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ALICIA KEYS LIFE BEFORE FAME AND HER BECOMING TO FAME.

Singer

Born Alicia Augello Cook, January 25, 1981, in New York, NY; daughter of Craig Cook (a flight attendant) and Terri Augello (a paralegal and actress). Education: Attended Columbia University, voice major.

Career Singer, songwriter, pianist, and producer. Released debut album Songs In A Minor, 2001; released The Diary of Alicia Keys , 2003; published book of poetry, 2004; released Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged , 2005. Awards: MTV Video Music Award for best new artist, for "Fallin', " 2001; Grammy Award for song of the year, Recording Academy, for "Fallin', " 2002; Grammy Award for best new artist, Recording Academy, 2002; Grammy Award for best female R&B vocal performance, Recording Academy, for "Fallin', " 2002; Grammy Award for best R&B song, Recording Academy, for "Fallin', " 2002; Grammy Award for best R&B album, Recording Academy, for Songs in A Minor, 2002; American Music Award for favorite new artist—pop or rock 'n roll music, 2002; American Music Award for favorite new artist soul/rhythm & blues music, 2002; NAACP Image Award for outstanding new artist, 2002; NAACP Image Award for outstanding female artist, 2002; MTV Video Music Award for best R&B video, for

"If I Ain't Got You, " 2004; American Music Award for favorite female artist soul/rhythm & blues music, 2004; NAACP Image Award for best female artist, 2004; NAACP Image Award for best song, 2005; NAACP Image Award for best music video, 2005; MTV Video Music Award for best R&B video, for "Karma, " 2005; Grammy Award for best female R&B vocal performance, Recording Academy, for "If I Ain't Got You, " 2005; Grammy Award for best R&B song, Recording Academy, for "You Don't Know My Name, " 2005; Grammy Award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals, Recording Academy, for "My Boo" (with Usher), 2005; Grammy Award for best R&B album, Recording Academy, for The Diary of Alicia Keys, 2005; Rhythm & Soul Award for songwriter of the year, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, 2005.

Alicia Keys Early Life: Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in New York City. Her parents, Craig Cook and Terri Augello, did not stay together for long, and Keys was raised mostly by her mother. She grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a tough neighborhood in Manhattan. Though Keys is biracial, she considers herself black. However, she still loves both sides of her heritage, and it was a non-issue in her neighborhood since most of its culture came from diverse backgrounds.

Life was tough for Keys. Her mother struggled to make a living as a paralegal and actress. The two lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. However, Keys' mother wanted her daughter to learn the piano. A friend of the family gave them an old upright, and Keys began taking lessons. Keys saw how much her mother struggled to make ends meet and begged her mother to let her quit, but Keys refused. At an early age, Keys learned to play classical music. She composed her first musical piece in tribute to her grandfather; at eleven years old, she wrote her first song. She told Toure of Rolling Stone, "I've had a deep love for music since I was four. Music came before everything, everything, everything. It just meant more than anything ever meant. I would risk everything for it. I'd mess around and get kicked out of school for it or kicked out of my Momma's house for it. There was nothing that was more important to me." Her influences included classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, rock group Led Zeppelin, soul singer Nina Simone, and rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Keys entered the Professional Performance Arts School in Manhattan, majoring in voice. She saw a future as a singer, and quickly found a manager to help her get started right away. Manager Jeff Robinson began grooming Keys, helping her put together a demo, and placing her in showcases where people in the record industry could hear her. He also convinced her to join a girls' choir through the Police Athletic League in Harlem. Keys and Robinson decided that she did not need backup singers or a live band, just a piano and she would get a contract. Once the executives heard her sing, a bidding war broke out. In the end, Keys signed with Columbia Records because they also included a baby grand piano in the contract; she was just 15.

In addition to signing with Columbia, Keys also graduated from high school two years early. She was the valedictorian as well. She was accepted at Columbia University, but only lasted four weeks. She told Rolling Stone it was too much handling class during the day with studio sessions at night. She also moved into her own apartment at 17.

But what was once Keys' biggest opportunity turned into her worst nightmare. Columbia Records had an idea of how they wanted to proceed with her career but she had differing ideas. Keys wanted to create music from the soul that touched the hearts of people; the record company wanted either another pop teen sensation like Britney Spears or beautiful balladeer like Mariah Carey. They brought in several big-name producers to help her write and produce the music for her debut album, but she battled with Columbia to allow her to write and produce her music herself. The company relented but they disapproved of the music she created. Columbia also wanted to give Keys an image make-over. Though she was already thin and a natural beauty, the company wanted her to lose weight, straighten her hair, and shorten her skirts. However, Keys refused to change from her jeans-and-braids style.

Because of all of the battles with record company, Keys never released an album for Columbia Records. Instead, she began talks with legendary record company mogul Clive Davis, who helped launch a number of superstars' careers, including Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston. Instead of looking at Keys as a commodity, Davis wanted to make her dreams come true. He bought out Keys' contract from Columbia, and brought her over to Arista Records. With creative control, Keys began putting together her debut album, Songs In A Minor. Davis told Toure in Rolling Stone, "I knew she was unique, I knew she was special, I knew she was a self-contained artist.… Few new artists can be showcased this way and blow people away.…"

As she was adding the finishing touches to her debut, Davis was forced out of Arista, the company he founded, by parent company Bertlemann AG. As a result, Keys' album's release seemed unlikely. However, Davis created a new record label, J Records, and quickly signed Keys. In June of 2001, Songs In A Minor was released and it debuted at number one. The first single off of her new album was "Fallin'." The single was number one on the charts for six weeks as radio stations with differing formats played the tune nonstop. To help it along, both MTV and BET placed Keys' video in heavy rotation. "Fallin', " a song mixing an old 1970s soul music feel with today's hip-hop, is a song to which many can relate. With little use of sampling, many thought the song was fresh and different from what was usually offered to the masses. The song was so popular and so well-sung, that on shows like American Idol the song was banned because the judges thought others would ruin it.