Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys, 2013

Alicia Keys (* 25. January 1981 as Alicia Augello Cook in New York City ) is an American Soul - and R & B - singer , producer , songwriter and actress . She also accompanies herself on the piano . Over the course of her career, she has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and won numerous awards, including 15 Grammys . Billboard named her the top R&B artist and the fifth best artist of the first decade of the 21st century. In addition, Alicia Keys was ranked tenth among the top 50 "R & B / Hip-Hop Artists" for the past 25 years. Her seventh studio album "ALICIA" was released in December 2020, four years after the release of her sixth album "Here" in November 2016.

Life

1981–2000: childhood and adolescence

Alicia Keys was born in 1981 in Hell's Kitchen in the New York borough of Manhattan , the daughter of the African-American flight attendant Craig Cook and the musical singer Teresa Augello, who is of Irish-Scottish-Italian descent . There she grew up with her mother after her parents separated. In her youth she came into contact with the music of Marvin Gaye , Donny Hathaway , Lauryn Hill , Prince and Stevie Wonder , among others . Alicia Keys first took ballet and piano lessons at the age of five . She mainly played classical music, especially compositions by Mozart , Beethoven and her favorite Chopin .

At the age of 16, she graduated from high school early. Although she got a place at Columbia University , she decided against studying and instead signed a demo contract with Jermaine Dupris So So Def Records, a Columbia Records sub-label . Due to artistic differences, Keys separated from Columbia in 1998 and followed Clive Davis , the founder of Arista Records , to his new music label J Records .

2001–2002: Songs in A Minor

Alicia Keys, 2002

After individual releases on the soundtracks for Men in Black , Shaft - Any questions? and Dr. Dolittle 2 released her debut album Songs in A Minor in the summer of 2001 . The record is a mix of classic Motown elements and contemporary R&B productions. The album sold 236,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 . In the US alone, Songs in A Minor was awarded platinum six times for 6.2 million copies sold. The album sold over twelve million times worldwide. Thanks to the album and the worldwide number one hit Fallin ' as well as three other successful single releases, Keys became the most successful R&B interpreter of 2001. At the 2002 Grammy Awards , the singer won five Grammys , including in the categories of Best Newcomer and Best R&B Album , song of the year, and best female R&B vocal performance .

2003-2005: The Diary of Alicia Keys and Unplugged

At the end of 2003, the singer's second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released. The CD was produced by Kanye West , Rich Harrison , Timbaland and Kerry Krucial. It sold more than eight million copies, and Keys received four more Grammys the following year. In March 2004 she gave the laudatory speech with André 3000 and Big Boi for Prince when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and in late 2004 Keys published her first book, Tears for Water , a songbook of her own poems and lyrics. At the same time she achieved another number one hit with Usher and the joint duet My Boo .

In February 2005, Keys sang America the Beautiful at the 39th Super Bowl . On July 2 of the same year, she performed at Live 8 in Philadelphia . Shortly thereafter, she played an MTV Unplugged concert, which was released in October 2005 on both CD and DVD. In November of the same year, the socially committed artist performed at an event organized by the aid organization Keep a Child Alive . She played a cover version of the classic Don't Give Up by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel with Bono , who was tuned in live via video . All proceeds from the charity song went to Keep a Child Alive .

2006–2008: film debut and As I Am

Alicia Keys, 2008

After various guest appearances in the television series Bill Cosby Show , Charmed - Zauberbeispiele Hexen and American Dreams , Alicia Keys was seen in a supporting role in the film Smokin 'Aces in 2007 alongside Ben Affleck and Andy García . After a long stay in Africa, she got another supporting role in the literary film adaptation of Nanny Diaries in the spring of 2006 . In September 2007, No One, the first single from their third studio album As I Am, was released . It also made it to the top of the international charts and came straight to number one in Switzerland . Even As I Am debuted at number one the Swiss album charts and was certified gold. In February 2008 Alicia Keys was awarded two Grammys in Los Angeles in the categories Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance .

Together with White Stripes front man Jack White , Alicia Keys recorded the theme song for the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace in 2008 . The song Another Way to Die was available for download and appeared on both the film soundtrack and an expanded version of their latest album As I Am .

2009–2011: The Element of Freedom

Alicia Keys, 2011

In 2009 Keys wrote and produced the song Million Dollar Bill for Whitney Houston with Swizz Beatz . She also recorded duets with Alejandro Sanz and Jay-Z . In September 2009, Doesn't Mean Anything, the first single from their fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, was released as a download. According to Keys, the name of the album is to be understood programmatically, as in this album she takes the freedom to musically implement even seemingly absurd ideas. In Germany the album reached gold status.

Alicia Keys is active as an ambassador for the organization Keep a Child Alive , which mainly helps families in Africa and Asia. Keys and her producer Kerry Krucial Brothers run the production company Krucialkeys and their own studio called The Oven , in which they have worked with many other artists such as Nas , Eve , Christina Aguilera , Angie Stone and Keyshia Cole .

