This article is about the life of a talented and ambitious American singer. Despite a difficult childhood, she was able to achieve significant heights. We will talk about Alicia Keys, a singer who combines such genres as soul, jazz and R&B in her work. Read more about childhood, singing career and personal life of Alicia Keys on manhattanski.
Early years
Alicia Keys, or Alicia Augello Cook, is an American singer and songwriter. Alicia was born on January 25, 1981 in Manhattan in an international family. Her father, Craig Cook, was a representative of the African diaspora and worked as a conductor. Her mother, Teresa Augello, had Irish-Italian origin and worked as an actress and a paralegal. The girl’s parents divorced when she was only two years old. Alicia continued to live with her mother in a one-room flat in the poor neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, in Manhattan.
Alicia’s childhood was not very happy. Her mother was constantly at work to earn the living. The surrounding conditions were terrible. Violence, prostitution, drugs and crime surrounded the little girl. As the singer admitted later, she often had to carry a homemade knife with her.
Despite all the difficulties, the girl developed and aspired to a better future. As a child, Alicia was fond of dancing, playing the piano and singing. At the age of fourteen, young Keys wrote her own music. After school, Alicia Augello Cook entered Columbia University. She never graduated, as she plunged into a singing career.
Singing career
Alicia’s singing career began with a collaboration with the American label So So Def. Here, the singer recorded her first professional song Dah Dee Dah. Later, she began to collaborate with producer Clive Davis and his label Arista Records. After its disbandment, Alicia moved to Davis’ newly created label J Records, took the stage name Keys and recorded such songs as Rear View Mirror and Rock and U.
The singer recorded her first album Songs in A Minor in 2001. It brought the artist many awards and world fame. Due to the huge hype, Keys becomes the best artist of 2001.
The second album The Diary of Alicia Keys was released in 2003. It was no less successful. In just seven days, more than six hundred thousand copies were sold. In 2004, Alicia became one of the best-selling artists. In 2005, Alicia Keys won four Grammy Award nominations. The third album As I Am was released in 2007. It immediately topped the charts. In the first seven days, the album sold about seven hundred and forty-two thousand copies, which was an outstanding figure. In the same year, Alicia received three Grammy Awards for her work. The singer’s fourth album was released two years later and was called The Element of Freedom. The fifth album Girl on Fire was released in 2012. This work was also a great success and immediately topped the main charts in America. About one hundred and sixty thousand copies were distributed in the first week. The following year, the circulation was already about half a million copies. Later, singer Alicia Keys released albums Here, Alicia, Keys, Keys II and Santa Baby.
In addition to her singing career, Keys also tried herself in the film industry, starring in such films as The Nanny Diaries, The Secret Life of Bees, Smokin’ Aces, etc.
Personal life
Until 2008, the artist was in a romantic relationship with her colleague Kerry Brothers Jr. In 2010, she married rapper Swizz Beatz. Later, two children were born in their marriage.