Alicia Keys

A real Renaissance woman, Alicia Keys is one of the most successful R&B artists of all time, her soulful voice and adept piano skills bringing her accolades all around the world.

Born in 1981 as Alicia Augello Cook, she began playing piano at the age of seven and by 11 was writing her own songs. As a teenager, Keys attended Manhattan’s Professional Performance Arts School and immediately after signed with Columbia Records before moving to Clive Davis’ label, J Records.

By the age of 20, she found herself propelled on to the international music scene, where she’s been a firm fixture ever since. Her first studio album, Songs In A Minor, came out in June 2001, debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, Fallin’, also topped the Billboard 100 singles chart for six weeks, with subsequent single, A Woman’s Worth, climbing to the No.3 position.

Keys’ second studio album, The Diary Of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and certified quadruple platinum. This was followed in 2005 by her Unplugged album, which not only reached the No.1 spot on the Billboard charts but sold almost 200,000 copies in its first week alone.

A third studio album, As I Am, followed in 2007, with her fourth, 2009’s The Element Of Freedom, giving Keys her first UK No. 1 album. The release of Girl On Fire in 2012 and Here in 2016 saw her put two more chart-topping albums under her belt.

Alicia Keys has numerous film and TV credits as well, including appearances on several series of The Voice as a coach. A strong force in the world of philanthropy, she’s active in the fight against AIDS and racial injustice as well as an advocate for women’s rights and protecting children.   

On 31 March 2020, Keys published More Myself. Part autobiography, part narrative documentary, this introspective book examines her life experiences and how she learned to be herself.

Her seventh studio album ALICIA containing the critically acclaimed singles Underdog and Show Me Love was released on on 18 September 2020 and celebrated with a special Unstaged live stream performance.