Keys credits much of her success to her mother's insistence on her continuing with the lessons, and ultimately growing as an artist.

She credits much of her success to her mother's insistence on her continuing with the lessons, and ultimately growing as an artist. Her ultra-supportive mother advised her that piano-playing was the one thing in life that she would not allow her daughter to give up on. While many children may consider this to be a form of punishment, Alicia Keys thought otherwise. Piano-playing proved to become one of her true passions in life and she pursued it.

Alicia Keys eventually enrolled in the Professional Performance Arts School of Manhattan and chose to major in choir. An all-around outstanding student, her musical talents grew to an even higher level under the guidance of one of her instructors. This instructor helped to train her voice, enabling Alicia Keys to further grow as a multi-talented musician.

At the age of 16, Alicia Keys's outstanding academic grades allowed her to finish high school early. Columbia University accepted her immediately thereafter, but she was intent on pursuing her love of music instead.

In 1998, major record labels began discovering Keys, which resulted in old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor.

In 1998, major record labels began discovering her, which resulted in old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor. She eventually signed with Arista Records. At this point, she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut that she'd been working on since the age of 14.

In late 1999, Alicia Keys decided to join Clive Davis and his newfound record label, J Records. Davis has supported and groomed many high-profile artists in the past, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Santana. Alicia Keys saw this as an opportunity to grow and Davis, being the legendary record mogul that he is, has been relentlessly hyping the piano-playing prodigy ever since.

Recently, the 19-year-old musician's debut album, Songs in A Minor entered the Billboard album charts at #1. The album includes the hit single Fallin, along with collaborations from other high-profile artists, including Jermaine Dupri and Isaac Hayes.

The near future looks to be very promising for this hot, young, musical talent. Her next single, A Woman's Worth is scheduled for release very shortly. If it follows in the footsteps of her debut release, it will most likely prove to be a chart-topper. Alicia Keys is also scheduled to perform during the 27th season premiere of Saturday Night Live, which is to be hosted by Reese Witherspoon.

By breaking onto the R&B and Soul music scene in the summer of 2001, Alicia Keys has already made quite a name for herself with her natural musical talents and a smash hit single.

Her debut album, Songs in A Minor , is a fusion of different music genres including blues, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop . She is also gaining recognition as a classically trained pianist. Move over Beethoven, Alicia Keys has arrived. Alicia Keys's soulful sound can be attributed to a variety of natural talents. She is a skilled songwriter, boasts years of expertise as a classically trained pianist, and possesses a powerful set of vocal cords. By combining these traits, she has put together a debut album that has taken the R&B world by storm. Alicia Keys comes across as being very cool, calm and collected. Her quiet and humble demeanor enforces the fact that her music clearly speaks for itself. Her album is a mixture of R&B, hip-hop and classical. The inspiration behind this melodic ensemble stems from a wide variety of artists including Bach, Roberta Flack and the Wu-Tang Clan . In related news, Baywatch -pioneer-turned-teen-music-heartthrob David Hasselhoff has once again been left out of the loop. Her soulful voice is sexy enough in itself to attract attention to this young beauty; she doesn't have to rely on skimpy outfits to create a stir. But if push came to shove and skimpy outfits became mandatory, it definitely would not harm her image. On the other hand, a duet with Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan probably would. Although still relatively new to the music scene, Alicia Keys has already become a musical wonder. She was crowned Best New Artist in a Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards and delivered a groundbreaking live performance as well -- her flawless live rendition of Fallin' merited her a standing ovation. Hearts were melting, tears were flowing and lighters were blazing. Not to mention, her album debut, Songs in A Minor , entered the Billboard charts at #1 and the seductive Fallin' topped the charts for three weeks. It doesn't take the judgement of a Nuclear Physicist to determine that Alicia Keys is a good-looking woman. This bi-racial beauty was apparently blessed from up above in more ways than one; natural beauty being one of her innate qualities. Needless to say, she was never whacked with an ugly stick. Alicia Keys's style of dress is somewhat on the eccentric side. While not quite as erratic as fellow R&B free-bird Macy Gray , her style is subject to personal opinion. Whatever the case may be, it's safe to say that she still manages to pull it off. A possible target for the fashion critiques of this world, Alicia Keys's personal style is just as unique as her music. She is clearly one in a million.

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