Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook was born on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2008/04/17/Music-Preview-Through-her-first-several-records-Alicia-Keys-has-a-golden-touch/stories/200804170286|title=Music Preview: Through her first several records, Alicia Keys has a golden touch|last=Mervis|first=Scott|date=April 17, 2008|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=November 22, 2009|archive-date=December 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210114010/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2008/04/17/Music-Preview-Through-her-first-several-records-Alicia-Keys-has-a-golden-touch/stories/200804170286|url-status=live}} She is the only child of Teresa Augello, who was a paralegal and part-time actress, and one of three children of Craig Cook, who was a flight attendant.{{cite news|last=Iley|first=Chrissy|date=February 24, 2008|title=Alicia Keys, the girl who made Bob Dylan weep|work=The Times |url= https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/alicia-keys-the-girl-who-made-bob-dylan-weep-df678sfgfgq|access-date=December 16, 2008|location=London|archive-date=November 10, 2022| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221110153929/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alicia-keys-the-girl-who-made-bob-dylan-weep-df678sfgfgq|url-status=live}}{{cite book|title=Biography Today Annual Cumulation 2007: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5rmMrYWkaQC|editor-first=Cherie D.|editor-last=Abbey|isbn=978-0-7808-0974-1|publisher=Omnigraphics|year=2007|page=211|access-date=June 2, 2018|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026071528/https://books.google.com/books?id=c5rmMrYWkaQC|url-status=live}} Keys's father is African American and her mother is of Italian and "Irish or Scottish" descent; her mother's paternal grandparents were immigrants from Sciacca, Sicily;{{cite web| url= http://www.lasicilia.it/news/home/18471/il-google-camp-si-sposta-a-sciacca-restano-i-vip--toccata-e-fuga-di-renzi-.html|title=Il Google Camp si sposta a Sciacca restano i vip, toccata e fuga di Renzi|work=La Sicilia|date=August 3, 2016|language=it|access-date=May 26, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180614172316/http://www.lasicilia.it/news/home/18471/il-google-camp-si-sposta-a-sciacca-restano-i-vip--toccata-e-fuga-di-renzi-.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Bream|first=Jon|title=More Keys to Alicia's life|url=https://www.startribune.com/more-keys/18138354/|website=Star Tribune|date=April 24, 2008|access-date=September 24, 2020|quote=I'm definitely black and Italian and a little Irish or Scottish.|archive-date=June 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605172149/https://www.startribune.com/more-keys/18138354/|url-status=live}} and Lamezia Terme, in Calabria.{{cite web|url=https://www.quotidianodelsud.it/calabria/catanzaro/spettacoli/musica/2017/10/23/alicia-keys-e-le-sue-origini-calabresi-ecco-la-storia-della-bellissima-star-della-musica-e-dei-suoi-bisnonni/|title=Alicia Keys e le sue origini calabresi, ecco la storia della bellissima star della musica e dei suoi bisnonni|work={{ill|il Quotidiano del Sud|it}}|language=it|access-date=October 16, 2021|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220128200915/https://www.quotidianodelsud.it/calabria/catanzaro/spettacoli/musica/2017/10/23/alicia-keys-e-le-sue-origini-calabresi-ecco-la-storia-della-bellissima-star-della-musica-e-dei-suoi-bisnonni/|url-status=live}} Named after her Puerto Rican godmother,{{cite news| url=https://parade.com/653238/paulettecohn/exclusive-onthe-voice-kelly-clarkson-explains-why-she-called-alicia-keys-sexy/|title=Exclusive: On The Voice, Kelly Clarkson Explains Why She Called Alicia Keys Sexy|work=Parade|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=June 1, 2018|archive-date=December 4, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221204230606/https://parade.com/653238/paulettecohn/exclusive-onthe-voice-kelly-clarkson-explains-why-she-called-alicia-keys-sexy/|url-status=live}} Keys has said that she was comfortable with her multiracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".{{cite web|date=December 1, 2004|title=Alicia Keys – Keys Avoids Mixed Race Abuse|work=Contactmusic.com| url= http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/keys-avoids-mixed-race-abuse| access-date=August 21, 2009|archive-date=October 14, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091014175509/http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/keys-avoids-mixed-race-abuse|url-status=live}} Keys's father left when she was two years old. She was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years at Manhattan Plaza{{cite magazine|url=https://playbill.com/article/angela-lansbury-samuel-l-jackson-alicia-keys-more-featured-in-miracle-on-42nd-street-documentary|title=Angela Lansbury, Samuel L. Jackson, Alicia Keys, More Featured in Miracle on 42nd Street Documentary|date=March 20, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2023|magazine=Playbill|archive-date=June 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617154637/https://playbill.com/article/angela-lansbury-samuel-l-jackson-alicia-keys-more-featured-in-miracle-on-42nd-street-documentary|url-status=live}} in Hell's Kitchen.{{cite news| last= Ojumu|first=Akin|date=November 16, 2003|title=Soul sister|work=The Guardian |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/nov/16/aliciakeys|access-date=January 24, 2009 |location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090224142304/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2003/nov/16/aliciakeys| archive-date= February 24, 2009 | url-status=live}} Keys has stated that her parents never had a relationship, and her father was not in her life. Although she did not like to speak about her father in order to not feed stereotypes, Keys remarked in 2001: "I'm not in contact with him. That's fine. When I was younger, I minded about that. [It] made me angry. But it helped show me what a strong woman my mother was, and made me want to be strong like her. Probably, it was better for me this way." Keys and her mother lived in a one-bedroom apartment.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CmK62tXLdeo/|title=Alicia Keys Instagram|date=December 14, 2022| access-date= August 3, 2023|archive-date=August 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803190909/https://www.instagram.com/p/CmK62tXLdeo/|url-status= live}} Her mother often worked three jobs to provide for Keys, who "learned how to survive" from her mother's example of tenacity and self-reliance.{{cite web| url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/mar/21/popandrock.aliciakeys|title=Soul sister number one|work= The Guardian|date=March 21, 2004| first= Stephanie| last= Merritt |access-date= May 28, 2018|archive-date=November 14, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221114075142/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/mar/21/popandrock.aliciakeys|url-status=live}}

{{quote box|width=29%|align=right|I grew up in the middle of everything. I walked the streets alone, I rode the trains alone, I came home at three in the morning alone, that was what I did ... The city had a huge influence on me because it's such a diverse place. As hard as [growing up in it was], I always felt very blessed about being able to recognize different cultures and styles, people and places. I feel like the concrete alone just gave me a certain drive. I really saw everything: every negative I could possibly see from the time I could walk until now; and also every positive, every bright future, every dream that I could possibly see. So growing up around this big dichotomy definitely influenced my music.|source= —Keys}}

From a young age, Keys struggled with self-esteem issues, hiding little by little when her differences made her vulnerable to judgment, and later uninvited sexual attention.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alicia-keys/a-revelation_b_7972424.html|title=A Revelation|work=Huffington Post| first= Alicia |last=Keys |date=August 11, 2015|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180529071806/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alicia-keys/a-revelation_b_7972424.html|url-status=live}} Living in the rough neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen,{{cite magazine|title=Oprah Talks to Alicia Keys| url= http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/oprahs-interview-with-alicia-keys|date=September 2004|magazine=O, The Oprah Magazine|access-date=May 26, 2018|archive-date=February 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208201128/https://www.oprah.com/omagazine/oprahs-interview-with-alicia-keys|url-status=live}} she was, from an early age, regularly exposed to street violence, drugs, prostitution, and subjected to sexual propositions in the sex trade- and crime-riddled area.{{cite podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qaal4MuTdug |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Qaal4MuTdug| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Alicia Keys (full) – Rap Radar|website=Rap Radar |publisher=Play.it |host=Elliott Wilson and Brian "B.Dot" Miller|date=May 16, 2016 |time=21:20 |access-date=May 25, 2018}}{{cbignore}}{{cite AV media |people=Cham featuring Alicia Keys |title=Ghetto Story|medium=Song}} "I saw a variety of people growing up, and lifestyles, lows and highs. I think it makes you realize right away what you want and what you don't want," Keys said.{{cite news|url=http://www.petrastarke.com/2000/10/if-youre-looking-for-way-to-sum-up.html|title=Alicia Keys: Take Me As I Am|newspaper=Sunday Mail| first= Petra|last=Stark|date=November 16, 2008|access-date=June 24, 2018|publisher=News Corp Australia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180625030716/http://www.petrastarke.com/2000/10/if-youre-looking-for-way-to-sum-up.html|archive-date=June 25, 2018 |via= Petrastark.com|quote="My mother raised me and I saw her struggle and work and I'm not under any illusions – I know exactly what I could go right back to."}} Keys recalled feeling fearful early on of the "animal instinct" she witnessed, and eventually feeling "high" due to recurrent harassment. Her experiences in the streets had led her to carry a homemade knife for protection.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jan/08/popandrock.film|title=I was just waiting for my time|work= The Guardian |first=Chrissy|last=Iley|date=January 8, 2007|access-date=June 1, 2018|archive-date=November 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114075148/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jan/08/popandrock.film|url-status=live}} She became very wary,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/14/alicia-keys|title=Alicia Keys: 'Everything I do comes from a primal place'|work= The Guardian |first=Caroline|last=Sullivan|date=July 14, 2011|access-date=June 1, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221225223134/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/14/alicia-keys|url-status=live}} emotionally guarded, and she began wearing gender-neutral clothing and what would become her trademark cornrows.{{refn|{{cite web |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/08/13/alicia-keys-self-esteem-street-harassment-blog-post/31612215/|title=Alicia Keys on self esteem and harassment|work=USA Today|date=August 13, 2015|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=November 14, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221114075213/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/08/13/alicia-keys-self-esteem-street-harassment-blog-post/31612215/|url-status= live}}{{cite AV media|people=Alicia Keys|title=The Gospel|medium=Short film|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTHi57uxBg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/byTHi57uxBg| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2016/04/alicia-keys-surprises-tribeca-film-festival-with-world-premiere-of-the-gospel-289463/|title=Alicia Keys Surprises Tribeca Film Festival With World Premiere of 'The Gospel'|work=Indiewire|date=April 22, 2016|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=November 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114075143/https://www.indiewire.com/2016/04/alicia-keys-surprises-tribeca-film-festival-with-world-premiere-of-the-gospel-289463/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbUDAAAAMBAJ|title=New Singer Alicia Keys Sitting Pretty With Smash Debut Album 'Songs in A Minor'|magazine=Jet|date=August 13, 2001|issue=9|volume=100 Company|issn=0021-5996|access-date=June 2, 2018|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026071528/https://books.google.com/books?id=IbUDAAAAMBAJ|url-status=live}}}} Keys explained that she is grateful for growing up where she did as it prepared her for the parallels in the music industry, particularly as she was a teenager starting out; she could maintain a particular focus and not derail herself.{{Cite episode |title=Alicia Keys 'This business is similar to Hell's Kitchen'|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBRA-PB-BOk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tBRA-PB-BOk| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=June 1, 2018|series=Heart and Soul|last= Calloway | first= Sway|author-link=Sway Calloway|station=Sirius XM|date=December 18, 2012|quote="If there was ever a path or a road that could take me to the wrong side of the street, it would be where I grew up. Cause there was every option there to choose the wrong one. I think actually growing up around that really taught me a lot when getting into this business, you know, cause this [business] is similar to Hell's Kitchen; there's all the options, and you can either go the right way or you can kind of fall off ... being around the wrong people or getting involved in the wrong things. It's difficult, especially when you're so young – I started really young, at 16/17 – and being able to have access to so many things, it can be a difficult choice sometimes. I give thanks that where I grew up kind of prepared me for that so that I could have a particular focus, cause I didn't want to end up like so many people that I saw on the street every day."}}{{cbignore}} She credits her "tough" mother for anchoring her on a right path as opposed to many people she knew who ended up on the wrong path and in jail. Keys attributed her unusual maturity as a young girl to her mother, who depended on her to be responsible while she worked to provide for them and gave Keys as many opportunities as possible.

