The Diary of Alicia Keys

The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American singer Alicia Keys. It was released on December 2, 2003, by J Records. The album was recorded at several recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with contributions from Kanye West and Kerry Brothers Jr., who described it as "an R&B album".

Upon its release, The Diary of Alicia Keys received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 618,000 copies in its first week. It became Keys's second consecutive number-one debut in the United States and spawned three top-ten singles. The Diary of Alicia Keys earned Keys three Grammy Awards at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. The album has sold over five million units in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide.

In 2023 the album was reissued for its 20th anniversary under the title The Diary Of Alicia Keys 20, with nine additional tracks. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards the album won for Best Immersive Audio Album.

Background and development
Keys' debut studio album Songs in A Minor was released on June 5, 2001. Debuting atop the US Billboard 200, it went on to sell over 6.2 million copies and earned Keys five Grammy Awards at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, tying Keys with Lauryn Hill as the female artist with most Grammy Awards won in a single ceremony (the record has since been broken by Beyoncé and Adele). Keys embarked on the Songs in A Minor Tour (2001–2002) in support of the album; while touring, Keys started writing songs for her second studio album. Due to the extreme popularity of Songs in A Minor, there was a lot of pressure on The Diary of Alicia Keys to match or exceed that success. Keys, however, felt no pressure to deliver another album due to her experience in the making of Songs in A Minor and in touring to support it as well as her confidence in her songwriting and musicianship, nor did she want to have many guests on the album. Speaking on the subject, album contributor Kerry Brothers, Jr. said in 2018: "'During the time we definitely loved what we did and I didn't think everybody would get it right away because of the setbacks with Columbia and them not understanding it because it was unique for its time. It was a combination of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, classical, and soul, but it was a new combination of it. It didn't sound like Mary J. Blige, it didn't sound like Erykah Badu, it didn't sound like Missy Elliott. After that, people would ask 'How do you feel about the second album? Are you worried about the sophomore jinx?' And we never had that, there was never any of that pressure. We did what we wanted to do the first album, let's just do it again and let's try this new stuff we learned too. That was the main thing because during each album process we didn't listen to any of the current music or radio. We just always tuned it out and went back to our favorite classic albums and used that for inspiration. We had the confidence because a lot of artists that get that 'sophomore jinx' are people who didn’t have control over their first album. If that first album did well they were finally allowed to do what they wanted to do which might have been different from what the label might have wanted them to do to get attention. Alicia didn't have to go through that. She had creative control from the jump. Of course, we had gotten better and we had grown, me as a producer, her as a producer, even songwriting, so for the second album it was back to business. We just upgraded a little more equipment and finally bought a couple of real instruments.'"

Recording and production
Following the completion of the Songs in A Minor Tour, Keys started recording The Diary of Alicia Keys in late 2002; while touring, Keys solely wrote several songs for the album, including "Dragon Days" and the interlude "Feeling U, Feeling Me". Initial recording sessions took place at the Kampo Studio in Tribeca and the first song recorded was the album's closing track "Nobody Not Really", which "set the tone for the album" according to engineer Ann Mincieli. The album was mostly recorded at studios in New York City; some of the New York City recording sessions were interrupted by the Northeast blackout of 2003. In order to capture the 1960s–1970s sound she wanted on the album, Keys equipped her studio with "vintage" instruments. Among producers, Keys worked with Kerry Brothers, Jr., Kanye West, Timbaland, Dre & Vidal, Easy Mo Bee, D'wayne Wiggins and Kumasi. Dre & Vidal's Andre Harris stated he and Keys "crossed paths in the studio" while Dre & Vidal were working on Usher's album Confessions (2004) and started working together afterwards.

Timbaland-produced "Heartburn" was recorded at the Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. "If I Was Your Woman", a cover of "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips, was originally recorded for Songs in A Minor (2001) but remained unreleased until it was reworked with the cover of "Walk on By" by Isaac Hayes; the original version was included on the 10th anniversary reissue of Songs in A Minor in 2011. Lellow, Keys' alter ego, was introduced on the album, making an appearance on "So Simple". Brothers stated: "Lellow is her alter ego. That was what we called her when she was in her hip-hop mode so it's dope they recorded her singing in one key and pitched her up to make it sound high-pitched." The final stage of the recording took place internationally–in Paris, London and Amsterdam–with Keys having already embarked on a promotional tour in support of The Diary of Alicia Keys. The final track recorded was the album's intro "Harlem's Nocturne".

