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 grew up in the theater, my mother is an actress, I was always around the world of acting and theater.
I've always been very private, maybe because I discovered my mother, who is a wonderful lady, is very emotional.
When I was younger, my mother and I, we'd have these crazy, crazy fights. Everyone would storm out mad, and the only way that I'd be able to express myself was to write her. We would write letters back and forth for days. When I'm writing, I feel uninterrupted. I write what I'm going through and how I see it.
My parents weren't married. It wasn't like my dad up and left. I maintained a steady relationship with my grandparents. My dad's mother is my nana, and I'm closer to her than almost anybody in this world.
I've always valued the input of the people I love. So in the past, whenever I'd make a decision - what to wear to an event, whether to pursue a job opportunity - I'd consult those closest to me, like my mother, husband, or manager.
I love children and I love family and I love that interaction. Because I had a really close relationship with my mother, I understand that deep powerful love, and it's so beautiful. To be a mother to a child is the most brilliant gift; it's gorgeous.
I grew up around the theatre. My mother is an actress. I would fall asleep on tons of theatre chairs. It's in my blood; it's in my spirit and my fabric of who I am.
I've stepped more into my womanhood, I'm a mother now, I'm having a beautiful relationship as a wife and as a friend.
When I had nothing else, I had my mother and the piano. And you know what? They were all I needed.
My mother is an actress, and she used to drag me from theater to theater and reading to reading.
I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African.
My mom is definitely my rock.
Even though I was telling myself I wasn't going to commit to anything because I wanted to take some time off, I was so moved by (the movie) and I really wanted to be involved. Beyond color, beyond being a black or white thing, it was just a human story about struggle and about overcoming when it seems the toughest.
I've always been a very big fan of the show and when they stopped doing it I was like, what happened to 'MTV Unplugged?' I specifically went in there and said we have to do an 'Unplugged,'