Keys loved music and singing from early childhood. She recalled her mother playing jazz records of artists such as Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong on Sunday mornings—early musical moments Keys considers influential in kindling her interest in and emotional connection to music. In preschool, Keys sang in her school's production of the musical Cats and was cast as Dorothy Gale in a production of The Wizard of Oz. Keys discovered that she had a passion for the piano by age six, as she loved the sound and feel of the instrument and desired to play and learn it.{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/playback/2005/summer/features/keys|title=Alicia Keys – A Legend Grows|publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|date=June 1, 2005|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6zn9DnIG2?url=https://www.ascap.com/playback/2005/summer/features/keys|archive-date=May 30, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite book|title=Alicia Keys (Transcending Race in America: Biographies of Biracial Achievers)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKZBgAAQBAJ|first=Russell|last=Roberts|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4222-9099-6|access-date=June 2, 2018|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026071529/https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKZBgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} When Keys was ten,'The Jonathan Ross Show', broadcast on November 7, 2020, on ITV, carried a Ross interview with Keys in which she was asked and openly explained how the piano arrived into her family home at age ten. a neighborhood friend who was moving home gave her family an old upright piano. This proved pivotal for Keys's musical development, which allowed her to practice, to play, and to benefit fully from music lessons at an early age. Keys began receiving classical piano lessons by age seven, practicing six hours a day, learning the Suzuki method and playing composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Satie.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jan/20/popandrock.features2|title=Soundtrack of my life: Alicia Keys |work= The Guardian |date=January 20, 2008|first=Will|last=Hodgkinson|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180624093222/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jan/20/popandrock.features2|url-status=live}} She was particularly drawn to "blue, dark, shadowy" and melancholic compositions, as well as the passionate romanticism of "blue composers" like Chopin.{{refn|{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-keys-the-next-queen-of-soul-20011108|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180628034720/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-keys-the-next-queen-of-soul-20011108|title=The Next Queen of Soul |date=November 8, 2001|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=June 28, 2018|author=Touré|magazine=Rolling Stone|url-status=live}}}} Inspired by the film Philadelphia, Keys wrote her first song about her departed grandfather on her piano by age 12. The scene in the film in which Tom Hanks's character listens to opera on a record player affected Keys, who "never showed emotion very well". After seeing the film, Keys, "for the first time, could express how [she] felt through the music."

{{Quote box|width=28%|quote=Classical piano totally helped me to be a better songwriter and a better musician ... I knew the fundamentals of music. And I understood how to put things together and pull it together and change it. The dedication that it took to study classical music is a big reason why I have anything in this life I think. ... [It] was a big influence on me. It opened a lot of doors because it separated me from the rest. [...] And it did help me structure my songs.|source= —Keys}}

Keys's mother had encouraged her to participate in different extracurricular activities, including music, dance, theater, and gymnastics, so she could "find her muse". Her extracurricular activities gave her focus and drive, and helped keep her out of trouble.{{cite web|url=http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/celebrity/music-and-dance-kept-alicia-keys-out-of-trouble-during-childhood_5623.html|title=Music and dance kept Alicia Keys 'out of trouble' during childhood|date=July 15, 2008|work=Zee News|access-date=May 23, 2018|archive-date=May 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523091912/http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/celebrity/music-and-dance-kept-alicia-keys-out-of-trouble-during-childhood_5623.html|url-status=live}} Keys remained so occupied with her various pursuits that she experienced her first burnout before adolescence. Before her 13th birthday, she expressed to her mother that she was too overwhelmed and wanted to disengage, at which point her mother took some time off with her and encouraged her to keep focusing on piano. Keys would continue studying classical music until the age of 18. Keys regards her education in classical piano and dedication to classical music as vital for her stability in her youth and her development as a musician and songwriter. Keys later said of her classical background:

{{blockquote|That type of studying, that type of discipline ... after a while, I realized what it provided me – focus, the ability to pay attention for a long enough period of time to make progress; the work ethic; the actual knowledge of music, that then unlocked the ability to write my own music, put my own chords and things I heard in my own head to different lyrics that I maybe felt, and I never, ever had to wait for anybody to write something for me.}}

Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she took music, dance, and theater classes and majored in choir.{{cite web|last=Weiner |first=Jonah |date=March 19, 2008 |title=Alicia Keys: Unlocked |work=Blender |url= http://www.blender.com/guide/61246/aliciakeysunlocked.html |pages=1–4 |access-date=May 29, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090428010656/http://www.blender.com/guide/61246/aliciakeysunlocked.html |archive-date=April 28, 2009 }} In her preteen years, Keys and her bass-playing friend formed their first group, though neither "knew too much about how pop songs worked". Keys would continue singing, writing songs, and performing in musical groups throughout junior high and high school. She became an accomplished pianist; according to some sources, after her classical-music teacher had nothing left to teach her, she began studying jazz at age 14{{cite web|url=http://theboombox.com/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor/|title=How Alicia Keys' 'Songs In A Minor' Album Mastered The Art Of Classical Soul| work= The Boombox|date=June 5, 2016|access-date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135825/http://theboombox.com/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor/|url-status=live}} (this claim, however, was challenged by Keys's music teacher herself).{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/arts/l-alicia-keys-lessons-in-jazz-512001.html|title=Alicia Keys; Lessons in Jazz|work=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2002|access-date=April 20, 2023|archive-date=April 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420045532/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/arts/l-alicia-keys-lessons-in-jazz-512001.html|url-status=live}} Living in the "musical melting pot" city, Keys had already been discovering other genres of music, including soul music, hip hop, R&B, and taken affinity to artists like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Keen on dissecting music, Keys continued developing her songwriting and finding her own 'flow and style" through her exploration of the intricacies in different music.

Keys spent more time in Harlem during her teenage years. She connected with the cultural and racial diversity in the neighborhood, where she expanded upon her musical exploration, and her character was also solidified. "Harlem raised me in a lot of ways," Keys remarked. "[It] taught me how to think fast, how to play the game ... taught me leadership, how to get out of bad situations when you need to, how to hold my own." During this period, she met her good friend who would later become her long-term collaborator and boyfriend Kerry Brothers Jr., also famously known as Krucial.

In 1985, at the age of four, Keys made her acting debut, appearing on The Cosby Show as Maria, one of Rudy's slumber-party friends.{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Russell |title=Alicia Keys |date=3 February 2015 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4222-9099-6 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKZBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |language=en |access-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606115829/https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKZBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |url-status=live }}

In 1994, manager Jeff Robinson met 13-year-old Keys, who participated in his brother's youth organization called Teens in Motion.{{cite web|url=http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/2003/32 |title=Crain's 40 Under 40 Alumni|work=Crain's New York Business|year=2003|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808134712/http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/2003/32|archive-date=August 8, 2008|first=Valerie|last=Block}} Robinson's brother had been giving Keys vocal lessons in Harlem. His brother had talked to him about Keys and advised him to go see her, but Robinson shrugged it off as he had "heard that story 1,000 times". At the time, Keys was part of a three-member band that had formed in the Bronx and was performing in Harlem. Robinson eventually agreed to his brother's request, and went to see Keys perform with her group at the Police Athletic League center in Harlem. He was soon taken by Keys, her soulful singing, playing contemporary and classical music and performing her own songs. Robinson was excited by audiences' reactions to her. Impressed by her talents, charisma, image, and maturity, Robinson considered her to be the "total package", and took her under his wing. By this time, Keys had already written two of the songs that she would later include on her debut album: "Butterflyz" and "The Life".

Robinson wanted Keys to be informed and prepared for the music industry, so he took her everywhere with him, including all the meetings with attorneys and negotiations with record labels, while the teenager often became disgruntled with the process. Robinson had urged Keys to pursue a solo career, as she remained reluctant, preferring the musical interactions of a group. She took Robinson's advice after her group disbanded, and contacted Robinson who in 1995 introduced her to A&R executive Peter Edge.

