Her 2004 duet with Usher, "My Boo", became her second number-one single. Alicia's first live album, Unplugged (2005), spawned the single "Unbreakable" and made her the first female artist to have an MTV Unplugged project debut atop the Billboard 200. Her third album, As I Am (2007), sold seven million units worldwide and yielded her third Billboard Hot 100-number one single. "No One." In 2007, Keys made her film debut in the action-thriller Smokin' Aces, and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace with her single "Another Way to Die" (with Jack White) the following year.[10] Her fourth album, The Element of Freedom (2009), peaked the UK Albums Chart, sold four million copies worldwide, and was supported by the singles "Doesn't Mean Anything", "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", and "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)." That same year, her 2009 single "Empire State of Mind" (with Jay-Z) became her fourth number-one in the United States. Her fifth album, Girl on Fire (2012), became her fourth non-consecutive album to peak the Billboard 200 and was supported by its lead single of the same name; her sixth album, Here (2016), peaked at number two on the chart. Her seventh and eighth studio albums, Alicia (2020) and Keys (2021), spawned the singles "Show Me Love" (featuring Miguel), "Underdog", "Lala" and "Best of Me". Her first independent release, Santa Baby (2022), was a holiday album. In 2023, she wrote, composed and co-produced her first off-Broadway musical, Hell's Kitchen.
Keys has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She was named by Billboard as the Top Artist of the 2000s in the R&B/Hip-Hop category,[11] and placed tenth on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years. She has received numerous accolades in her career, including 16 Grammy Awards, 17 NAACP Image Awards, 12 ASCAP Awards, and an award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and National Music Publishers Association. VH1 included her on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and 100 Greatest Women in Music lists, while Time has named her in their 100 list of most influential people in 2005 and 2017. Keys is also acclaimed for her humanitarian work, philanthropy, and activism. She co-founded the nonprofit HIV/AIDS-fighting organization Keep a Child Alive in 2003, for which she serves as Global Ambassador.
Free Music Download Of Alicia Keys
tag_hash_104 🔥 https://urllie.com/2yjYjL 🔥
I grew up in the middle of everything. I walked the streets alone, I rode the trains alone, I came home at three in the morning alone, that was what I did ... The city had a huge influence on me because it's such a diverse place. As hard as [growing up in it was], I always felt very blessed about being able to recognize different cultures and styles, people and places. I feel like the concrete alone just gave me a certain drive. I really saw everything: every negative I could possibly see from the time I could walk until now; and also every positive, every bright future, every dream that I could possibly see. So growing up around this big dichotomy definitely influenced my music.
From a young age, Keys struggled with self-esteem issues, hiding little by little when her differences made her vulnerable to judgment, and later uninvited sexual attention.[27][28][29] Living in the rough neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen,[22][23] she was, from an early age, regularly exposed to street violence, drugs, prostitution, and subjected to sexual propositions in the sex trade- and crime-riddled area.[29][30][31] "I saw a variety of people growing up, and lifestyles, lows and highs. I think it makes you realize right away what you want and what you don't want," Keys said.[32] Keys recalled feeling fearful early on of the "animal instinct" she witnessed, and eventually feeling "high" due to recurrent harassment.[27][33] Her experiences in the streets had led her to carry a homemade knife for protection.[34][35] She became very wary,[35][36] emotionally guarded, and she began wearing gender-neutral clothing and what would become her trademark cornrows.[39] Keys explained that she is grateful for growing up where she did as it prepared her for the parallels in the music industry, particularly as she was a teenager starting out; she could maintain a particular focus and not derail herself.[29][40] She credits her "tough" mother for anchoring her on a right path as opposed to many people she knew who ended up on the wrong path and in jail. Keys attributed her unusual maturity as a young girl to her mother, who depended on her to be responsible while she worked to provide for them and gave Keys as many opportunities as possible.[35][36]
Classical piano totally helped me to be a better songwriter and a better musician ... I knew the fundamentals of music. And I understood how to put things together and pull it together and change it. The dedication that it took to study classical music is a big reason why I have anything in this life I think. ... [It] was a big influence on me. It opened a lot of doors because it separated me from the rest. [...] And it did help me structure my songs.