Alicia Keys has been in a relationship with producer and rapper Swizz Beatz (Kassem Dean) since autumn 2008 , whom she married on July 31, 2010. Their first son was born in October 2010, the second in December 2014.

In the early summer of 2011 Keys released an anniversary version of their debut album Songs in A Minor , on which occasion they gave two exclusive concerts in London and New York. In 2012 she sang Can You Send Me an Angel for Whitney Houston at their memorial service .

2012–2015: Girl on Fire

Alicia Keys, 2013

Her album Girl on Fire was released in November 2012 . She presented the title song of the same name on September 6, 2012 at the MTV Video Music Awards 2012 . The second single, Brand New Me , was first played on the US radio on November 19, 2012. The Set The World On Fire Tour started on March 7, 2013 .

In June 2013 Keys released a storyteller live album on CD and DVD together with VH1 . In 2014 she was on the soundtrack for The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro together with Kendrick Lamar in the title It's On Again . She also played piano in the Diplo- produced song Living For Love by Madonna from her 2015 album Rebel Heart .

2016–2020: Here , The Voice and ALICIA

On May 4, 2016, the single In Common was released in anticipation of their sixth studio album Here . In addition to numerous promo appearances, she sang a medley on May 28, 2016 before the Champions League final in Milan . For World Refugee Day Keys released a short film in which she puts herself in the role of a refugee. The film is accompanied by another song from their new album. In October 2016 she released another single: Blended Family (What You Do For Love) , which was created in collaboration with A $ AP Rocky . The album was released in early November and reached number 2 in the US charts, making Here Keys' seventh top ten album in the US. Also in 2016, Keys became a jury member for the talent show The Voice for the eleventh and twelfth seasons. She returned as a coach for the fourteenth season of The Voice . In December 2017 it was announced that Alicia Keys would be heard as a feature on the song Like Home for Eminem's ninth studio album Revival . She was also featured as a feature in Justin Timberlake 's fifth studio album Man Of The Woods with the song Morning Light and James Bays Us on his second album Electric Light . Keys hosted the 2019 and 2020 Grammy Awards .

Her seventh studio album ALICIA was released on September 18, 2020 , from which she had previously released the song Wasted Energy (feat.Diamond Platnumbz & Kaash Paige) as a single.

Discography

→ Main article : Alicia Keys / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B
2001	Songs in A Minor	DE2 platinum (51 weeks)DE	AT4th gold (35 weeks)AT	CH3 × 2 Double platinum (67 weeks)CH	UK6th × 3 Triple platinum (93 weeks)UK	US1 × 7 Seven times platinum (70 weeks)US	R&B1 (68 weeks) R&B	First published: June 5, 2001 Sales: + 12,000,000
2003	The Diary of Alicia Keys	DE10 platinum (29 weeks)DE	AT25 (20 weeks) AT	CH1 platinum (48 weeks)CH	UK13 platinum (43 weeks)UK	US1 × 5 Quintuple platinum (87 weeks)US	R&B1 (95 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1, 2003 Sales: + 10,000,000
2007	As I Am	DE6th platinum (21 weeks)DE	AT9 gold (17 weeks)AT	CH1 platinum (32 weeks)CH	UK11 platinum (23 weeks)UK	US1 × 4 Quadruple platinum (63 weeks)US	R&B1 (78 weeks) R&B	First published: November 9, 2007 Sales: + 7,000,000
2009	The Element of Freedom	DE10 gold (36 weeks)DE	AT23 (9 weeks) AT	CH1 platinum (38 weeks)CH	UK1 × 3 Triple platinum (69 weeks)UK	US2 × 2 Double platinum (43 weeks)US	R&B1 (76 weeks) R&B	First published: December 11th, 2009 Sales: + 5,000,000
2012	Girl on fire	DE6th gold (13 weeks)DE	AT7 (10 weeks) AT	CH3 gold (30 weeks)CH	UK13 gold (19 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (34 weeks)US	R&B1 (54 weeks) R&B	First published: November 22nd, 2012 Sales: +3,000,000
2016	Here	DE14 (6 weeks) DE	AT22 (1 week) AT	CH5 (12 weeks) CH	UK21 (3 weeks) UK	US2 (8 weeks) US	R&B1 (11 weeks) R&B	First published: November 4, 2016
2020	Alicia	DE14 (3 weeks) DE	AT10 (2 weeks) AT	CH4 (5 weeks) CH	UK12 (2 weeks) UK	US4 (3 weeks) US	R&B3 (1 week) R&B	First published: September 18, 2020

Movies

• 2007: Smokin 'Aces
• 2007: Nanny Diaries
• 2008: The Secret Life of Bees (The Secret Life of Bees)
• 2015: Empire (series)
• 2020: Work It (producer)