Robinson and Edge helped Keys assemble some demos of songs she had written and set up a showcases for label executives. Keys performed on the piano for executives of various labels, and a bidding war ensued. Edge was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company, Warner Bros. Records, to work at Clive Davis' Arista Records.{{cite web|title=Interview with Peter Edge|url=http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/2004/October13_2_39_1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226031139/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2F2004%2FOctober13_2_39_1.html|archive-date=February 26, 2012|date=October 13, 2004|publisher=HitQuarters|access-date=May 30, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} During this period, Columbia Records had approached Keys for a record deal, offering her a $26,000 white baby grand piano; after negotiations with her and her manager, she signed to the label, at age 15. Keys was also finishing high school, and her academic success had provided her opportunity for scholarship and early admission to university.{{cite magazine|last=Cole|first=Harriette|title=Alicia Bares Her Soul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNMDAAAAMBAJ|access-date=May 30, 2018|magazine=Ebony|date=November 2007|volume=63|issue=1|issn=0012-9011|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026071529/https://books.google.com/books?id=bNMDAAAAMBAJ|url-status=live}} That year, Keys accepted a scholarship to study at Columbia University in Manhattan. She graduated from high school early as valedictorian, at the age of 16, and began attending Columbia University at that age while working on her music.{{cite web|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=January 27, 2002|title=Music; To Be Alicia Keys: Young, Gifted and in Control|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/27/arts/music-to-be-alicia-keys-young-gifted-and-in-control.html|pages=1–3|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407213538/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/27/arts/music-to-be-alicia-keys-young-gifted-and-in-control.html|url-status=live}} Keys attempted to manage a difficult schedule between university and working in the studio into the morning, compounding stress and a distant relationship with her mother. She often stayed away from home, and wrote some of the most "depressing" poems of her life during this period. Keys decided to drop out of college after a month to pursue music full-time.

Columbia Records had recruited a team of songwriters, producers and stylists to work on Keys and her music. They wanted Keys to submit to their creative and image decisions. Keys said they were not receptive to her contributions and being a musician and music creator. While Keys worked on her songs, Columbia executives attempted to change her material; they wanted her to sing and have others create the music, forcing big-name producers on her who demanded she also write with people with whom she was not comfortable. She would go into sessions already prepared with music she had composed, but the label would dismiss her work in favor of their vision. "It was a constant battle, it was a lot of -isms", Keys recalled. "There was the sexism, but it was more the ageism – you're too young, how could you possibly know what you want to do? – and oh God, that just irked me to death, I hated that." "The music coming out was very disappointing", she recalled. "You have this desire to have something good, and you have thoughts and ideas, but when you finish the music it's shit, and it keeps on going like that." Keys would be in "perpetual music industry purgatory" under Columbia, while they ultimately "relegated [her] to the shelf". She had performed "Little Drummer Girl" for So So Def's Christmas compilation in 1996, and later co-wrote the song "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)" for the Men in Black (1997) film soundtrack, the only released recording Keys made with Columbia.

Keys "hated" the experience of writing with the people Columbia brought in. "I remember driving to the studio one day with dread in my chest," she recalled. Keys said the producers would also sexually proposition her. "It's all over the place. And it's crazy. And it's very difficult to understand and handle," she said. Keys had already built a "protect yourself" mentality from growing up in Hell's Kitchen, which served her as a young teen then in the industry having to rebuff the advances of producers and being around people who "just wanted to use [her]". Keys felt like she could not show weakness. Executives at Columbia also wanted to manufacture her image, with her "hair blown out and flowing", short dresses, and asking her to lose weight; "they wanted me to be the same as everyone else," Keys felt. "I had horrible experiences," she recalled. "They were so disrespectful ... I started figuring, 'Hey, nothing's worth all this.'" As months passed, Keys had grown more frustrated and depressed with the situation, while the label requested the finished tracks. Keys recalled, "it was around that time that I realized that I couldn't do it with other people. I had to do it more with myself, with the people that I felt comfortable with or by myself with my piano." Keys decided to sit in with some producers and engineers to ask questions and watch them technically work on other artists' music. "The only way it would sound like anything I would be remotely proud of is if I did it," Keys determined. "I already knew my way around the keyboard, so that was an advantage. And the rest was watching people work on other artists and watching how they layer things."

Her partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers suggested to Keys she buy her own equipment and record on her own. Keys began working separately from the label, exploring more production and engineering on her own with her own equipment. She had moved out of her mother's apartment and into a sixth-floor walk-up apartment in Harlem with Brothers, where she fit a recording studio into their bedroom and worked on her music. Keys felt being on her own was "necessary" for her sanity. She was "going through a lot" with herself and with her mother, and she "needed the space"; "I needed to have my own thoughts, to do my own thing." Keys and Brothers later moved to Queens and together they turned the basement into KrucialKeys Studios. Keys would return to her mother's house periodically, particularly when she felt "lost or unbalanced or alone". "She would probably be working and I would sit at the piano," she reminisced. During this time, she composed the song "Troubles", which started as "a conversation with God", working on it further in Harlem. Around this time the album "started coming together", and she composed and recorded most of the songs that would appear on her album. "Finally, I knew how to structure my feelings into something that made sense, something that can translate to people", Keys. "That was a changing point. My confidence was up, way up." The different experience reinvigorated Keys and her music. While the album was nearly completed, Columbia's management changed and more creative differences emerged with the new executives. Keys brought her songs to the executives, who rejected her work, saying it "sounded like one long demo". They wanted Keys to sing over loops, and told Keys they will bring in a "top" team and get her "a more radio-friendly sound". Keys would not allow it; "they already had set the monster loose", she recalled. "Once I started producing my own stuff there wasn't any going back." Keys stated that Columbia had the "wrong vision" for her. "They didn't want me to be an individual, didn't really care," Keys concluded. "They just wanted to put me in a box." Control over her creative process was "everything" to Keys.

Keys had wanted to leave Columbia since they began "completely disrespecting [her] musical creativity". Leaving Columbia was "a hell of a fight," she recalled. "Out of spite, they were threatening to keep everything I'd created even though they hated it. I thought I'd have to start over again just to get out, but I didn't care." Keys said in 2001: "It's been one trial, one test of confidence and faith after the next." To Keys, "success doesn't just mean that I'm the singer, and you give me my 14 points, and that's all. That's not how it's going to go down."{{cite magazine|title=The Maestro|magazine=Vibe|first=Angelo|last=Ragaza|date=October 2001|page=98|volume=9|issue=10|issn=1070-4701|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA98}} Edge, who was by that time head of A&R at Arista Records, said, "I didn't see that there was much hands-on development at Columbia, and she was smart enough to figure that out and to ask to be released from her contract, which was a bold move for a new artist." Edge introduced Keys to Arista's then-president, Clive Davis, in 1998.

Robinson and Keys, with Davis's help, were able to negotiate out of the Columbia contract and she signed to Arista Records in late 1998. Keys was also able to leave with the music she had created. Davis gave Keys the creative freedom and control she wanted, and encouraged her to be herself. Keys said of Davis's instinct: "he knows which artists are the ones that maybe are needing to craft their own sound and style and songs, and you just have to let an artist go and find that space. And I think he somehow knew that and saw that in me and really just let me find that." After signing with Davis, Keys continued honing her songs. Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name at the age of 16 until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. She felt that name embodied her both as a performer and person.{{cite web|last=Vineyard |first=Chloe |date=January 18, 2006|title=Alicia Keys Nearly Spills Secrets To Jane|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1521106/20060118/keys_alicia.jhtml|access-date=March 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311171739/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1521106/20060118/keys_alicia.jhtml|archive-date=March 11, 2008|url-status=dead}} Keys contributed her songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror" to the soundtracks of the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001).{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20011003a2.html|title=Alicia Keys: 'Songs in A Minor'|last=Brasor|first=Philip|date=October 3, 2001|work=The Japan Times|access-date=February 26, 2009|archive-date=May 25, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525113824/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fm20011003a2.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r536187|title=Dr. Dolittle 2 – Overview|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|work=Allmusic|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303031531/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r536187|url-status=live}}

In 2000, Davis was ousted from Arista, and the release of Keys's album was put on hold. Later that year, Davis formed J Records and immediately signed Keys to the label. "He didn't try to divert me to something else," Keys said on following Davis to his new label. He understood that she wants to be herself and not "made into what somebody else thinks I should be."

Keys played small shows across America, performed at industry showcases for months and then on television.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-may-05-ca-59543-story.html|title=Showing What the Buzz Is All About|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Robert|last=Hillburn|date=May 5, 2001|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130012223/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/may/05/entertainment/ca-59543|url-status=live}} Davis thought "pop stations might feel she's too urban. Urban might feel she's too traditional", and as he felt Keys was a "compelling, hypnotic performer" best experienced in person, he had Keys perform her music to different crowds in different places to spread the word. "I created opportunities for those who saw her to spread the word", Davis recalled. "She is her own ambassador." Davis wanted to "let people discover her, and you can only do that with a few artists." Keys later performed on The Tonight Show in promotion for her upcoming debut. Davis wrote a letter to Oprah asking her to have Keys, Jill Scott, and India.Arie perform on her show to promote new women in music. Oprah booked Keys the day she heard her song "Fallin{{'"}}, her debut single. Keys performed the song on Oprah's show the week prior to the release of her debut album. "Fallin{{'"}}, released as a single in April, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed atop the chart for six consecutive weeks.{{cite magazine|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=December 4, 2001|title=Alicia Keys' U.S. Tour Bows Jan. 22|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/77549/alicia-keys-us-tour-bows-jan-22|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} Ebony magazine wrote that at the time "the music that was pumping on the airwaves was hip-hop and rap – not Alicia's unique blend of classical meets soul, meets hip-hop, meets, well, Alicia. What could have been a recipe for disaster ... turned into the opportunity of a lifetime." Keys as an artist since her early days, Davis said, "does her own thing. She has set out her own vision. That's the way it is for artists of her ilk ... They don't try to fit in. They try to establish their own paths ... [she has] sure natural instinct and sure vision" and "a respect for musical history."

