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Alicia Keys (born Alicia J. Augello-Cook on January 25 1981) is an American R&B musician and film actress who has sold over 25 million albums worldwide as of 2007, and has won numerous awards, including eleven Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and fourteen NAACP Image Awards.

Early life

Keys was born in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem, in New York City, New York, to Teresa "Terri" Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant. Keys' mother is of Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent and her father is Jamaican. Keys describes herself as comfortable with her biracial heritage : "I grew up in New York, and thank God, I never had to go through that in regards to, 'You're not black enough, you're not white enough,' the whole kind of white/black-mixture thing. I never had to go through that. I went through prejudices and all, surely. But I never had to battle with those two parts of me."

Keys' parents separated during her early childhood, and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, also in Manhattan. In 1985, Keys and a group of other girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in an episode of The Cosby Show called "Slumber Party". She began playing the piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite, Chopin. Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name at age sixteen until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person.

Keys graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School, a prestigious high school in Manhattan, as valedictorian at the age of sixteen in only three years. Although accepted to Columbia University, she decided to drop out and pursue her musical career. Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label, then distributed by Columbia Records. She co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 blockbuster, Men in Black. The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia Records ended quickly. Keys later met Clive Davis, who signed her to Arista Records, which has since disbanded. Following Davis to his newly-formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) respectively. Keys then released her debut album, Songs in A Minor.

Racist Bitch!!!!!!!

Film and television career

During the early 2000s, Keys made small cameos in such television series as Charmed and American Dreams. In early October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang the song "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here". Keys guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane, first aired on November 6 2007.

Keys made her big-screen debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Common, Andy Garcia, Taraji P. Henson, Jeremy Piven and Ryan Reynolds. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys had "natural" acting ability as he was surprised she had not starred in films before.

Keys earned further praise for her second film outing, The Nanny Diaries—based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus—, released on August 24 2007, in which she co-stars alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans as Lynette, Johansson's character Annie's best friend. Brooklyn's Kingsborough Community College was used to film the college graduation scene for the film.

Keys and her long-term manager Jeff Robinson have signed a first-look film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney, Variety reports. Their first film, a remake of the 1958 comedy Bell, Book and Candle, will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé. Keys and Robinson have also formed a television production company called Big Pita. Their first project will be a CW Network TV series inspired by Keys' experiences as a biracial child growing up in New York, similar to the network's Everybody Hates Chris. Keys has been tapped to executively produce an upcoming TV drama. The title and airing date are presently unconfirmed. Keys and Robinson said they will develop live-action and animated projects at their company, Big Pita, Little Pita, with Keys participating as producer, thesp, banner spearheading soundtrack, and music supervision.

Keys has signed to star in a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller The Secret Life of Bees alongside Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah, expected to be released in 2008 via Fox Searchlight. Gina Prince-Bythewood will direct the film, whose filming is to begin in January in North Carolina.

Keys will also play 1940s biracial piano child prodigy Philippa Schuyler in an upcoming film entitled Composition in Black and White. It is based on the 1995 biographical book of the same name by Kathryn Talalay and follows the story of Philippa Schuyler. "The challenge, in order to actually be able to play classical piano as a woman of mixed race, was by far more than I could ever imagine", Keys said. "That's what intrigued me about that role". The biopic will tell the difficult tale of Schuyler's controversial career, love-hate relationship with her mother, and the black community, her second career as a writer, and her eventual death in a helicopter accident. "Her story is very deep, even up to the point where the relationship between her and her mother gets very strained and she chooses to go to Europe and pass as a Spanish woman in order to be able to play, in order to be able to live a more normal life", Keys said, adding that she and Halle Berry hope to start shooting in early 2008. "As of right now, we're still in the first, second draft of the script", she said. "So a little bit of time—at least a year".

Philanthropy

Besides being a musician, Keys is also a philanthropist. She is a spokeswoman for Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides life-saving AIDS medicines directly to children and families with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Keys and U2 lead singer Bono recorded a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up", in recognition of World AIDS Day 2006. Keys and Bono's version of the song was retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)" to show the two musicians' support for helping to raise awareness of people living with HIV and AIDS and acknowledging the twenty-five million Africans (forty million people worldwide) living with the disease. Cingular Wireless announced the debut of an exclusive Music Tone ringtone available only through the Cingular Sounds music program. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the ringtone sales will go to Keep a Child Alive.

Keys has visited African countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa to promote care for children affected by AIDS. Keys, the global ambassador and co-founder of Keep a Child Alive, jet in on a four-day working visit in Masaka, Uganda on April 10, 2006 to bolster the HIV/AIDS crusade and give a ray of hope to families and children devastated by the scourge. Keys visited sites funded by the organization "and brought footage home to the American public to encourage them to do more to help", according to a KACA statement. Throughout her visit, a film crew followed and documented the progress at both of these facilities for American news outlets.

Keys is also a spokewoman for Frum tha Ground Up, a charity devoted to inspiring, encouraging, and motivating American youths to achieve success on all levels. Keys also participated in other humanitarian efforts in 2005 by performing at several exclusive concerts and television shows. On July 2, Keys performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts. The mission of the concerts was to raise awareness of the on-going poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action by doubling aid, canceling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa. In August 2005, Keys performed on ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a benefit program shown on music video channels to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The following month, Keys performed at Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, another Hurricane Katrina benefit concert.

Keys is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

On July 7, 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 hit "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.

Keys participated at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, together with a variety of artists. The concert was broadcast to over one hundred countries.

Personal life

The press reported in 2005 that Keys was attempting to reconcile with her father. However, Keys denied this and said her words were misinterpreted.

