Alicia Keys (born Alicia J. Augello-Cook on January 25, 1980) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, composer, pianist, record producer, philanthropist, and ocasional actress and author. Keys is a renowned artist who has sold twenty-eight million albums and singles worldwide and won numerous awards, including nine Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, and three American Music Awards.
Keys mother was the one who most supported her during the time she was developing her musical talents. In 1985, Keys and a group of other girls won the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in an episode of The Cosby Show (the episode became the only time Keys was credited under her real name). She began playing piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite, Chopin. She wrote her first song "Butterflyz" at the age of fourteen; the song was later recorded for her debut album
Keys graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School, a high school in Manhattan, at the age of sixteen. Although accepted to Columbia University at age sixteen with a scholarship, she decided instead to pursue her musical career. Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label, then distributed by Columbia Records. She 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; it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia Records was ended quickly. Keys later met Clive Davis, who signed her to Arista Records, which has since disbanded. Following her mentor Clive 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 in 2001, the title being a reference to both her classical aspirations and to the fact that she wrote most of the songs at a very young age.
Keys recently opened a new recording studio in Long Island, New York called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her co-production and co-songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.[15] The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Kerry Brothers are co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her award-winning albums as well as create music for other artists.
Keys mother was the one who most supported her during the time she was developing her musical talents. In 1985, Keys and a group of other girls won the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in an episode of The Cosby Show (the episode became the only time Keys was credited under her real name). She began playing piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite, Chopin. She wrote her first song "Butterflyz" at the age of fourteen; the song was later recorded for her debut album
Keys graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School, a high school in Manhattan, at the age of sixteen. Although accepted to Columbia University at age sixteen with a scholarship, she decided instead to pursue her musical career. Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label, then distributed by Columbia Records. She 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; it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia Records was ended quickly. Keys later met Clive Davis, who signed her to Arista Records, which has since disbanded. Following her mentor Clive 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 in 2001, the title being a reference to both her classical aspirations and to the fact that she wrote most of the songs at a very young age.
Keys recently opened a new recording studio in Long Island, New York called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her co-production and co-songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.[15] The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Kerry Brothers are co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her award-winning albums as well as create music for other artists.
Film and television career:
Alicia Keys as Georgia Sykes in Smokin' AcesKeys has finished shooting a film alongside Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Common, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven, and Ryan Reynolds entitled Smokin' Aces,[16] released on January 26, 2007,[17][18] in which she plays an assassin named Georgia Sykes. Keys has received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Ryan Reynolds said Keys has "natural" acting ability as he was surprised she had not starred in films before.[19]
Furthermore, she has finished shooting her second film The Nanny Diaries alongside Scarlett Johansson, which is due for release on April 20, 2007. She is playing Johannson's best friend in the film. The Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York was used to film the college graduation scene for the film.[20]
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 fiance.[21] Keys and Robinson have also formed a television production company called Big Pita.[22] 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.[1] Keys has been tapped to executively produce an upcoming TV drama. The title and airing date are presently unconfirmed.[23] 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. She also played a voice in the "Mission to Mars" episode of The Backyardigans.
Keys will also play 1940s biracial piano child prodigy Philippa Schuyler in an upcoming film entitled Composition in Black and White.[24] 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
Furthermore, she has finished shooting her second film The Nanny Diaries alongside Scarlett Johansson, which is due for release on April 20, 2007. She is playing Johannson's best friend in the film. The Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York was used to film the college graduation scene for the film.[20]
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 fiance.[21] Keys and Robinson have also formed a television production company called Big Pita.[22] 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.[1] Keys has been tapped to executively produce an upcoming TV drama. The title and airing date are presently unconfirmed.[23] 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. She also played a voice in the "Mission to Mars" episode of The Backyardigans.
Keys will also play 1940s biracial piano child prodigy Philippa Schuyler in an upcoming film entitled Composition in Black and White.[24] 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
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