{{Listen

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|description="Fallin'" is a gospel-influenced piano ballad.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/13316/68272|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201120519/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/13316/68272|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2013|title=The Next Queen of Soul|date=November 8, 2001|magazine=Rolling Stone|pages=1–6|access-date=November 2, 2010}} Often considered her signature song, it describes the "ins and outs" of being in a relationship.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/79462/hot-product|title=Hot Product|date=June 11, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090803131232/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 3, 2009 | url-status=live}}

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Songs in A Minor, which included material that Columbia Records had rejected, was released on June 5, 2001, to critical acclaim.{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/2002/2002-01-25-keys.htm|title=D.C. falls in love with Alicia Keys|work=USA Today|first=Steve|last=Jones|date=January 24, 2002|access-date=June 3, 2018|archive-date=October 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008104600/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/2002/2002-01-25-keys.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1661882/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-concert/|title=Alicia Keys Announces 10Th Anniversary Edition Of Songs In A Minor|work=MTV|date=April 13, 2011|access-date=June 3, 2018|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417011652/http://www.mtv.com/news/1661882/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-concert/|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/77747/alicia-keys-leads-ama-nominations-with-five|title=Alicia Keys Leads AMA Nominations With Five|magazine=Billboard|date=November 13, 2001|access-date=June 3, 2018|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114000/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/77747/alicia-keys-leads-ama-nominations-with-five|url-status=live}} Musically, it incorporated classical piano in an R&B, soul and jazz-fused album.{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2008188607_keys19.html |title=Six years after 'Minor' success, Alicia Keys is a major star |last=MacDonald |first=Patrick |date=September 19, 2008 |work=The Seattle Times |publisher=The Seattle Times Company |access-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010848/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2008188607_keys19.html |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }} Jam! described the music as "old-school urban sounds and attitude set against a backdrop of classical piano and sweet, warm vocals".{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Keys_Alicia/AlbumReviews/2001/07/08/771200.html|title=Album Review: Songs in A Minor|last=Stevenson|first=Jane|publisher=Jam!|access-date=April 23, 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205225902/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Keys_Alicia/AlbumReviews/2001/07/08/771200.html|archive-date=December 5, 2012}} USA Today wrote that Keys "taps into the blues, soul, jazz and even classical music to propel haunting melodies and hard-driving funk".{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/74002313.html?dids=74002313:74002313&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+12%2C+2001&author=Edna+Gundersen%3B+Brian+Mansfield%3B+Steve+Jones&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=Travis%2C+made+manifest+R%26B's+Alicia+Keys+hits+all+the+right+ones&pqatl=google|title=Travis, made manifest R&B's Alicia Keys hits all the right ones|last=Jones|first=Steve|date=May 12, 2001|work=USA Today|access-date=February 15, 2010|archive-date=January 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130063519/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/74002313.html?dids=74002313%3A74002313&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Jun+12%2C+2001&author=Edna+Gundersen%3B+Brian+Mansfield%3B+Steve+Jones&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=Travis%2C+made+manifest+R%26B%27s+Alicia+Keys+hits+all+the+right+ones&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}} Songs in A Minor would be "lauded for its mix of traditional soul values and city-girl coolness", wrote The Guardian. PopMatters wrote that "Keys's Songs in A Minor is a testament to her desire (and patience) to create a project that most reflects her sensibilities as a 20-year-old woman and as a musical, cultural, and racial hybrid."

File:Alicia Keys.jpg, Germany, 2002]]

Songs in A Minor debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number one, selling 236,000 in its first week at retail. In its second week, word of mouth and exposure from television performances was so significant that record stores requested another 450,000 copies. The album went on to sell over 6.2 million copies in the United States and 12 million internationally.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/79215/keys-debut-tops-the-billboard-200|title=Keys' Debut Tops The Billboard 200|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=July 5, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/39906/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-new-acts-of-the-2000s/ |title=Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts of the 2000s – Chart Watch |access-date=July 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013084002/http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/39906/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-new-acts-of-the-2000s/ |archive-date=October 13, 2011 |url-status=dead}} It was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=alicia%20keys&format=ALBUM&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |title=RIAA – Gold & Platinum |work=RIAA |access-date=March 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807093634/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=alicia%20keys&format=ALBUM&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-date=August 7, 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/112579-alicia-adds-tour-dates|title=Alicia adds tour dates|date=March 7, 2008|work=Metro|publisher=Associated Newspapers|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=April 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403164859/http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/112579-alicia-adds-tour-dates|url-status=live}} Songs in A Minor established Keys's popularity both inside and outside of the United States where she became the best-selling new artist and R&B artist of the year.{{cite web|last=Anitai|first=Tamar|date=November 12, 2007|title=MTV Artist of the Week: Alicia Keys|work=MTV News|url=http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2007/11/12/mtv-artist-of-the-week-alicia-keys/|access-date=November 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120042/http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2007/11/12/mtv-artist-of-the-week-alicia-keys/|archive-date=December 16, 2008|url-status=dead}}

The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", was released in February 2002 and peaked at seven on the Hot 100 and number three on Billboard{{'}}s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; becoming her second top ten single on both charts.{{cite magazine|last=Jeckell|first=Barry A.|author2=Mitchell, Gail|date=May 2, 2002|title='Totally Hits 2002' Packs in 20 Top Tracks|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/75918/totally-hits-2002-packs-in-20-top-tracks|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} Released in June, "How Come You Don't Call Me", Keys's cover of Prince's song, served as the album's third single, peaking at 59 on the Hot 100. The album's fourth single "Girlfriend" was released in the United Kingdom where it peaked at 82. The following year, the album was reissued as Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.{{Cite web |author=((atc128)) |date=2016-05-24 |title=Alicia Keys – Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor (2002) |url=https://m4life.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/alicia-keys-remixed-unplugged-in-a-minor-2002/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=m4life |language=en}}

Songs in A Minor received six Grammy Award nominations, including Record of the Year for "Fallin{{'"}}. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Keys won five awards: Song of the Year, Best Woman R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song for "Fallin{{'"}}, Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album.{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/alicia-keys|title=Alicia Keys|publisher=The Recording Academy|access-date=September 6, 2018|archive-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714185626/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/alicia-keys|url-status=live}} Keys tied Lauryn Hill's record for the most Grammy wins for a woman solo artist in a year.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/23/anglophenia.jsp?bc_id=899|title=Yes, America, Amy Winehouse Is a Star|date=February 11, 2008|access-date=February 13, 2008 |work=BBC America| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080215201949/http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/23/anglophenia.jsp?bc_id=899| archive-date= February 15, 2008 | url-status=live}} That year, Keys wrote and produced the song "Impossible" for Christina Aguilera's album Stripped (2002), also providing background vocals and piano.{{cite AV media notes |title=Stripped (Christina Aguilera)|year=2016 |type=CD liner notes}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8014854/christina-aguilera-stripped-anniversary-influence|title=How Christina Aguilera's 'Stripped' Album Is Influencing the Pop Scene 15 Years Later|magazine=Billboard|date=October 29, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2018|archive-date=October 31, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171031132913/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8014854/christina-aguilera-stripped-anniversary-influence|url-status=live}} During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/alicia-keys/biography|title=Alicia Keys: Biography|last=Serpick|first=Evan|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125130342/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/alicia-keys/biography|archive-date=January 25, 2011|url-status=dead}}

File:Alicia Keys at CES 2004.jpg in 2004]]

Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003.{{cite news|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040217005888/en/VERIZON-LADIES-TOUR-2004-Starring-BEYONCE-ALICIA|title=Verizon Ladies First Tour 2004 Starring Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott With Special Guest Tamia|date=February 17, 2004|work=businesswire|publisher=CBS Corporation|access-date=January 27, 2009|archive-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407054612/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040217005888/en/VERIZON-LADIES-TOUR-2004-Starring-BEYONCE-ALICIA|url-status=live}} It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA.{{cite magazine|last=Hope|first=Clover|date=February 3, 2006|title=Keys Pleasantly Surprised By Grammy Nominations|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59815/keys-pleasantly-surprised-by-grammy-nominations|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} It sold eight million copies worldwide,{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2819353.ece|title=The ascent of Alicia Keys|last=Batey|first=Angus|date=November 10, 2007|work=The Times|access-date=January 27, 2009|location=London|archive-date=May 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516200257/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2819353.ece|url-status=dead}} becoming the sixth-biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second-biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist.{{cite web|last=Ah-young|first=Chung|date=June 3, 2008|title=R&B Diva Alicia Keys in Town|work=The Korea Times|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/10/143_25231.html|access-date=November 14, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216115419/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/10/143_25231.html| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=live}} The album's lead single, "You Don't Know My Name", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks, her first Top 10 single in both charts since 2002's "A Woman's Worth". The album's second single, "If I Ain't Got You", was released in February 2004 and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for six weeks. The album's third single, "Diary", peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, being their third consecutive Top 10 single in both charts. The album's fourth and final single, "Karma", which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, first release to fail to achieve top ten status on both charts. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.{{cite news|last=Huguenin |first=Patrick |date=October 11, 2008 |title='Secret Life of Bees' star Alicia Keys' hive of activity |work=Daily News |location=New York |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/secret-life-bees-star-alicia-keys-hive-activity-article-1.304349 |access-date=December 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204050621/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2008/10/12/2008-10-12_secret_life_of_bees_star_alicia_keys_hiv.html |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/#/news/singles-chart-remains-in-outkast-s-command-2074215.story|title=Singles Chart Remains in OutKast's Command|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=January 22, 2004|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/#/news/usher-locks-up-singles-chart-again-1000550918.story|title=Usher Locks Up Singles Chart Again|last=Whitmir|first=Margo|date=June 24, 2004|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/66383/ciara-keeps-goodies-perched-on-top|title=Ciara Keeps 'Goodies' Perched on Top|last=Whitmir|first=Margo|date=September 23, 2004|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=alicia keys|chart=all}} |title=Karma – Alicia Keys |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802031044/http://www.billboard.com/ |archive-date=August 2, 2009 |url-status=dead }} Keys also collaborated with recording artist Usher on the song "My Boo" from his 2004 album, Confessions (Special Edition). The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for three weeks, became her first number-one single on the Hot 100 since 2001's "Fallin'". Keys won Best R&B Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.{{cite news|date=August 30, 2004|title=MTV Awards 2004: The winners|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3611884.stm|access-date=November 14, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120516/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3611884.stm| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/67645/outkast-jay-z-dominate-tame-mtv-awards.html |title=Outkast, Jay-Z Dominate Tame MTV Awards |last=Buhrmester |first=Jason |date=August 30, 2004 |work=Blender |access-date=February 3, 2009 |author-link=Jason Buhrmester |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010010/http://www.blender.com/guide/67645/outkast-jay-z-dominate-tame-mtv-awards.html |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }}

