on her, dissuaded her daughter, noting that such a name would be more suitable for a stripper than a singer.
• Keyes and her husband are the owners of a large art collection, the focus of which is largely focused on works of art by African-American artists.