Alicia Keys – The lady sings any f-f-flaming style to demonstrate how to be honest in diva-dom…

It has taken some time but you can’t keep a good woman down for long. Following Alicia Keys success in America with her debut album ‘Songs In A Minor’ – 3 million copies snapped so far – Britain couldn’t resist for long. Her single ‘Fallin’’ entered straight in at Number 3 while her album has slowly climbed to the Seventh place.

The US nu-soul/R&B piano-playing sensation Alicia Keys has had rather instant success back home where the album entered the Billboard chart at No.1 and within two weeks of its release gained a platinum (1 million sales) status. She even managed to fight off Puff Daddy and D12’s challenges to return to the top, proving that her success was not a rookie-fluke.

Before this album she collaborated with Isaac Hayes on the ‘Shaft’ soundtrack’s ‘Rock Wit U’ (reprised on her album, as well) and her music is to feature in Muhammed Ali’s biopic, starring Will Smith.

“Yes, it is a very big thrill,” Keys states in her dulcet tones. “Michael Mann, the director, has been very supportive and I’m on the sundtrack and, hopefully, in a portion of the movie, I’ll do a bit of scoring. No, not acting for me, just a little bit of incidental music.”

Life and everything

Under the wing of record industry legend Clive Davis Alicia was bound to emulate the global success of his most recent star, Dido. Davis, former Chairman Of Arista, signed Keys to the label in 1998 where she was allowed to develop artistically; after foundation of J Records she followed Davis to the new label.

Being an Italian-Scottish on her mother’s side – no, she doesn’t speak any Italian and has no idea which part of Scotland her ancestors are from – she’s an excitable character that ceases up when you ask about her private life; she admits to be “emotionally reserved” but refuses to elaborate further. So, album is the only glance into her privacy?

“The album is inspired by life,” Keys comments, “and experiences and living; being a young woman, growing and searching for identity. A little bit of everything. It was definitely inspired by all things that have always inspired me, be it Marvin Gaye, soul music from the heart, Stevie Wonder. Each song means something different and evokes a different emotion. ‘Troubles’ is an uplifting song, ‘Girlfriend’ is a feelgood song, ‘Jane Doe’ is sassy. ‘Caged Bird’ is very intimate and personal, a very special song.”

During her Scala show (reviewed onsite) she told a story before ‘Girlfriend’ about a living-in boyfriend phoning another girlfriend from their bathroom; an enquiry about its accuracy is met with “It’s about 85% true” and a wicked smile.

How can someone two-time such a gorgeous creature is beyond belief!?

Softly with that organ…

The Manhattan-born bi-racial Alicia started learning piano at the age of 5, graduated early at the Professional Performance Arts School (New York) early and was accepted at Columbia University but the call to make music was much stronger than any academic life. It’s not a surprise that she’s had such a wide range of musical influences...

“Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald,” she lists them with ease of a proper musician. “I also listen to a lot of contemporary music, Mary J. Blige, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield… They helped me discover truth in music. I like different styles of music and different writing styles. It doesn’t really matter what musical style a song is as long as it touches a nerve, a heart, whatever.”

“One of the major influences has been my mother who told me ‘You can quit anything else but you can never give up on your piano lessons.’ I’m very grateful for all her support.”

That support has led to Alicia being part of the charity version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’.

“It’s really a brainchild of Bono, from U2,” she explains humbley, “who contacted everybody from N*Sync, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Nona Gaye, Marvin’s daughter, and myself to do a charity record for Aids epidemic in Africa. I was really looking forward to getting involved with it, so many different people were taking part, so we all got together in a studio and it went wonderfully. Then, when things happened on September 11, it became a due cause to support and now the profits will be split between the two.”

And yet, when asked if that was a highlight of her career, she names other three ocassions.

“Oprah Winfrey Show was the first highlight in my life,” Keys charmingly states. “You know when you are seeing something on television all your life and then you find yourself there… All the artists who were guests there, it was really something special. She was great, I really loved her.”

“Then, another highlight of my short life has been performing at Clive Davis’s leaving party; I came on after Gladys Knight, and before Stevie Wonder… Mary J. Blige was there, as well as Dido… Then, Prince called me in my hotel room and invited me to go and perform at Paisley Park.”

“I was very lucky to have been invited to his place in Minneapolis and it was just beyond imagination. I met him, saw the whole Paisley Park operation, gadgets and gizmos, it was the highlight of my life!”