While attending the Cannes Film Festival in May 2004, it was announced that Keys intended to make her film debut in a biopic about biracial piano prodigy Philippa Schuyler.{{Cite web|title=Alicia Keys To Play Biracial Piano Prodigy In First Movie|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1487023/alicia-keys-to-play-biracial-piano-prodigy-in-first-movie/|last=Vineyard|first=Jennifer|date=May 14, 2004|website=MTV News|language=en|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730230827/http://www.mtv.com/news/1487023/alicia-keys-to-play-biracial-piano-prodigy-in-first-movie/|url-status=dead}} The film was to be co-produced by Halle Berry and Marc Platt.{{Cite web|title=Alicia Keys to make movie debut|url=http://www.today.com/popculture/alicia-keys-make-movie-debut-wbna4972664|date=May 13, 2004|website=TODAY|language=en|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914230336/https://www.today.com/popculture/alicia-keys-make-movie-debut-wbna4972664|url-status=live}} September 25, Alicia Keys headlined The Great Wall Concert, initially called the Wall of Hope concert, on the Northern Gate Juyongguan section of the Great Wall of China, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the wall's restoration project that was part of a series of benefit concerts.{{Cite web|last=Mitchell|first=Gail|date=July 17, 2004|title=Newsline|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/2004/2004-07-17-Billboard-Page-0007.pdf#search=%22wall%20of%20hope%22|access-date=|website=|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520154632/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/2004/2004-07-17-Billboard-Page-0007.pdf#search=%22wall%20of%20hope%22|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Montgomery|first=James|title=Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men Perform At Great Wall Of China|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1491421/alicia-keys-boyz-ii-men-perform-at-great-wall-of-china/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=MTV News|language=en|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210212313/http://www.mtv.com/news/1491421/alicia-keys-boyz-ii-men-perform-at-great-wall-of-china/|url-status=dead}}

Later that year, Keys released her book Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains", from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water."{{cite news|date=November 11, 2004|title=The Poetry of Alicia Keys|work=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-poetry-of-alicia-keys/|access-date=December 4, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207032618/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/11/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main655152.shtml| archive-date= December 7, 2008 | url-status=live}} She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question".{{cite news|date=November 2004 |title=In Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics |work=FindArticles |publisher=CBS Corporation |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_1_60/ai_n6260841/ |access-date=December 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216115425/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_1_60/ai_n6260841 |archive-date=December 16, 2008}} The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005.{{cite magazine|last=Lafranco|first=Robert|date=February 10, 2005|title=Money Makers |magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6959138/money_makers/4|access-date=December 4, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114355/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6959138/money_makers/4| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=dead}} The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma".{{cite news|last=Barkham|first=Patrick|date=August 30, 2005|title=Green Day takes top honours at MTV awards ceremony|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/30/media.arts|access-date=November 14, 2008|location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207075306/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/30/media.arts| archive-date= December 7, 2008 | url-status=live}} Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/14/raycharles|title=Late Ray Charles tops Grammy Awards|date=February 15, 2002|work=The Guardian|access-date=November 14, 2008|location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207075454/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/feb/14/raycharles| archive-date= December 7, 2008 | url-status=live}} That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.{{cite news|date=February 13, 2005|title=2005 Grammy Award Winners|work=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2005-grammy-award-winners/|access-date=November 9, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081016091146/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/in_depth_showbiz/main673822.shtml| archive-date= October 16, 2008 | url-status=live}}

Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.{{cite web|url=http://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/9306-keys-plugs-in-at-no-1/|title=Keys Plugs in at No. 1|last=Jenison|first=David|date=October 19, 2005|work=Yahoo! Music|access-date=December 7, 2006}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/61696/keys-blends-old-with-new-on-unplugged|title=Keys Blends Old With New On 'Unplugged'|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=August 22, 2005|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/61009/keys-unplugs-for-3rd-straight-no-1-disc|title=Keys 'Unplugs' For 3rd Straight No. 1 Disc|last=Whitmire|first=Margo|date=October 19, 2005|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59949/keys-craves-strange-as-hell-collaborations|title=Keys Craves 'Strange As Hell' Collaborations|last=Hope|first=Clover|date=January 24, 2006|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} The debut of Keys's Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one. The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=unplugged-r795026/charts-awards/billboard-single|pure_url=yes}}|title=Unplugged – Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles|work=Allmusic|access-date=November 2, 2010}} It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay for 11 weeks.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59916/chart-beat|title=Chart Beat|last=Bronson|first=Fred|date=January 26, 2006|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090803131232/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 3, 2009 | url-status=live}} The album's second and final single, "Every Little Bit Hurts", was released in January 2006, it failed to enter the U.S. charts.

Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.{{cite web|last=Weiss |first=David |date=October 1, 2005 |title=Alicia Keys Opens Recording Studio in New York |work=Mix |url=http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_oven_studios/ |access-date=December 7, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907022745/http://www.mixonline.com/mag/audio_oven_studios/ |archive-date=September 7, 2006 }} The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who have assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as creating music for other artists.{{cite web|last=LeRoy|first=Dan|date=December 7, 2005|title=Alicia Collaborator Krucial Goes Solo|publisher=rollingstone.com|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-collaborator-krucial-goes-solo-20051207|access-date=December 7, 2006|archive-date=February 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202212207/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-collaborator-krucial-goes-solo-20051207|url-status=live}}

File:Alicia Keys Sing.jpg

In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59578/image-awards-honor-foxx-keys-carey|title=Image Awards Honor Foxx, Keys, Carey|date=February 26, 2006|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090803131232/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 3, 2009 | url-status=live}} She also received the Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.{{cite web|title=Alicia Keys – A Legend Grows|work=ASCAP|url=https://www.ascap.com/playback/2005/summer/features/keys.html|access-date=December 9, 2008|archive-date=August 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809130539/http://www.ascap.com/playback/2005/summer/features/keys.html|url-status=dead}} In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of Nick Jr.’s CGI-animated children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".{{cite web|date=September 20, 2006|title=For The Record: Quick News On Alicia Keys, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Beyoncé & More|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1541325/20060920/keys_alicia.jhtml|access-date=December 6, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120228/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1541325/20060920/keys_alicia.jhtml| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=dead}} That same year, Keys nearly had a mental breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."{{cite web|last=Bream|first=Jon|date=April 25, 2008|title=Alicia Keys: From near-breakdown to breakthrough with 'Yes I Am'|work=PopMatters|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/alicia-keys-from-near-breakdown-to-breakthrough-with-yes-i-am|access-date=December 16, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090122212319/http://popmatters.com/pm/article/alicia-keys-from-near-breakdown-to-breakthrough-with-yes-i-am| archive-date= January 22, 2009 | url-status=live}}

In November 2006 Keys performed live with David Bowie at a fundraising event in New York. This would be Bowie's last public performance.{{cite news |title=David Bowie dead: Watch Starman's final live performance, alongside Alicia Keys |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/david-bowie-dead-live-performance-alicia-keys-changes-starman-video-a6805691.html |work=The Independent |access-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111123856/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/david-bowie-dead-live-performance-alicia-keys-changes-starman-video-a6805691.html |url-status=live }}

Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Ryan Reynolds called her "so natural" and said she would "blow everybody away." Smokin' Aces was a moderate hit at the box office, earning $57,103,895 worldwide during its theatrical run.{{cite web|date=January 28, 2007 |title=Smokin' Aces {{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|Tranforms}} Alicia Keys from Artist to Assassin |work=IGN |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/755/755255p1.html |access-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114409/http://movies.ign.com/articles/755/755255p1.html |archive-date=December 16, 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|last=Carroll|first=Larry|date=January 2, 2007|title=Alicia Keys Kills – Literally – In Film Debut, 'Smokin' Aces'|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1548928/story.jhtml|access-date=January 24, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090216164104/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1548928/story.jhtml| archive-date= February 16, 2009 | url-status=dead}} In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, in which she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. The Nanny Diaries had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run.{{cite web|last=Carroll|first=Larry|date=April 13, 2006|title=Alicia Keys Works Her Hollywood Mojo, Joins Johansson In 'Nanny Diaries'|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1528672/story.jhtml|access-date=December 10, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120056/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1528672/story.jhtml| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=dead}} She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.{{cite web|title=Cane – One Man is an Island|publisher=Yahoo!|url=https://tv.yahoo.com/episode/151729/castcrew|access-date=December 6, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114253/http://tv.yahoo.com/episode/151729/castcrew| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=live}}

Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth-consecutive number-one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist.{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Chris|date=November 21, 2007|title=Alicia Keys Lands Fourth Consecutive #1 on Billboard Chart With As I Am|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1574872/20071121/keys_alicia.jhtml|access-date=December 7, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081212124034/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1574872/20071121/keys_alicia.jhtml| archive-date= December 12, 2008 | url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=November 21, 2007|title=Alicia Keys 'As I Am' Bows Big at No. 1 |magazine=Billboard|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3i3567e69804be692d4caf2cff3b560fea|access-date=December 7, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114252/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3i3567e69804be692d4caf2cff3b560fea| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=live}} The week became the second-largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1047254/keys-storms-chart-with-mega-selling-as-i-am|title=Keys Storms Chart With Mega-Selling 'As I Am'|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=November 21, 2007|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} The album has sold three million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.{{cite web|last=Celizic|first=Mike|date=April 27, 2008|title=Alicia Keys kicks off TODAY concert series|work=msnbc.com|publisher=NBCUniversal|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24238729|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423014025/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24238729/|url-status=live|archive-date=April 23, 2008|access-date=December 7, 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Alicia%20Keys&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009Artist&perPage=25 |title=Gold and Platinum |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=January 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807095932/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Alicia%20Keys&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009Artist&perPage=25 |archive-date=August 7, 2013 }} It has sold five million copies worldwide.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/alicia-keys/36357 |title=Alicia Keys to find backing singer via Myspace |work=NME |date=May 2, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606020941/http://www.nme.com/news/alicia-keys/36357 |url-status=live }} Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two.{{cite news|last=Goodman|first=Dean|date=November 23, 2008|title=R&B star Chris Brown sweeps American Music Awards|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4AN0H620081124|access-date=December 7, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120032/http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4AN0H620081124| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=dead}} The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for ten consecutive weeks, became her first number-one single on the Hot 100 since 2004's "My Boo" and becoming Keys's third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1047965/chart-beat|title=Chart Beat|last=Bonson|first=Fred|date=October 18, 2007|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090803131232/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 3, 2009 | url-status=live}} The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for seven consecutive weeks. From October 27, 2007, when "No One" reached No. 1, through February 16, 2008, the last week "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was at No. 1, the Keys was on top of the chart for 17 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist on the Hot R&B/Hip/Hop Songs chart.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=as-i-am-r1213242/charts-awards/billboard-single|pure_url=yes}}|title=As I Am – Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles|work=Allmusic|access-date=November 2, 2010}} The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", which peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's fourth and final single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045719/alicia-keys-mulls-next-album-new-single|title=Alicia Mulls Next Album, New Single|last=Graff|first=Gary|date=April 28, 2008|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}}