Keys's mother had encouraged her to participate in different extracurricular activities, including music, dance, theater, and gymnastics, so she could "find her muse".[41][47] Her extracurricular activities gave her focus and drive, and helped keep her out of trouble.[34][42][45] Keys remained so occupied with her various pursuits that she experienced her first burnout before adolescence. Before her 13th birthday, she expressed to her mother that she was too overwhelmed and wanted to disengage, at which point her mother took some time off with her and encouraged her to keep focusing on piano.[41] Keys would continue studying classical music until the age of 18.[42] Keys regards her education in classical piano and dedication to classical music as vital for her stability in her youth and her development as a musician and songwriter.[12][26] Keys later said of her classical background:
Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she took music, dance, and theater classes and majored in choir.[29] In her preteen years, Keys and her bass-playing friend formed their first group, though neither "knew too much about how pop songs worked".[23][45] Keys would continue singing, writing songs, and performing in musical groups throughout junior high and high school.[25][41][44] She became an accomplished pianist; according to some sources, after her classical-music teacher had nothing left to teach her, she began studying jazz at age 14[47][49] (this claim, however, was challenged by Keys's music teacher herself).[50] Living in the "musical melting pot" city, Keys had already been discovering other genres of music, including soul music, hip hop, R&B, and taken affinity to artists like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Keen on dissecting music, Keys continued developing her songwriting and finding her own 'flow and style" through her exploration of the intricacies in different music.[26][45][51]
Keys spent more time in Harlem during her teenage years. She connected with the cultural and racial diversity in the neighborhood, where she expanded upon her musical exploration, and her character was also solidified. "Harlem raised me in a lot of ways," Keys remarked. "[It] taught me how to think fast, how to play the game ... taught me leadership, how to get out of bad situations when you need to, how to hold my own."[12][44] During this period, she met her good friend who would later become her long-term collaborator and boyfriend Kerry Brothers Jr., also famously known as Krucial.[25][44]
In 1994, manager Jeff Robinson met 13-year-old Keys, who participated in his brother's youth organization called Teens in Motion.[41][52] Robinson's brother had been giving Keys vocal lessons in Harlem.[42] His brother had talked to him about Keys and advised him to go see her, but Robinson shrugged it off as he had "heard that story 1,000 times". At the time, Keys was part of a three-member band that had formed in the Bronx and was performing in Harlem.[41][49] Robinson eventually agreed to his brother's request, and went to see Keys perform with her group at the Police Athletic League center in Harlem. He was soon taken by Keys, her soulful singing, playing contemporary and classical music and performing her own songs.[41][44] Robinson was excited by audiences' reactions to her. Impressed by her talents, charisma, image, and maturity, Robinson considered her to be the "total package", and took her under his wing.[47][49][52] By this time, Keys had already written two of the songs that she would later include on her debut album: "Butterflyz" and "The Life".[47][49]
Robinson wanted Keys to be informed and prepared for the music industry, so he took her everywhere with him, including all the meetings with attorneys and negotiations with record labels, while the teenager often became disgruntled with the process.[41] Robinson had urged Keys to pursue a solo career, as she remained reluctant, preferring the musical interactions of a group. She took Robinson's advice after her group disbanded, and contacted Robinson who in 1995 introduced her to A&R executive Peter Edge.
Robinson and Edge helped Keys assemble some demos of songs she had written and set up a showcases for label executives.[25][41][44] Keys performed on the piano for executives of various labels, and a bidding war ensued.[23][44] Edge was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company, Warner Bros. Records, to work at Clive Davis' Arista Records.[23][41][53] During this period, Columbia Records had approached Keys for a record deal, offering her a $26,000 white baby grand piano; after negotiations with her and her manager, she signed to the label, at age 15. Keys was also finishing high school, and her academic success had provided her opportunity for scholarship and early admission to university.[23][41][53] That year, Keys accepted a scholarship to study at Columbia University in Manhattan.[25] She graduated from high school early as valedictorian, at the age of 16, and began attending Columbia University at that age while working on her music.[23][47] Keys attempted to manage a difficult schedule between university and working in the studio into the morning, compounding stress and a distant relationship with her mother. She often stayed away from home, and wrote some of the most "depressing" poems of her life during this period. Keys decided to drop out of college after a month to pursue music full-time.[25][38][47] 0852c4b9a8
free download samsung jar games
i feel good james brown free mp3 download