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Alicia Keys

R&B singer and actress Alicia J. Augello-Cook was born in Harlem, New York City in 1981. At the urging of her mother, a paralegal and part-time actress, Alicia developed her musical foundation early on - she began to play the piano at age 7. She later attended the selective Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, graduating first in her class early at age 16. Though she was accepted to Columbia University, she decided to leave school to pursue a musical career. Adopting the stage name Alicia Keys, Alicia signed to a record deal with major label Columbia Records in 1997. Though she produced a song for the soundtrack of the Will Smith blockbuster Men In Black, her deal with Columbia folded soon after.

The exotic beauty’s (Alicia is half Jamaican and parts Irish, Scottish, and Italian) career was temporarily put on hold until she signed to J Records in 2000. Her first major album, Songs in A Minor, was released the next year on J Records. Incredibly successful, Songs in A Minor won Keys five Grammy awards and has sold over six million units in the United States, riding on the success of singles "A Woman’s Worth" and "Fallin’". Music recorded during her Songs in A Minor sessions were featured in two major movies, the action-packed Shaft (2000) and the comedy Dr. Doolittle 2 (2001).

Alicia Keys proved the success of her debut album was no fluke in 2003 with her sophomore effort The Diary of Alicia Keys. More ambitious and complicated than her debut album from a musical standpoint, The Diary of Alicia Keys was warmly received by critics and fans alike. Standout tracks from the album include "Karma" and "You Don’t Know my Name". In the wake of her second album, Alicia won a Grammy for best music video for "Karma" and another for her R&B duet "My Boo" with Usher, whom she once dated.

After releasing her first live album Unplugged in 2005, Alicia put forward her highly anticipated third studio album As I Am in late 2007. Highly successful, (it 742,000 copies in its first week in stores) As I Am is also her most diverse effort to date, featuring appearances by John Mayer and Linda Perry. Three singles have been released from the album to date: "No One", "Like You’ll Never See Me Again", and "Teenage Love Affair".

In addition to her career as a recording artist, Keys has had a number of successful acting roles. After making her debut in the 2007 action flick Smokin’ Aces and putting forward a critically acclaimed performance in comedy-drama The Nanny Diaries later that same year, Alicia is gearing up for a starring role in the The Secret Life of Bees, a drama set for release in late 2008.

From Discogs:

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981 in Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000?2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

From Lastfm:

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981 in Hell's Kitchen, New York), better known as Alicia Keys, is a Grammy award winning American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, poet and actress. Keys is a world renowned artist who has sold over 35 million albums worldwide and won numerous awards, including twelve Grammy Awards, seventeen Billboard Music Awards, and five American Music Awards since releasing her debut album, Songs in A Minor, in 2001. Since then she has released 2003's The Diary of Alicia Keys, 2007's As I Am and 2009's The Element of Freedom.

She grew up in Harlem, New York City, New York and started playing piano aged seven. After leaving Columbia Records, Keys met Clive Davis who headed Arista at the time (2000). When he established his new label J Records, Alicia was signed. Her big break came after appearing on Oprah Winfrey and in June 2001 her debut album, Songs in A Minor, charted at #1.

She has sinced released the albums The Diary of Alicia Keys in 2003 and As I Am in 2007. Her fourth studio album The Element of Freedom was released December 2009.

For more information, go to her website at http://www.aliciakeys.com/us/alicia-keys-biography

From Wikipedia:

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000?2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.