Alicia Keys
26 year old Alicia Keys is arguably one of the greatest and most gifted talents to emerge this century. In her relatively short career, Alicia Keys has already been awarded 9 Grammy's; sold over 25 million albums; been referred to as 'the female Stevie Wonder' or 'today's Aretha Franklin' by critics world-wide; and, moreover, been immortalised in song by Bob Dylan.
Since the release of her last studio album 'The Diary Of Alicia Keys', Alicia has added a number of strings to her artistic bow. Aside from delivering the most successful Unplugged album in MTV history, she has made inroads into the worlds of film and television, both in front of and behind the scenes. After making her critically acclaimed acting debut in 'Smokin' Aces' earlier this year, Alicia will be starring alongside Scarlett Johansson in 'The Nanny Diaries' (out in the UK on October 12th), having just launched production company, Big Pita, in conjunction with Walt Disney. Meanwhile Alicia Keys continues her work in Africa for non profit organisation 'Keep a Child Alive'; hence her recent involvement in the Bono edited Vanity Fair Africa issue.
Alicia Keys' third studio album 'As I Am' features collaborations with John Mayer, Linda Perry, Jack Splash, Mark Batson and her long standing production partner, Kerry Brothers, 'As I Am' shows a distinct progression in Alicia's style and sound, without losing the essence of what catapulted her to superstar status in 2002. "No one", the first single to be taken from 'As I Am', is also out now. Written, produced and performed by Alicia 'No-One' is her most raw, honest and inspirational song to date.
2009 sees Alicia riding high in the charts with the Jay Z collaboration ‘Empire State Of Mind’ and she also wrote Whitney Houston’s come-back smash ‘Million Dollar Bill’. This Christmas, Alicia's latest studio album 'The Element of Freedom' will be released. Alicia describes the album as a dichotomy of strength and vulnerability: “The music is really strong, and the drums are really aggressive, but my voice is vulnerable and delicate”. The first single to be taken from the album, 'Doesn't Mean Anything', is written and produced by Alicia and her longtime production partner Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, and due for release on November 30th.
