Alicia Keys

Patience.

You learn the definition of the word whenever you embark on the long journey to realizing your dreams.

Alicia Keys knows the word well. She signed a recording contract with Arista records in 1998. Count on your fingers, I'm doing it, thats three years ago.

Think of it like this... someone gives you a ticket to one of the hottest outdoor concerts in the city, but you can't get in until your contact comes to the gate to give you the okay. You can see inside, but your standing there waiting, looking at the back of peoples heads, watching them having a good time and hearing the cheers from the crowd... but you can't get in yet. "Where is this guy, I'm trying to get in this joint.. what's sup?!"

When Alicia was five years of age, her parents noticed that she had a special gift for music. Her mother promptly signed her up for classical piano lessons. Yep, the ones where you sit and pluck out chords all day. Her mother made it clear though, telling her "You can quit anything else but you can never give up your piano lessons." Sounds harsh, but Alicia loved playing piano, so it was no problemo.

Born and raised in Harlem, New York, she attended the Performance Arts School of Manhattan. While majoring in choir, she got some valuable insight on the use of her voice from one of her music instructors. "This teacher spent so much time with me, she became the closest thing to vocal training I received," Alicia said.

Not only good with music, she had the kind of grades that would make you want to grab the White Out and ink in your own name. Columbia University accepted her as soon as she graduated high school, at the age of 16.

After ten years of developing her musical talents, Columbia didn't seem that appetizing, so she put off school for awhile to concentrate on her love of music.

She continued to write songs, something she had done since she was 14 years old, and slowly word began to circulate in the industry about "this young girl named Alicia."

2001

Alicia Keys, now 19 years old, is sitting in a packed ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria. She's there to perform a song called "Fallin", from her J Records debut album Songs in A Minor

J Records? Clive Davis, the former president of Arista Records, left his post at the company, and she, along with other artists like Busta Rhymes, followed him to his new label..

But that auditorium. It's filled with the kind of folks who like to sing and dance to "New York, New York." A far cry from what her sound has developed into - a mix of hip hop and soul. You've heard those words many times before, but the soul in this package comes from her wise-beyond-her-years songwriting ability, her vocal power, and her live performances, which of course, demonstrate her expertise on that piano.

She takes the stage, and although Clive Davis is a little bit fearful, she turns the audience into believers; causing reporters to label her "a major star" and sending a buzz throughout the industry.

"I've heard some strong material from Keys upcoming debut and she seems the most likely to follow up what Jill Scott has done for us." - Steve Hochman, Los Angeles Times