Alicia Keys

R&B singer and actress Alicia J. Augello-Cook was born in Harlem, New York City in 1981. At the urging of her mother, a paralegal and part-time actress, Alicia developed her musical foundation early on - she began to play the piano at age 7. She later attended the selective Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, graduating first in her class early at age 16. Though she was accepted to Columbia University, she decided to leave school to pursue a musical career. Adopting the stage name Alicia Keys, Alicia signed to a record deal with major label Columbia Records in 1997. Though she produced a song for the soundtrack of the Will Smith blockbuster Men In Black, her deal with Columbia folded soon after.

The exotic beauty’s (Alicia is half Jamaican and parts Irish, Scottish, and Italian) career was temporarily put on hold until she signed to J Records in 2000. Her first major album, Songs in A Minor, was released the next year on J Records. Incredibly successful, Songs in A Minor won Keys five Grammy awards and has sold over six million units in the United States, riding on the success of singles "A Woman’s Worth" and "Fallin’". Music recorded during her Songs in A Minor sessions were featured in two major movies, the action-packed Shaft (2000) and the comedy Dr. Doolittle 2 (2001).

Alicia Keys proved the success of her debut album was no fluke in 2003 with her sophomore effort The Diary of Alicia Keys. More ambitious and complicated than her debut album from a musical standpoint, The Diary of Alicia Keys was warmly received by critics and fans alike. Standout tracks from the album include "Karma" and "You Don’t Know my Name". In the wake of her second album, Alicia won a Grammy for best music video for "Karma" and another for her R&B duet "My Boo" with Usher, whom she once dated.

Alicia Keys Photos


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