Alicia Keys Age, Height, Husband & Biography

Alicia Keys is an American singer-songwriter and pianist who has won 16 Grammy Awards and sold tens of millions of records around the world. Born in New York City in 1981, she began playing the piano at the age of seven and released her debut album, Songs in A Minor, in 2001, led by the hit single Fallin’. She is known for her powerful voice, her classical piano training and her songs about love, strength and resilience.

Quick Facts

Who Is Alicia Keys?

Alicia Keys is an American singer, songwriter and pianist who has become one of the most successful R&B artists of her generation. She is known for her soulful voice, her piano-led songs and her ability to write hits that blend classical music with hip-hop and soul. Her best-known songs include Fallin’, If I Ain’t Got You, No One, Girl on Fire and Empire State of Mind, her collaboration with Jay-Z.

Keys has won 16 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year, and she has sold more than 65 million records worldwide. She has also acted in films, served as a coach on the television show The Voice, and co-founded the We Are Here Movement, a charity that supports social justice causes.

Early Life & Background

Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on 25 January 1981 in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City. She was raised by her mother and began playing the piano at the age of seven, after a neighbour gave her an old upright piano. She attended the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, where she studied classical piano and choral singing.

Keys graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 16 and was accepted to Columbia University, but she left to pursue a career in music. She signed to Columbia Records as a teenager and later moved to Arista Records, where she recorded her debut album. Her classical training would become a defining part of her sound.

Career

Keys released her debut album, Songs in A Minor, in 2001, and it became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in the United States. The lead single, Fallin’, topped the Billboard Hot 100, and the album won five Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for Fallin’. Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, arrived in 2003 and featured the hits You Don’t Know My Name and If I Ain’t Got You.

Her third album, As I Am, was released in 2007 and featured the single No One, which became one of her biggest hits. In 2009 she released The Element of Freedom, which featured Empire State of Mind, her collaboration with Jay-Z, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award. She followed it with Girl on Fire in 2012 and Here in 2016.

Keys released the albums Alicia in 2020 and Keys in 2021, and she has continued to tour to large audiences. In 2024 the stage musical Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by her upbringing in New York City, opened on Broadway. She has also served as a coach on the television singing competition The Voice and has published the book More Myself in 2020. She is married to the producer Swizz Beatz, with whom she has two sons.

Facts About Alicia Keys

• She began playing the piano at the age of seven.
• She graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 16.
• Fallin’ won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2002.
• She has won 16 Grammy Awards.
• The stage musical Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by her upbringing, opened on Broadway in 2024.

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