File:Alicia Keys @ Tokyo Summer Sonic 2008 01 (cropped).jpg in Tokyo, Japan]]

"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards.{{cite web|date=February 10, 2008|title=Grammy 2008 Winners List|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1581272/20080210/story.jhtml|access-date=November 9, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216120238/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1581272/20080210/story.jhtml| archive-date= December 16, 2008 | url-status=dead}} Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1046566/grammy-performances-meld-classic-contemporary|title=Grammy Performances Meld Classic, Contemporary|last=Donahue|first=Ann|date=February 11, 2008|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802033618/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status=live}} Keys also won Best Female R&B Artist during the show.{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|date=June 25, 2008|title=Kanye West, UGK Win Big at BET Awards, But Ne-Yo, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne Performances Steal The Show|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1589931/20080625/fergie__4_.jhtml|access-date=June 24, 2008|archive-date=March 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303090608/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1589931/20080625/fergie__4_.jhtml|url-status=dead}} She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during The Hills on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh.{{cite news|date=March 24, 2008|title=Video: Alicia Keys and Dove(R) Give Women a Fresh Take on Life in Their Twenties|agency=Reuters|publisher=PR Newswire|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/video-alicia-keys-and-dover-give-women-a-fresh-take-on-life-in-their-twenties-57077347.html|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=April 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082657/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/video-alicia-keys-and-dover-give-women-a-fresh-take-on-life-in-their-twenties-57077347.html|url-status=live}} She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product, and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign.{{cite web|date=August 6, 2008 |title=OK! Interview: Alicia Keys |work=OK! |url=http://www.okmagazine.com/2008/08/ok-interview-alicia-keys-8283/ |access-date=July 17, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529095057/http://www.okmagazine.com/2008/08/ok-interview-alicia-keys-8283/ |archive-date=May 29, 2010 }}{{cite press release|date=June 1, 2007|title=Martin Scorsese Directs Andre Agassi, Sheryl Crow, Ellen DeGeneres, Alicia Keys and Shaun White in New American Express(R) Campaign for 'The Members Project'|agency=PR Newswire|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/martin-scorsese-directs-andre-agassi-sheryl-crow-ellen-degeneres-alicia-keys-and-shaun-white-in-new-american-expressr-campaign-for-the-members-project-57751207.html|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107115440/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/martin-scorsese-directs-andre-agassi-sheryl-crow-ellen-degeneres-alicia-keys-and-shaun-white-in-new-american-expressr-campaign-for-the-members-project-57751207.html|url-status=live}} Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/first-listen-another-way-to-die-james-bond-theme-jack-white-and-alicia-keys-935406.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923073314/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/first-listen-another-way-to-die-james-bond-theme-jack-white-and-alicia-keys-935406.html |archive-date=2008-09-23 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=First Listen: Another Way To Die, James Bond Theme, Jack White and Alicia Keys|last=Bray|first=Elisa|date=September 19, 2008|work=The Independent|access-date=January 17, 2009|location=London}} In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists.{{cite magazine|title=The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists (80–61)| magazine= Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-artists-80.shtml|access-date=November 8, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081024015411/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-artists-80.shtml| archive-date= October 24, 2008 | url-status= dead}} She also starred in the feature The Secret Life of Bees.{{cite news|last=Zeitchik|first=Steven|date=December 26, 2007| title=Dakota Fanning and Alicia Keys drawn to "Bees"|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2064532120071220|access-date= November 2, 2010|archive-date=June 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601215818/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2064532120071220|url-status=live}} Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.{{cite web|date=January 7, 2009| title= 40th NAACP Image Awards|work=NAACP|url=http://www.naacp.org/news/press/2009-01-07/40th.NIA.Nominees.Release.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091129203903/http://www.naacp.org//news/press/2009-01-07/40th.NIA.Nominees.Release.pdf|archive-date=November 29, 2009|url-status=dead|access-date= January 9, 2009}} She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".{{cite web|title=The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List |work=The Recording Academy |url= http://www2.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx |access-date=November 2, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101011133036/http://www2.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx |archive-date=October 11, 2010 |url-status=dead}}

In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/15/alicia-keys-backtracks-on_n_96867.html |title=Alicia Keys Backtracks on Gangsta Rap Conspiracy Claims |date=April 15, 2008 |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=February 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503093245/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/15/alicia-keys-backtracks-on_n_96867.html |archive-date=May 3, 2009}} Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.{{cite news|date=July 28, 2008|title=Keys 'sorry' for tobacco adverts |publisher= BBC| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7529354.stm|access-date=July 28, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080729002838/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7529354.stm| archive-date= July 29, 2008 | url-status=live}}

File:Alicia Keys in South Africa cropped.jpg for the FIFA World Cup Kick Off Concert, July 2010]]

In 2009, Keys approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for Whitney Houston's sixth studio album I Look to You. She subsequently co-wrote and produced the single "Million Dollar Bill" with record producer Swizz Beatz.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2009/07/24/preview-whitney-houston-i-look-to-you/|title=Preview: Whitney Houston – 'I Look to You'|work=Rap-Up|access-date=August 10, 2009|archive-date=September 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921112012/http://www.rap-up.com/2009/07/24/preview-whitney-houston-i-look-to-you/|url-status=live}} Months later, she was featured on rapper Jay-Z's song "Empire State of Mind" which was the lead single from his eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3. The song was a commercial and critical success, topping the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her fourth number-one song on that chart.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266665/jay-z-rules-hot-100-lady-antebellum-jumps-into-top-10|title=Jay-Z Rules Hot 100, Lady Antebellum Jumps into Top 10|last=Pietroluong|first=Silvio|date=November 19, 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 22, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091218093031/http://www.billboard.com/news| archive-date= December 18, 2009 | url-status=live}} Additionally, it won Grammy Awards for 'Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and 'Best Rap Song' the following year, among a total of five nominations.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/473096/grammys-2011-winners-list |title=Grammys 2011 Winners List |magazine=Billboard |date=February 13, 2011 |access-date=June 5, 2011 |archive-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030050921/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/473096/grammys-2011-winners-list |url-status=live }}

The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1268803/stargate-tricky-stewart-the-dream-ascaps-top-songwriters|title=Stargate, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream ASCAP's Top Songwriters|last=Mitchell|first=Gail|date=June 26, 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-date=April 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408093828/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1268803/stargate-tricky-stewart-the-dream-ascaps-top-songwriters|url-status=dead}} She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for "Looking for Paradise", which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, this was Keys's first number one on all three charts, which also made her the first African-American of non-Hispanic origin to reach number 1 on the Hot Latin Tracks.{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=alejandro sanz|chart=all}}|title=Looking for Paradise – Alejandro Sanz|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 5, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100404152134/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= April 4, 2010 | url-status=live}}

Keys released her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2009/10/25/alicia-keys-will-wait-for-freedom/|title=Alicia Keys Will Wait for 'Freedom'|work=Rap-Up|access-date=October 26, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091028040543/http://www.rap-up.com/2009/10/25/alicia-keys-will-wait-for-freedom/| archive-date= October 28, 2009 | url-status=live}} It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266324/susan-boyle-blocks-alicia-keys-from-no-1-on-billboard-200|title=Susan Boyle Blocks Alicia Keys From No. 1 on Billboard 200|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=December 23, 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 23, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091225202503/http://www.billboard.com//| archive-date= December 25, 2009 | url-status=live}} It was preceded by the release of its lead single "Doesn't Mean Anything" which peaked at sixty on the Hot 100, and fourteen on Billboard{{'}}s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Keys was ranked as the top R&B recording artist of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine and ranked at number five as artist of the decade, while "No One" was ranked at number six on the magazine's top songs of the decade.{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BH5HN20091218|title=Alicia Keys named top R&B artist of decade|last=George|first=Raphael|date=December 18, 2009|work=Reuters|access-date=February 11, 2010|archive-date=May 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528174655/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BH5HN20091218|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009#/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009|title=Best of the 2000s – Artists of the Decade|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 12, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100106023321/http://www.billboard.com/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009| archive-date= January 6, 2010 | url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009#/charts-decade-end/hot-100-songs?year=2009|title=Best of the 2000s – Hot 100 Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 12, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100106023321/http://www.billboard.com/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009| archive-date= January 6, 2010 | url-status=live}} In the United Kingdom, The Element of Freedom became Keys's first album to top the UK Albums Chart.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/959459/alicia-keys-scores-first-uk-no-1-album|title=Alicia Keys Scores First U.K. No. 1 Album|last=Sexton|first=Paul|date=February 8, 2010|magazine=Billboard|access-date=February 10, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100209050728/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= February 9, 2010 | url-status=live}} The album's second single, "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", was released in November and peaked at number twenty-seven on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album's third single "Put It in a Love Song" featured recording artist Beyoncé. In February 2010, Keys released the fourth single, "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" peaked at fifty-five on the Hot 100 and seventy-six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In May, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" featuring rapper Drake was released as the album's fifth single. While only peaking at twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100, it topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for twelve consecutive weeks. The song became the album's most successful single; Keys eighth number one on the chart; and Key's first number one song in five years. The album's sixth and final single, "Wait Til You See My Smile", was released in December 2010 in the United Kingdom.