Prizes and awards

• 2001
  • MTV Video Music Award (for Fallin ' )
• 2002
  • Grammy : Best New Artist , Best R&B Album (for Songs in A Minor ), Song of the Year (for Fallin ' ), Best R&B Song (for Fallin' ), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for Fallin ' )
  • World Music Award : Best-Selling New Artist , World's Best-Selling Female R&B Artist
  • MTV Europe Music Award (Best R&B Artist)
  • Echo (Best Newcomer)
• 2004
  • Soul Train Music Award : Best Female R & B / Soul Album (for The Diary of Alicia Keys ), Best Female R & B / Soul Single (for If I Ain't Got You ), Best R & B / Soul Single by a Group, Band or Duo ( for My Boo with Usher )
  • Billboard Award : Female Artist of the Year , Female R & B / Hip Hop Artist of the Year , R & B / Hip Hop Singles Artist of the Year , R & B / Hip Hop Single of the Year (for If I Ain't Got U ), Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year , Female Hot 100 Artist of the Year , R & B / Hip Hop Airplay Single of the Year (for If I Ain't Got U )
  • American Music Award : Favorite Female Artist
  • World Music Award: Best R&B Female Artist
  • MTV Video Music Award: Best R&B Video and Best R&B Artist
• 2005
  • Grammy: Best R&B Album (for The Diary of Alicia Keys ), Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for You Don't Know My Name ), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for If I Ain't Got U ), Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group, Band or Duo (for My Boo ),
  • MTV Video Music Award: Best R&B Video: Karma
  • MTV Europe Music Award: Best R&B Artist
• 2008
  • Grammy: Best R&B Song (for No One ), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for No One )
  • American Music Awards: Favorite Album, Soul / R & B (for As I Am ), Favorite Album, Rock / Pop (for As I Am )
  • World Music Award: Best R&B Artist
  • Swiss Music Awards: Best Urban International (for As I Am)
• 2009
  • Grammy: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for Superwoman )
• 2010
  • Grammy: Best Rap / Sung Collaboration (for Empire State of Mind with Jay-Z), Best Rap Song (for Empire State of Mind )
  • Billboard Latin Music Award: Hot Latin Song (for Looking for Paradise with Alejandro Sanz)
  • Kora Award : Best Artist in the American Diaspora
  • MTV Video Music Award: Best Cinematography in a Video ( Empire State of Mind (feat.Jay -Z ) )
• 2014
  • Grammy: Best R&B Album (for Girl on Fire )

Additional information

Web links

Commons : Alicia Keys  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official Website of Alicia Keys (English)
• Alicia Keys at laut.de
• Alicia Keys at the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Sony Music Entertainment profile

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1. ↑ Biography - Alicia Keys . In: Billboard . Retrieved December 18, 2011.
2. ↑ Christine Sams: The secret life of Alicia Keys. In: Entertainment >> Film. The Age , February 23, 2009, accessed May 3, 2015 . 
3. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009&begin=1&order=position
4. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/column/the-juice/the-top-50-rb-hip-hop-artists-of-the-past-1004127916.story?page=5
5. ↑ startribune.com: More Keys to Alicia's Life
6. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/keys-debut-tops-the-billboard-200-943381.story
7. ↑ http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/39906/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-new-acts-of-the-2000s/
8. ↑ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=alicia%20keys&format=ALBUM&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25
9. ↑ http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/112579-alicia-adds-tour-dates
10. ↑ Interview with Alicia Keys in the magazine kulturnews (January 2010): Love, freedom and all the rest
11. ↑ Alicia Keys got married on n-tv on August 2, 2010
12. ↑ Wedding bells in Pophimmel in Stern from August 2, 2010
13. ↑ Alicia Keys gives birth to boys on n-tv from October 16, 2010
14. ↑ On Sale Alicia Keys One Night Only 10th Anniversary Beacon Show , NBC, May 6, 2011
15. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/alicia-keys-reveals-girl-on-fire-album-cover-1007884152.story
16. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690894/2012-video-music-awards-alicia-keys-performance.jhtml
17. ↑ Alicia Keys previews Girl on fire-announces. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 30, 2010 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
18. ↑ [1]
19. ↑ [2]
20. ↑ [3]
21. ↑ http://www.laut.de/News/Alicia-Keys-Die-neue-Single-In-Common-im-Stream-04-05-2016-12508
22. ↑ http://www.gaesteliste.de/news/show.html?_nr=3299
23. ↑ [4]
24. ↑ [5]
25. ↑ [6]
26. ↑ [7]
27. ↑ [8]
28. ↑ [9]
29. ↑ Franck Salin: Kora Awards 2010: où sont passés les artistes? , Afrik.com report April 6, 2010, accessed May 27, 2010