Music and lyrics
Predominantly an R&B and soul album, The Diary of Alicia Keys was largely influenced by 1960s and 1970s music, with Keys calling music from that era "some of the best music ever created". Lyrically, the album mostly explores complexities of romantic relationships, following their different stages. However, some songs address social issues, such as materialism ("If I Ain't Got You") and war ("Wake Up"). The album opens with the intro "Harlem's Nocturne", a classical track with "hip-hop drums", which introduces the album as a diary in which Keys would express her thoughts. Horn-infused alternative hip hop song "Karma" follows; it contains excerpts from Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 by Johannes Brahms. Titled after the concept of karma, the song follows the narrator whose former lover wants to restart their relationship despite leaving her before, but she has moved on; the lover is now in the position she was once in, and in being rejected receives his just deserts ("what goes around comes around"). The third track "Heartburn" "marries the explosive brass and choppy guitars of a Blaxploitation soundtrack to a beat bearing the influence of visionary producer Timbaland". "If I Was Your Woman"/"Walk on By" is a double cover of "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "Walk on By" by Isaac Hayes. The album's lead single "You Don't Know My Name" contains excerpts and a sample of "Let Me Prove My Love to You" by The Main Ingredient. An R&B-soul song, "You Don't Know My Name" follows Keys as a waitress who fell in love with a customer; the song is interrupted by a spoken-word interlude, which is Keys' phone call to her love interest in which she asks him out. Keys was inspired by Aaliyah's death and the September 11 attacks when writing the album's sixth track "If I Ain't Got You", as those events made her realize what's truly important in life. The soul-jazz song condemns materialism: "Some people want diamond rings / Some just want everything / But everything means nothing / If I ain't got you, yeah".

The album's title track "Diary" features Tony! Toni! Toné! on bass, piano, guitar, organ and Wurlitzer, while Jermaine Paul provides uncredited additional vocals; Stokley Williams was originally set to sing on the track but was replaced by Paul. The song instructs Keys' love interest to tell her his secrets and to think of her as "pages in [his] diary". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the song as reminiscent of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder's work. In an interview to Rolling Stone prior to the release of The Diary of Alicia Keys, Keys called "Dragon Days" and "So Simple" the most adventurous tracks from the album. "Dragon Days" features "bouncy keyboards, classic rock guitar licks, and sultry, surprisingly disco-fied vocal delivery" and follows Keys as a damsel in distress who needs to be saved by her "knight in shining armor". Following the anti-war song "Wake Up", "So Simple" is the album's tenth track, featuring an appearance from Keys' alter ego Lellow, whose verses see Keys' voice manipulated to sound high-pitched. Its lyrics follow a narrator seeking reconciliation with a former lover. The eleventh track, neo soul ballad "When You Really Love Someone", speaks about sacrifices one must make for their significant other. The interlude "Feeling U, Feeling Me" follows, featuring "a squawky synthesizer straight off Stevie Wonder's Innervisions". The thirteenth track "Slow Down" sees Keys as a narrator who feels like her relationship is going too fast and is asking her lover to "slow down". "Samsonite Man" is a neo soul song with Latin percussion and guitar. Its lyrics follow a narrator who's ending her relationship and telling her lover to leave; it was later revealed the song was about Keys' father, who abandoned her and her mother when she was two years old. The album closes with "Nobody Not Really", in which Keys sings: "Who really cares? / Who really cares / When I talk / What I feel / What I say? / Nobody not really". UK and Japanese editions of the album include bonus track "Streets of New York (City Life)", a hip hop song featuring Nas and Rakim. Sampling "N.Y. State of Mind" by Nas, the song is an "affectionate ode" to New York City.

Title and artwork
The album was titled The Diary of Alicia Keys due to it being conceived so each of its tracks acts as a diary entry, making the album itself a diary. In the intro "Harlem's Nocturne", Keys introduces it as such and says she would express her thoughts in it. Peter Edge, executive producer of The Diary of Alicia Keys and now-chairman and CEO of RCA Records, said about the title in 2018: "'[The Diary of Alicia Keys] songs were very much about her life and experiences and the album was called The Diary because it was personal. So to have it turn into a bigger production with lots of features, it was more intimate than that. I think she was much more interested in invoking the Roberta Flacks, the Stevie Wonders than doing something that felt like a big production.'"

