Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook, known by the pseudonym Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records. Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth25 January 1981
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I play Beethoven and Bach. At the same time, Biggie is my dog.
I've met some serious aliens in my life, for sure. I'm sure you've seen a UFO. Haven't all of us seen something flying in the sky, and it's at some random time of night that doesn't make sense, and it's not the shape of a plane? I don't know if I'd go with an alien to space. I would have to feel the alien's vibe. I'm a vibe person.
I just wanted to be who I was, which was like so many other girls I knew. We grew up in the city, had a hard edge and obstacles to overcome, but we were still young and beautiful. I didn't want to be all dressed up, all made up - I wanted to be myself, which hadn't been done before.
My mom always said, 'Don't date a guy who thinks he's prettier than you.'
You can't really compare people. That's one of the biggest lessons I've learned, because comparing yourself to someone else really stops you from being who you are.
I have solid decent people around me, and I believe that is all it is, because you will get destroyed if you have people bringing you down.
I grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood. I grew up around drugs, alcohol, prostitution, I grew up around everything, and I think part of seeing that from really young has made me really steer very far away from it in all of its forms.
There are so many things where I realize, like, simple circumstance, like the simple choice that I made one night to not do that and to do this, one night could have changed everything.
Not because I'm trying to be fabulous, but I love those big crazy Jackie O shades.
The smaller you strip things down, the more you depend on the songs and yourself, as opposed to arrangements.
It's not until I hear songs that I've done, that I realize how much of an inspiration music from the '60s and '70s has been.
I'm the cofounder of Keep a Child Alive. We provide medicine for families affected by HIV and AIDS in places like Africa and India.
Adam Levine and I remade the Rolling Stones' classic Wild Horses, and it is right up my alley, that whole style. It has a style of its own but still stays very true to the classic arrangement, and I love it.
I really like to live my life in a low-key fashion.