Conspiracy theories

In an interview with Blender Magazine published March 19, 2008, Keys caused a stir in the media, stating that she believes the rivalry between Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing." She also claimed that "Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. `Gangsta rap' didn't exist." However, she did not reveal what she believed to be the original source of "Gangsta rap". During the interview she revealed that she wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck “to symbolize strength, power and killing ’em dead.”

Mentions in popular culture

Keys was referenced in Bob Dylan's song "Thunder on the Mountain", from his 2006 album Modern Times. The second verse of the song has the following lines:

I was thinkin' 'bout Alicia Keys, couldn't keep from crying
When she was born in Hell's Kitchen, I was living down the line
I'm wondering where in the world Alicia Keys could be
I been looking for her even clear through Tennessee

Discography

Albums

• 2001: Songs in A Minor
• 2003: The Diary of Alicia Keys
• 2005: Unplugged
• 2007: As I Am

Number-one singles

Filmography

Films

Television

Books

• Keys, Alicia (2001). Songs in A Minor. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0634037765. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Keys, Alicia (2004). The Diary of Alicia Keys. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0634077643. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Keys, Alicia (2004). Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics. G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0425205606. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Keys, Alicia (2006). Unplugged. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 1423408225. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Keys, Alicia (2006). How Can I Keep from Singing?: Transforming the Lives of African Children and Families Affected by AIDS. Umbrage. ISBN 1884167608. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Tours

• 2001: American Tour
• 2001/2002: European Tour
• 2004: Asian/Australian Tour
• 2004: Verizon Ladies First Tour (with Beyoncé and Missy Elliott)
• 2004: European Tour
• 2005: The Diary Tour (U.S.)
• 2008: As I Am Tour (Europe and U.S.)

Awards

Notes

 a: The episode became the only time Keys was credited under her real name.

References

1. "The Diary Of Alicia Keys [CD & DVD] [Limited] - Alicia Keys". Epinions. February 2 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. ^ "Biography - Alicia Keys". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
3. ^ "Sony BMG Artist Alicia Keys". Sony BMG Germany (in German). Retrieved 2007-12-05. Alicia Keys wurde am 25. Januar 1981
4. Iley, Chrissy (February 24 2008). "Alicia Keys, the girl who made Bob Dylan weep". The Times. Retrieved 2008-02-24. Keys was born in 1981. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Catlin, Roger (February 7 2002). "ALICIA KEYS: MUSIC'S HOTTEST NEW ACT - 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved 2007-12-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. Hicklin, Aaron (22 October 2005). "What do you do when you're just 24 and you've sold 17 million CDs? If you're Alicia keys, you become a film star or write a novel. And you don't let anyone stand in your way". The Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 12 2006). "Alicia Keys' Early Years To Be Made Into A TV Series". MTV News. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. Keys avoids mixed race abuse
9. Ojumu, Akin (November 16 2003). "Soul sister". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "Slumber Party". The Cosby Show. March 28, 1985. No. 1, episode 22.
11. Akassy, Hugues-Denver. "Singer Alicia Keys Pours Heart into AIDS Fight in Africa". Orbite Television. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
12. Vineyard, Jennifer (January 18 2006). "Alicia Keys Nearly Spills Secrets To Jane". MTV News. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. "Interview : Alicia Keys". Moviehole.net. December 28 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. Carroll, Larry (April 13 2006). "Alicia Keys Works Her Hollywood Mojo, Joins Johansson In 'Nanny Diaries'". MTV Movie News. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. MTV News staff report (July 14 2006). "For The Record: Quick News On Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, 'Snakes On A Plane' & More". MTV News. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. Elber, Lynn (January 18 2006). "Alicia Keys forms production company". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. Andreeva, Nellie and Speight, Kimberly (January 12 2006). "Keys, Simmons Bringing Projects To TV". Billboard. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
18. Zeitchik, Steven (20 December 2007). "Dakota Fanning and Alicia Keys drawn to "Bees"". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. Bolden, Janeé (December 21 2007). "Alicia Keys In Talks To Join Queen Latifah & Jennifer Hudson In Upcoming Movie". SOHH Soulful. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. DPA (December 26 2007). "HOLLYWOOD BRIEFS: Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys as beekeepers". EarthTimes.org. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Vineyard, Jennifer (May 14 2004). "Alicia Keys To Play Biracial Piano Prodigy In First Movie". MTV Movie News. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "Alicia Keys and 'Keep a Child Alive' Visit AHF's Ithembalabantu Clinic, Free AIDS Clinic in Durban, South Africa Run by AIDS Healthcare Foundation". PRNewswire. April 18 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. "Alicia Keys in Kenya for HIV Project". CBS News. April 6 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. "Alicia Keys and 'Keep a Child Alive' to Visit AHF's Masaka Healthcare Center, Free AIDS Clinic Run by AIDS Healthcare Foundation/Uganda CARES". AIDS Healthcare Foundation. April 10 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. "Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2007". NobelPeacePrize.org. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
26. "KEYS OPEN TO RECONCILIATION WITH DAD: Singer tired of being bitter". EURweb. March 7 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. "Princess of soul expands her realm". The New Zealand Herald. January 4 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. "The Associated Press: Keys Talks About Her Conspiracy Theories". The Associated Press. April 11 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
29. "Alicia Keys: Unlocked :: Blender.com". Blender Magazine. March 19 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Official website
• Alicia Keys at AllMusic
• Alicia Keys at IMDb
• The Guardian interview
• Us Weekly has 20 Questions for Alicia Keys
• Alicia Keys at Rolling Stone

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• Alicia Keys
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