The album cover for The Diary of Alicia Keys was photographed by Warwick Saint. A portrait of Keys, it features half of her face and body covered by a piano.

Release and promotion
The promotional tour for The Diary of Alicia Keys started in November 2003, before the album's production finished, in Europe; Keys performed the lead single "You Don't Know My Name" on television shows such as CD:UK and Top of the Pops. Keys returned to the United States to perform the song at the 2003 Vibe Awards on November 20, later performing on Good Morning America on November 26 and December 2, AOL Broadband Rocks! Live on December 1, Total Request Live on December 2, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on December 4 and 5. The Diary of Alicia Keys was first released on December 1, 2003, internationally, before being released in the United States the following day by J Records; its limited edition with a bonus DVD was released simultaneously. The US promotional tour continued in 2004, with Keys performing at WGCI-FM's Big Jam Slow Jams on February 13. In Germany, Keys performed "You Don't Know My Name" on Wetten, dass..? on February 28. Afterwards, Keys co-headlined the Verizon Ladies First Tour with Beyoncé and Missy Elliott in North America from March until April 2004.

After performing on Today's Toyota Concert Series on May 7, Keys embarked on a five-month international tour which visited various venues and festivals in Europe, Asia and Australia. She continued performing in the United States, performing "If I Ain't Got You" and "Diary" on The Early Show's Summer Concert Series on June 8, "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards on August 29, and "Heartburn" at 2004 Fashion Rocks on September 8. In September, a double-disc special edition (also titled collector's tour edition) was released outside the United States. Keys performed "Karma" at the 2004 World Music Awards on September 15, American Music Awards of 2004 on November 14, and the 2004 Billboard Music Awards on December 8. Following her performance of "If I Ain't Got You" at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2005, Keys toured North America on her Diary Tour from February until April.

Singles
"You Don't Know My Name" was released as the lead single from The Diary of Alicia Keys on November 10, 2003. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming her second Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Chris Robinson and Andrew Young, features Keys as a waitress at a restaurant and rapper Mos Def playing Michael Harris, her love interest. At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005), the song won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. "You Don't Know My Name" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 11, 2020, for shipping 500,000 units in the United States.

"If I Ain't Got You" was released as the second single on February 23, 2004. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her second consecutive Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one. Its accompanying music video, directed by Diane Martel, is set in a wintry New York City and features a cameo by rapper and actor Method Man as Keys' on-screen boyfriend. The song outpeaked its Billboard Hot 100 position on the 2004 Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, placing at number three, while being number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year-end chart. At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, while being nominated for Song of the Year. On August 11, 2020, "If I Ain't Got You" was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA for shipments of four million units.

"Diary" was released as the third single on May 24, 2004. It became Keys' third consecutive Billboard Hot 100 top-ten single, peaking at number eight, while peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song's music video, directed by Lamont "Liquid" Burrell, Rod Isaacs, Jeff Robinson, and Brian Campbell, contains footage of several live concerts from both the Verizon Ladies First Tour (2004), which Keys took part in, and her own Diary Tour (2005). At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. "Diary" was certified gold by the RIAA on August 11, 2020.

"Karma" was released as the fourth and final single on November 1, 2004. It became the album's only single to miss the top ten on both Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at numbers 20 and 17 on the charts, respectively. The music video for "Karma", directed by Chris Robinson and Keys herself, was filmed over three days in August 2004, with parts shot in New York City and at Casa de Campo's Altos de Chavón amphitheatre. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the video earned Keys the award for Best R&B Video. "Karma" was certified gold by the RIAA twice–on September 27, 2005, and on August 11, 2020.

