Alicia Keys Biography, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Wiki & More

Musician and actor Alicia Keys was born as Alicia Augello Cook. Growing up, Keys was raised by her mother, Nikki Augello—a part-time actress and paralegal. She began piano lessons at age 7 and Augello's dogged insistence that her daughter stick with the instrument led Keys to attend Manhattan's prestigious Professional Performance Arts School, where she majored in choir. Having excelled academically, Keys was allowed to graduate at the age of 16.

 

In 1999, Clive Davis head of Arista Records left the prominent record company where he worked to start J Records. Keys decided to follow Davis, who had engineered the careers of soul luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, to his new label. Davis carefully orchestrated a media blitz before the release of the album, including a series of television and small venue appearances, including an appearance on Oprah the day before the album hit shelves. When it was finally released, Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor (2001), went platinum five times over.

 

After a very successful debut, Keys released her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, in 2003. She proved that her success as a new artist two years prior wasn't a fluke, with the album debuting at No. 1. Keys also took home several Grammys for her sophomore album, including Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocals for her duet with Usher on the song "My Boo". Keys' seemingly unstoppable career continued in 2007 with the release of As I Am. The album also debuted at No. 1, selling more than 740,000 copies in its first week. The album garnered her two more Grammys. It was during this time that Keys also began to collaborate with more artists. In 2008, she recorded "Another Way to Die" with Jack White, which was featured as the theme song for the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008). She also recorded the hit single "Empire State of Mind" with fellow New Yorker Jay-Z the following year.