Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After disputes with the label, she signed with J Records to release her debut studio album, Songs in A Minor (2001). Met with critical acclaim and commercial success, the album sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won five awards at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. It contained the Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Fallin'". Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), was met with continued success, selling eight million units worldwide and spawning the US top-five singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You". Its release earned an additional four Grammy Awards.

Her 2004 duet with Usher, "My Boo", became her second number-one single in the US. Keys'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. Her fourth album, The Element of Freedom (2009), peaked atop 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)".