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.

Alicia 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.

Alicia Keys Personal Quotes:

[on the use of women, sex and sleaze in rap/hip-hop videos] Oh my God, the [hip-hop] videos! The imagery is so awful! I just can’t get with it at all. The best thing I can say about it is that sometimes you have to see that kind of stuff so as to have a more balanced view about why it’s so bad.

I always want to stay focused on who I am, even as I’m discovering who I am.

Keep a Child Alive is my passion and my mission.

I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world. I hope I can do half as much in my life.

I believe AIDS is the most important issue we face, because how we treat the poor is a reflection of who we are as a people.

[interview in InStyle, 9/06] My mom always said, “Don’t date a guy who thinks he’s prettier than you”.

I think music and socialism and politics have always gone hand in hand. As artists we used to be way more instrumental in providing a soundtrack to the heartbeat of what’s going on in the world. We all don’t have to think the same thing but it’s important to state what we think. There is such a fear of termination of one’s career if they have any intelligent thought about politics and that’s messed up.

I have big everything on the bottom but I love my legs. You’ve got to love what’s yours.

I love my heritage! I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African.