Alicia Keys - Biography

Biography of Alicia Keys

Alicia J. Augello-Cook or Alicia Keys was born on January 25, 1980. She is credited within the music industry all over the world with record sales of over forty million singles and albums. She is the recipient of nine prestigious Grammy Awards, eleven Bill Board Music Awards, three American Music Awards, among a myriad of others. This Manhattan born super star is the daughter of Teresa Augello, an Irish-Scottish part-time actress and a flight attendant, Craig Cook. Keys' was raised by her mother. Keys began playing the piano when she was only seven. She was a keen listener and learned from the compositions by Mozart and Beethoven and Chopin.

Keys is a graduate from Manhattan’s Professional Performing Arts School. She initially signed on with Columbia Records, in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri. The Men In Black soundtrack ‘Dah Dee Dah Sexy Thing’ was co-written and recorded by Alicia and incidently her first professional recording! With Clive Davis, Alicia went on to record songs like ‘Rock wit U’ and ‘Rear View Mirror’. The former featured on the soundtrack of Shaft, while the latter was part of the success story called Dr. Dolittle. Songs in a Minor was Keys’ debut album. The album is on record as a grosser of more than 50,000 sales on the very first day! The album established Keys as a popular artist beyond the U.S.

Alicia Keys became the ‘Best Selling New Artist’ in 2001 and also the ‘Best Selling R&B Artist’. Her performances in ‘Fallin’, ‘Someday We'll All Be Free’ and ‘A Woman’s Worth’ won her international acclaim. A Woman’s Worth won five Grammy Awards for ‘Fallin’. Keys' work is much loved by people of all age groups because of her uncanny similarity in appeal and sound to the 1970 soul singers like Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield and the neo soul and hip hop artists like D’Angelo and Lauryn Hill. The Diary of Alicia Keys debuted at number one in the U.S. The release went on to become the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist and the sixth by a female artist world wide.

Alicia Keys is internationally acclaimed for her singles You Don’t Know My Name, If I Aint Got You and Diary. Her experiment with classical and hip hop resulted in Karma, which got to a number 3 on the Bill Board Top 100. ‘If I Ain't Got You’ surpassed the record of ‘Your Child’ by Mary Blige, on the Bill Board charts. Alicia has become immortal with her experiments with hits like Georgia on my Mind, If I Ain't Got You, You Don't Know My Name and My Boo. Keys’ performance on the MTV Unplugged series added new arrangements to her original hits.

Heartburn was her experiment with funk music, while Love It or Leave It Alone was a rap music initiative. Alicia has even enthralled her audiences with reggae in Welcome to Jamrock. Stolen Moments was co-written by Alicia Keys and producer Lamont Green. Unbreakable, from the album ascended to number four on the Bill Board Hot R&B and Hip-Hop Hot 100! Alicia has created a niche for her music with the recognition earned as Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performer, Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Music Video Performer. Keys has tasted success via a number of popular tie ups with artists like Britney Spears. ‘As I Am’ is on record as number one on the Bill Board 200 and the largest sales for a female solo artist.

No One, Like You’ll Never See Me Again and Gravity set a record as Keys' entry inot the Numero Uno slot. Keys has opened a recording studio in New York, co owned by her production and songwriting partner Kerry Brothers. Keys has appeared in cameos in the television series American Dreams, Charmed, Mission To Mars, The Backyardigans and Cane. Keys stormed the celluloid with Smokin Aces, as the assassin Georgia Sykes. Besides being a musician, Keys is the spokeswoman for the non-profit organization Keep The Child Alive. The organisation supports the AIDS affected with life-saving medicines.