File:Alicia Keys cropped.jpg red carpet, November 2009]]

In May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/10179870|title=Alicia Keys expecting first child|publisher=BBC|date=May 28, 2010|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=July 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715032539/https://www.bbc.com/news/10179870|url-status=live}} Keys and Beatz had a wedding celebration near the Mediterranean Sea on July 31, 2010. On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to their first son, in New York City. She recorded a song together with Eve called "Speechless", dedicated to her son.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/article_ad55ab7d-a69a-57dc-b3e4-d2b601878078.html|title=New mom Alicia Keys releases song about son featuring Eve|date=December 29, 2010|website=The Times-Picayune {{!}} The New Orleans Advocate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901141406/https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/article_ad55ab7d-a69a-57dc-b3e4-d2b601878078.html|archive-date=September 1, 2019|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

In June 2011, Songs in A Minor was re-released as deluxe and collector's editions in commemoration of its 10th anniversary.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661882/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-concert.jhtml |title=Alicia Keys Announces 10th Anniversary Edition of Songs in a Minor |first=James |last=Dinh |date=April 13, 2011 |publisher=MTV News |access-date=July 10, 2011 |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313225925/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661882/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-concert.jhtml |url-status=dead }} To support the release, Keys embarked on a four-city promotional tour, titled Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys, featuring only her piano. Keys is also set to co-produce the Broadway premiere of Stick Fly, which was opened{{Cite web|last=League|first=The Broadway|title=Stick Fly – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/stick-fly-490503|access-date=February 13, 2021|website=IBDB|language=en|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110234011/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/stick-fly-490503|url-status=live}} in December 2011.{{cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666508/alicia-keys-stick-fly-broadway.jhtml |title=Alicia Keys Heads To Broadway – Music, Celebrity, Artist News |publisher=MTV |date=June 28, 2011 |access-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-date=October 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005234443/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666508/alicia-keys-stick-fly-broadway.jhtml |url-status=dead }} At the end of June, a wax figure of Keys was unveiled at Madame Tussauds New York.{{cite web|url=http://theboombox.com/alicia-keys-debuts-wax-figure-at-madam-tussauds-in-nyc/|title=Alicia Keys Debuts Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds in NYC|work=The Boombox|date=June 28, 2011|access-date=October 22, 2018|archive-date=October 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232610/http://theboombox.com/alicia-keys-debuts-wax-figure-at-madam-tussauds-in-nyc/|url-status=live}} On September 26, 2011, was the premiere of Project 5, known as Five, a short film that marks the debut of Keys as a director. It is a documentary of five episodes that tell stories of five women who had breast cancer and how it affected their lives. The production also has co-direction of the actresses Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and film director Patty Jenkins.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/project-five-jennifer-aniston_n_842136.html |title=Project Five': Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore Directing Film For 'Lifetime |work=Huffington Post |date=March 29, 2011 |access-date=November 24, 2011 |first=Jordan |last=Zakarin |archive-date=December 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203135755/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/project-five-jennifer-aniston_n_842136.html |url-status=live }} On October 7, 2011, Sony Music's RCA Music Group announced that it would be absorbing Keys's longtime label, J Records, as well as Arista and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Keys (and various other artists previously signed to the three labels) released her following music material under RCA Records.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rca-s-new-executive-team-named-under-ceo-1005324782.story |title=RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update) |magazine=Billboard |date=August 23, 2011 |access-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326023401/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rca-s-new-executive-team-named-under-ceo-1005324782.story |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2268707 |title=Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more! |magazine=FMQB |access-date=November 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108044953/http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2268707 |archive-date=November 8, 2011 }}

Keys released her fifth studio album Girl on Fire, her first album through RCA Records on November 27, 2012.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/480288/alicia-keys-reveals-girl-on-fire-album-cover-release-date|title=Alicia Keys Reveals 'Girl on Fire' Album Cover & Release Date|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 26, 2012|archive-date=February 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201055023/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/480288/alicia-keys-reveals-girl-on-fire-album-cover-release-date|url-status=live}} Keys has stated that she wants the album to "liberate" and "empower" fans.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690980/alicia-keys-new-album.jhtml |title=Alicia Keys Hopes 'Liberating' New Album Empowers Fans – Music, Celebrity, Artist News |publisher=MTV.com |date=August 1, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112152620/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690980/alicia-keys-new-album.jhtml |url-status=dead }} The album's title track was released on September 4 as its lead single and peak number eleven on Billboard hot 100, the single was Keys's first top twenty own single on the chart since 2007 single "Like You'll Never See Me Again", she performed the song for the first time at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6.{{cite web |url=http://www.rap-up.com/2012/08/23/alicia-keys-reveals-girl-on-fire-cover-release-date/ |title=Alicia Keys Reveals 'Girl on Fire' Cover, Release Date |publisher=Rap-Up.com |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=December 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215064833/http://www.rap-up.com/2012/08/23/alicia-keys-reveals-girl-on-fire-cover-release-date/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Garibaldi |first=Christina |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690894/2012-video-music-awards-alicia-keys-performance.jhtml |title=Alicia Keys To Perform 'Crazy' New Song at Video Music Awards | MTV Video Music Awards |publisher=Mtv.com |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006093521/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690894/2012-video-music-awards-alicia-keys-performance.jhtml |url-status=dead }} "Girl on Fire" is an uptempo anthem.{{cite web|last=Edward Nero|first=Mark|title=New Music: Alicia Keys – 'Brand New Me'|url=http://randb.about.com/b/2012/11/11/new-music-alicia-keys-brand-new-me.htm|work=About|access-date=November 20, 2012|date=November 11, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119015548/http://randb.about.com/b/2012/11/11/new-music-alicia-keys-brand-new-me.htm|archive-date=November 19, 2012}} "Brand New Me" was released as the album's second single. A softer ballad, it was noted as significantly different from the album's lead single. Prior, two songs from Girl on Fire were released as promotion. The first was a song titled "New Day".{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=alicia keys|chart=R&B/Hip-Hop Songs}}|title=Chart History: Billboard Legacy|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 26, 2012}} The song was later revealed to be the solo version of 50 Cent's lead single featuring Dr. Dre and Keys.{{cite web |url=https://soundcloud.com/aliciakeys/new-day |title=New Day by AliciaKeys on SoundCloud – Create, record and share your sounds for free |publisher=SoundCloud |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106200621/http://soundcloud.com/aliciakeys/new-day |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/07/29/dr-dre-alicia-keys-join-50-cent-on-new-day/ |title=Dr. Dre And Alicia Keys Join 50 Cent On 'New Day' |publisher=Rapfix.mtv.com |date=July 29, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610205306/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/07/29/dr-dre-alicia-keys-join-50-cent-on-new-day/ |url-status=dead }} Another song, "Not Even the King" was uploaded to VEVO as a promotional song. Co-written by Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, its lyrics talk about a rich love that couldn't be afforded by "the king".{{cite web|last=Keys|first=Alicia|title=If you were watching #StandUp2Cancer you'll recognize this video for my new song #NotEvenTheKing. Love this!!!|url=https://www.twitter.com/aliciakeys/status/244459245385420801|publisher=Twitter|access-date=November 21, 2012|date=September 8, 2012|archive-date=November 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112214236/https://twitter.com/aliciakeys/status/244459245385420801|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=New Music: Alicia Keys – 'Not Even the King'|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2012/09/08/new-music-alicia-keys-not-even-the-king/|work=Rap-Up|access-date=November 21, 2012|date=September 8, 2012|archive-date=October 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022094830/http://www.rap-up.com/2012/09/08/new-music-alicia-keys-not-even-the-king/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Daniels|first=Collins|title=Alicia Keys debuts new song 'Not Even the King' – listen|url=http://www.digitalspy.com.au/music/news/a404948/alicia-keys-debuts-new-song-not-even-the-king-listen.html|work=Digital Spy|publisher=Hachette Filipacchi UK|access-date=November 21, 2012|date=September 10, 2012|archive-date=May 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521174813/http://www.digitalspy.com.au/music/news/a404948/alicia-keys-debuts-new-song-not-even-the-king-listen.html|url-status=live}} Overall sales of the album were considerably lower than Keys's previous ones.

In September 2012, Keys collaborated with Reebok for her own sneakers collection.{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a404086/alicia-keys-teams-up-with-reebok-for-sneakers-collection-pictures.html |title=Alicia Keys teams up with Reebok for sneakers collection |website=Digital Spy |date=September 5, 2012 |access-date=April 16, 2013 |archive-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610232255/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a404086/alicia-keys-teams-up-with-reebok-for-sneakers-collection-pictures.html |url-status=live }} In October 2012, Keys announced her partnership with Bento Box Entertainment's Bento Box Interactive to create an education mobile application titled "The Journals of Mama Mae and LeeLee" for iOS devices about the relationship between a young New York City girl and her wise grandmother. The app featured two of Keys's original songs, "Follow the Moon" and "Unlock Yourself".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-keys-launches-interactive-app-for-kids-20121025 |title=Alicia Keys Launches Interactive App for Kids |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617092848/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alicia-keys-launches-interactive-app-for-kids-20121025 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rap-up.com/2012/10/24/alicia-keys-launches-new-animated-app/ |title=Alicia Keys Launches New Animated App |work=Rap-Up.com |date=October 24, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=October 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031104826/http://www.rap-up.com/2012/10/24/alicia-keys-launches-new-animated-app/ |url-status=live }}

File:Alicia Keys NRJ Music Awards 2013 2.jpg 2013]]

In January 2013, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins and Keys officially unveiled the BlackBerry 10 mobile platform in New York City. Heins announced that Keys would be the company's new Global Creative Director.{{cite web |last=John |first=Christopher |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/01/30/meet-your-new-blackberry-global-creative-director-alicia-keys/ |title=Meet Your New BlackBerry Global Creative Director: Alicia Keys – Speakeasy – WSJ |publisher=Blogs.wsj.com |date=January 30, 2013 |access-date=April 16, 2013 |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501000156/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/01/30/meet-your-new-blackberry-global-creative-director-alicia-keys/ |url-status=live }} In January 2014, BlackBerry said it will part ways with Keys at the end of that month.{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/01/02/how-alicia-keys-sang-the-story-of-blackberry/|title=How Alicia Keys Sang the Story of BlackBerry|first=Tom|last=Gara|access-date=August 4, 2017|archive-date=December 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212140728/https://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/01/02/how-alicia-keys-sang-the-story-of-blackberry/|url-status=live}}

