Alicia Keys was born on January 25, 1981 in Manhattan, New York. It was evident early on that Keys was a musical prodigy. At only four years old, she performed in The Wizard of Oz. At seven, she began piano lessons. Keys went on to attend Manhattan’s Professional Performance Arts School. She, to this day, credits her musical ability to an influential teacher. This teacher saw talent in keys and worked with her to help her develop and tone her skills. At 16, Keys graduated and went on to attend Columbia University. Wanting to pursue a music career, however, had the young singer left the prestigious university prior to graduating. In 1998, Keys signed a recording contract with Arista Records. At this time, Clive Davis was the president of Arista. In 1999, when Davis left Arista and began J Records, Keys followed him.
Alicia Keys’ debut album, Songs in A Minor, debuted during the summer of 2001. Keys wrote every song on the album. The album, which was a mix of R&B, hip-hop, classical, and jazz, sold over 500,000 copies on the day of its release. It also earned Keys two Grammy Awards. Since its release, the album has sold over 5.6 million copies.
Keys released her sophomore album entitled The Diary of Alicia Keys in late 2003. The album sold 618,000 copies in the first week. The young artist also received heavy exposure on both MTV and BET. She appeared on “The Tonight Show” where she performed the album’s first single entitled “You Don’t Even Know My Name.” The single was in the top five for R&B/ Hip Hop Singles and the top 15 on the Hot 100.
Bio written by: bandhunt |
|
Add to Profile