Critical reception
The Diary of Alicia Keys received generally positive reviews from critics; it holds an average score of 71, based on 17 reviews, at Metacritic. The Times said that the album "confirmed her place in musical history". Critics described Keys' music as neo soul and contemporary R&B. Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani said that it "triumphs" the neo soul "achievements" of Songs in A Minor and is "a deft mix of modernism and classicism, not to mention street and class." Q magazine called it "a proper soul album which hooks you with the first pneumatic beat and draws you deeper with every heady atmosphere and vivid emotion." Jon Pareles, writing in The New York Times, claimed that "it has taken The Diary of Alicia Keys ... to testify that soul songwriting can survive" and felt that the album "echoes familiar soul sounds, but Ms. Keys sounds undaunted by her sources, and she's learning fast." Rob Sheffield, writing in Rolling Stone, called the album "an assured, adult statement, steeped in the complicated love life and musical dreams of an ambitious young woman who has absorbed enough Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin records to live up to the soul promise of 'Harlem's Nocturne'." Dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe said that Keys is able to "sustain drama over the course" of the "masterful" album, which appropriates the "minimalist" productions of classic soul. Kris Ex of Blender called it "an enthusiastic album full of masterful strokes and electrifying intensity."

In a mixed review, Josh Tyrangiel of Time said that the album's first six songs are "models of how to make nostalgic music that is not anti-present", but the second half "sags". David Browne, writing in Entertainment Weekly, similarly said that the second half "drifts into a narcotized semi-slumber of one earnest, samey retro-soul piano ballad after another." Laura Sinagra of The Village Voice felt that the album's songs lack hooks and other "surface content", sounding instead like unfinished vocal sketches. Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters said that it only shows "fleeting glimpses" of Keys' actual sensibilities and said that, although it "clearly evinces Keys's growth as an artist since Songs in A Minor," the album is "clearly laboring to be relevant to the current marketplace and thus suffers from a serious lack of cohesion. Alexis Petridis, writing in The Guardian, found it creatively safe and marred by "anodyne slow numbers studded with knowing references to old records". Uncut found Keys' lyrics boring and filled with a "litany of cliche and hackneyed need-a-man" wailing. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice rated the album a "dud", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."

Accolades
The Diary of Alicia Keys appeared on several 2004 critics' lists ranking the year's top albums. In 2007, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released a list of what they termed "The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time"; The Diary of Alicia Keys was ranked at number 129 on the list. The album was also ranked at number 129 on the New York Daily News's list of Top 200 Albums of All Time, and number 277 in the 2020 revision of Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, the project received six nominations, including for Album of the Year and Song of the Year with "If I Ain't Got You". The album won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, while "If I Ain't Got You" won for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and "You Don't Know My Name" for Best R&B Song. The album and its songs earned awards and nominations in severals awards ceremonies, winning three NAACP Image Awards, two Soul Train Music Awards and two Billboard Music Awards.

The album 20th anniversary edition, The Diary Of Alicia Keys 20, was recognized for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, giving Keys her 16th Grammy.

Commercial performance
The Diary of Alicia Keys debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 618,000 copies in its first week. This became Keys' second consecutive number-one debut. It was the highest first-week sales by a female artist of the year. In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, selling an additional 324,000 copies, but returned to the top in its third week with 370,000 units sold. The album spent 88 weeks on the chart, leaving at number 198 in 2005. By January 2006, the album had sold 4.4 million copies in the United States. On August 11, 2020, the album was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of five million units in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, The Diary of Alicia Keys debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and atop the UK R&B Albums Chart. The album was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipping 300,000 units. It reached the top ten in Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Norway, while peaking at number one in Switzerland and number five on the European Top 100 Albums. By November 2007, the album had sold over eight million copies worldwide.

Track listing
Notes
 * undefined signifies an additional producer

Sample credits
 * "Karma" contains excerpts from Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 by Johannes Brahms
 * "Streets of New York" contains a sample of "N.Y. State of Mind" by Nas (written by Eric Barrier, Nasir Jones, Chris Martin, William Griffin)
 * "You Don't Know My Name" contains excerpts and a sample of "Let Me Prove My Love to You" performed by The Main Ingredient (written by J. R. Bailey, Mel Kent, Ken Williams)
 * "If I Was Your Woman" is a cover of "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips (written by Gloria Jones, Clarence McMurray, Pam Sawyer)
 * "Walk on By" is a cover of and contains excerpts from "Walk on By" performed by Isaac Hayes (written by Burt Bacharach, Hal David)

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Diary of Alicia Keys.

