Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys, a multi-talented singer, was raised by her mother after her separation. In 1985, Keys and a group of other girls played the parts of Rudy

's sleepover guests in an episode of The Cosby Show called "Slumber Party". She began playing the piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite, Chopin. Born on January 25, 1980, Alicia Keys is an American soul singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, actress, philanthropist, and author who sold over twenty million albums worldwide and won numerous awards, including nine Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, and three American Music Awards.

Songs in A Minor (2001)
Keys performed Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes televised benefit concert following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Selling more than 50,000 of those on its first day and over 235,000 copies in its first week, Songs in A Minor, released on June 5, 2001, went on to sell more than eleven million units worldwide, and established Keys' popularity both outside and inside the U.S., where she became the best-selling new artist of 2001. The album's first single, "Fallin'", gained radio airplay on many different radio formats and spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Another single from Songs in A Minor, "A Woman's Worth", made the top ten in the U.S. as well. Keys and the album won five Grammy Awards in 2002, including "Best New Artist" and "Song of the Year" for "Fallin'". Later, on October 22, 2002, Keys released Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, a re-issue of Songs in A Minor, which includes eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of some of the songs off her debut album.

The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)
Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, released on December 2, 2003. The album was hailed by critics and debuted at number one in the U.S., selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, the sixth highest album sales by a female and second by R&B female. To date, it has sold eight million copies worldwide. The singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You" both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and another single, "Diary", entered the top ten. The classical/hip hop-flavored "Karma" was less successful, peaking at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 but more successful on Top 40 Mainstream peaking at number three. Surpassing Mary J. Blige's "Your Child", "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the sixty-three-year-old Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for more than one year. Keys went on to become the best-selling female R&B artist of 2004.

As I Am (2007)
Keys expressed her views to MTV about her upcoming album: "It's coming together incredibly. I am in love with this album. It's very fresh and new". Since late 2006, Keys worked on her third studio album, As I Am which is expected to be out for the public appreciation on November 13, 2007. Keys also displayed her acting genius while co-starring in a film alongside Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Common, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven, and Ryan Reynolds entitled Smokin' Aces, released on January 26, 2007. Keys 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.Furthermore, in her second film, The Nanny Diaries released on August 24, 2007, Keys co-stars alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans as Lynette, Johansson's character Annie's best friend. The Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York was used to film the college graduation scene for the film.