Musicians

 * Alicia Keys – clavinet, instrumentation, keyboards, multi instruments, piano, Rhodes, string arrangements, synthesizers, synthesizer piano, backing vocals, vocals
 * Sanford Allen – concertmaster, violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * Elijah Baker – bass ("Diary")
 * Julien Barber – viola ("Wake Up")
 * Katreese Barnes – background vocals (tracks 6, 9)
 * Pablo Batista – percussion (tracks 14, 15)
 * Richard Brice – viola (tracks 5, 9)
 * Kurt Briggs – violin ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Kerry Brothers Jr. – digital programming, instrumentation (track 2), drums (track 14)
 * Avril Brown – violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * Stockley Carmichael – background vocals ("Diary")
 * Fred Cash Jr. – bass (tracks 6, 8, 14)
 * Robert Chausow – viola ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Ray Chew – strings arrangement and conductor (tracks 5, 9)
 * Dre & Vidal – instrumentation ("So Simple")
 * Ronnie Drayton – guitar ("Dragon Days")
 * Darryl Dixon – horns ("If I Ain't Got You")
 * Marisol Espada – cello ("Wake Up")
 * Barry Finclair – viola (tracks 5, 9)
 * Eileen Folson – cello ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Onree Gill – Hammond B3 (track 8), Rhodes (tracks 14, 15)
 * L. Green – background vocals (tracks 6, 14, 15)
 * Sharief Hobley – guitar ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Andricka Hall – background vocals ("Wake Up")
 * Stanley Hunte – violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * Paul John – drums ("Nobody Not Really")
 * Steve Jordan – drums ("If I Ain't Got You")
 * Kumasi – digital programming, additional synths ("Slow Down")
 * Gwendolyn Laster – violin ("Wake Up")
 * John Legend – background vocals ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Harold Lilly – background vocals ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Hugh McCracken – guitar ("If I Ain't Got You")
 * Melissa Meell – cello ("Wake Up")
 * Lori Miller – violin ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Cindy Mizelle – background vocals (tracks 6, 9)
 * Caryl Paisner – cello ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Jermaine Paul – background vocals ("Diary")
 * Marion Pinheiro – violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * Ricky Quinones – guitar (tracks 14, 15)
 * Artie Reynolds – bass ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * Maxine Roach – viola (tracks 5, 9)
 * Steve "Styles" Rodriguez – bass (tracks 11, 14, 15)
 * Joe Romano – horns (tracks 2, 6)
 * Erika Rose – background vocals (tracks 2, 14, 15)
 * Tim Christian Riley – piano ("Diary")
 * John "Jubu" Smith – guitar ("Diary")
 * Taneisha Smith – background vocals ("Nobody Not Really")
 * Denise Stoudmire – background vocals ("Karma")
 * Dale Stuckenbruck – violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * Peter VanDerwater – viola ("Wake Up")
 * Arcell Vickers – organ (tracks 6, 14, 15)
 * Alexander Vselensky – violin (tracks 5, 9)
 * David Watson – horns (tracks 2, 6); saxophone, flute (track 15)
 * Willie Weeks – bass ("Wake Up")
 * Carl "Rev" Wheeler – Wurlitzer, organ ("Diary")
 * Artie White – guitar (tracks 11, 13)
 * D'wayne Wiggins – sitar, bass (track 4); guitar (track 7)
 * Jessica Wilson – background vocals ("Karma")
 * Xin Zhao – violin ("You Don't Know My Name")
 * George Spivey — turntables

Additional personnel

 * Alli – art director, design
 * Chris LeBeau – art production
 * Warwick Saint – photography
 * Nicole Tucker – hair stylist
 * Patti Wilson – stylist

Technical personnel

 * Alicia Keys – executive producer, producer
 * Kerry Brothers Jr. – producer; recording (tracks 2, 12)
 * Dre & Vidal - producers
 * Kumasi – producer
 * Timbaland – producer
 * Easy Mo Bee – digital programming (track 4), producer
 * Kanye West – producer
 * D'wayne Wiggins – producer
 * Peter Edge – executive producer
 * Jeff Robinson – executive producer
 * Tony Black – recording engineer, mixing
 * Vincent DiLorenzo – additional recording (track 10)
 * Dan Gautreau – recording assistant (tracks 3, 11)
 * Walter Millsap III – recording (track 3)
 * Ann Mincieli – additional recording
 * Russell Elevado – mixing (track 9)
 * Alan Ford – assistant mixing (track 12)
 * Manny Marroquin – mixing
 * Rabeka Tuinei – assistant mixing (track 14)
 * Pat Viala – mixing (track 4)
 * Herb Powers Jr. – mastering