In June 2013, Keys's VH1 Storytellers special was released on CD and DVD.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2013/06/05/alicia-keys-to-release-vh1-storytellers-cd-and-dvd/|title=Alicia Keys to Release 'VH1 Storytellers' CD and DVD|access-date=May 31, 2014|archive-date=September 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905202601/http://www.rap-up.com/2013/06/05/alicia-keys-to-release-vh1-storytellers-cd-and-dvd/|url-status=live}} In December 2013, Keys was featured on "I Will Pray (Pregherò)" released as a single from Italian singer Giorgia's studio album Senza paura.{{cite web|url=http://velvetmusic.it/2013/11/29/giorgia-alicia-keys-i-will-pray-secondo-singolo-2013/|title=Giorgia e Alicia Keys, "I will pray" LYRIC VIDEO – Velvet Music Italia|first=Gianfranco|last=Valenti|date=November 29, 2013|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=May 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511093640/http://velvetmusic.it/2013/11/29/giorgia-alicia-keys-i-will-pray-secondo-singolo-2013/|url-status=dead}} In 2014, Keys collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the song "It's On Again" for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.{{cite web|url=http://www.indieshuffle.com/alicia-keys-it-s-on-again-ft-kendrick-lamar/|title=Alicia Keys – It's On Again ft. Kendrick Lamar|publisher=Indie Shuffle|access-date=April 7, 2014|archive-date=April 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406164456/http://www.indieshuffle.com/alicia-keys-it-s-on-again-ft-kendrick-lamar/|url-status=live}} In July 2014, it was reported that Keys had changed management from Red Light Management's Will Botwin to Ron Laffitte and Guy Oseary at Maverick.{{cite magazine|first=Shirley|last=Halperin|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/6165606/alicia-keys-signs-with-guy-oseary-and-ron-laffitte|title=Alicia Keys Signs with Guy Oseary and Ron Laffitte|location=New York|magazine=Billboard|date=July 18, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2014|archive-date=February 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228074357/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/6165606/alicia-keys-signs-with-guy-oseary-and-ron-laffitte|url-status=live}}

On September 8, 2014, Keys uploaded the music video to a new song called "We Are Here" to her Facebook page, accompanied by a lengthy status update describing her motivation and inspiration to write the song.{{cite web|last1=Keys|first1=Alicia|title=Untiteled Facebook entry from September 8, 2014|url=https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152277333567051&set=vb.6558867050&type=3&permPage=1|website=Alicia Keys Facebook site|publisher=Facebook|access-date=October 5, 2014|date=October 8, 2014|archive-date=September 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904064200/https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152277333567051&set=vb.6558867050&type=3&permPage=1|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://mashable.com/2014/09/08/alicia-keys-we-are-here-music-video/ |title=Alicia Keys Pleads for World Peace in Heartfelt 'We Are Here' Video |date=September 8, 2014 |publisher=Mashable |access-date=September 24, 2014 |archive-date=September 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922010804/http://mashable.com/2014/09/08/alicia-keys-we-are-here-music-video/ |url-status=live }} It was released digitally the following week. Keys was also working with Pharrell Williams on her sixth studio album, first set for a 2015 release.{{cite web |url=http://www.musictimes.com/articles/7052/20140625/alicia-keys-new-album-planned-early-2015-one-singer-working.htm |title=Alicia Keys New Album Planned for Early 2015: 'No One' Singer Working on Conceptual Effort |work=Music Times |date=June 25, 2014 |access-date=September 24, 2014 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006170041/http://www.musictimes.com/articles/7052/20140625/alicia-keys-new-album-planned-early-2015-one-singer-working.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://revolt.tv/video/alicia-keys-prepping-amazing-album-with-help-from-pharrell/66FF02C5-131B-4F42-82D1-4B95E9FC0E5D |title=REVOLT – Alicia Keys Prepping 'Amazing' Album With Help From Pharell |access-date=July 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803010330/http://revolt.tv/video/alicia-keys-prepping-amazing-album-with-help-from-pharrell/66FF02C5-131B-4F42-82D1-4B95E9FC0E5D |archive-date=August 3, 2014 |url-status=dead }} In an interview with Vibe, Keys described the sound of the album as "aggressive".{{cite web|author1=Kennedy, John|title=Interview: Alicia Keys Released Pregnant Nude Photo For Peace, Says New Album Is 'Aggressive'|url=http://www.vibe.com/photo-gallery/interview-alicia-keys-released-pregnant-nude-photo-peace-says-new-album-aggressive|publisher=Vibe|access-date=October 20, 2014|date=October 9, 2014|archive-date=October 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012122332/http://www.vibe.com/photo-gallery/interview-alicia-keys-released-pregnant-nude-photo-peace-says-new-album-aggressive|url-status=live}} One of the songs on the album is called "Killing Your Mother".Naughton, Julia (June 20, 2014). [https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/fragrance/alicia-keys-puts-her-mark-on-fragrance-world-7746864/ "Alicia Keys Fronts Givenchy's Newest Fragrance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206191721/https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/fragrance/alicia-keys-puts-her-mark-on-fragrance-world-7746864/ |date=February 6, 2020 }}. WWD. Retrieved February 6, 2020.{{cite web|author1=Thompson, Sean|title=Alicia Keys' New Album Slated For Early 2015|url=http://www.vibe.com/article/alicia-keys-new-album-2015|publisher=Vibe|access-date=October 20, 2014|date=June 25, 2014|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020181639/http://www.vibe.com/article/alicia-keys-new-album-2015|url-status=live}} In the same interview Keys revealed one of the songs on the album was titled "Killing Your Mother" with WWD, Keys discussed her first beauty campaign with Givenchy as the face of the new fragrance Dahlia Divin. In November 2014, Keys announced that she is releasing a series of children's books.{{cite web|author1=Hawkins, Ruu|title=Alicia Keys pens children's book|url=http://rollingout.com/books/weds-alicia-keys-pens-childrens-book/|date=November 12, 2014|work=Rolling Out|access-date=November 18, 2014|archive-date=November 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129025234/http://rollingout.com/books/weds-alicia-keys-pens-childrens-book/|url-status=live}} The first book released is entitled Blue Moon: From the Journals of MaMa Mae and LeeLee.{{cite web|author1=WENN.com|title=Alicia Keys Pens Children's Book|url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/58547843/alicia-keys-pens-children-s-book|website=Hollywood.com|date=November 11, 2014|access-date=November 18, 2014|archive-date=November 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130101059/http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/58547843/alicia-keys-pens-children-s-book|url-status=live}} Keys gave birth to her second child, son Genesis Ali Dean, on December 27, 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alicia-keys-gives-birth-welcomes-second-baby-boy-swizz-beatz-20142812 |title=Alicia Keys Gives Birth, Welcomes Second Baby Boy With Swizz Beatz: See His Unique Name! |first=Stephanie |last=Webber |work=Us Weekly |date=December 28, 2014 |access-date=November 6, 2016 |archive-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107011507/http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alicia-keys-gives-birth-welcomes-second-baby-boy-swizz-beatz-20142812 |url-status=live }} In 2015 Keys performed at the BET Awards 2015 with The Weeknd. Keys played the character Skye Summers in the second season of Empire. She first appeared in the episode "Sinned Against", which aired November 25, 2015.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/empire-alicia-keys-jamal-skye-kiss-rosie-o-donnell-season-2-episode-9-recap-1201648360/|title='Empire' Showrunner on Unexpected Guest Stars and That Shocking Kiss|magazine=Variety|access-date=December 10, 2017|archive-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219033944/http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/empire-alicia-keys-jamal-skye-kiss-rosie-o-donnell-season-2-episode-9-recap-1201648360/|url-status=live}}

File:Alicia Keys in 2017 (cropped).jpg

On March 25, 2016, Keys was announced as a new coach on Season 11 of The Voice.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/miley-cyrus-joins-voice-as-878473|title=Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys Join 'The Voice' as Coaches for Season 11|work=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Stanhope|first=Kate|date=March 25, 2016|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725084224/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/miley-cyrus-joins-voice-as-878473|url-status=live}} During The Voice finale, she came in third place with team member We' McDonald. In May 2016, Keys released "In Common" and performed the song in the opening ceremony of 2016 UEFA Champions League Final in San Siro, Milan.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7356835/alicia-keys-single-in-common|title=Alicia Keys Shares Latin-Infused New Single 'In Common': Listen|magazine=Billboard|last=Brandle|first=Lars|date=May 4, 2016|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819224914/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7356835/alicia-keys-single-in-common|url-status=live}} The song topped Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart on October 15.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7534106/alicia-keys-in-common-dance-club-songs|title=Alicia Keys Unlocks First Dance Club Songs No. 1 Since 2004 With 'In Common'|last=Murray|first=Gordon|date=October 6, 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 3, 2016|archive-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111074634/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7534106/alicia-keys-in-common-dance-club-songs|url-status=live}} On June 20, 2016, World Refugee Day, Keys released the short film Let Me In, which she executive produced in conjunction with her We Are Here organization. The film is a reimagining of the refugee crisis as taking place in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://revolt.tv/stories/2016/06/17/alicia-keys-shares-song-hallelujah-movie-trailer-e9423fc9db|title=Alicia Keys Shares New Song "Hallelujah" & "Let Me In" Movie Trailer|publisher=Revolt|date=June 17, 2016|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122214/https://revolt.tv/stories/2016/06/17/alicia-keys-shares-song-hallelujah-movie-trailer-e9423fc9db|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/2016/06/alicia-keys-let-me-in-short-film-world-refugee-day/|title=Let Me In: Alicia Keys Releases Powerful Short Film For World Refugee Day|work=Vibe|date=June 20, 2016|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122049/https://www.vibe.com/2016/06/alicia-keys-let-me-in-short-film-world-refugee-day/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/alicia-keys-let-me-in-refugee-video/|title=New Alicia Keys video imagines refugee crisis in U.S., Mexico|publisher=Global Poverty Project|date=June 20, 2016|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122433/https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/alicia-keys-let-me-in-refugee-video/|url-status=live}} In October 2016, she released a single from upcoming album Here called "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" featuring A$AP Rocky.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2941251/alicia-keys-asap-rocky-blended-family/ |title=Alicia Keys and A$AP Rocky release Blended Family |last=Lakshmin |first=Deepa |date=October 8, 2016 |website=MTV.com |access-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009152523/http://www.mtv.com/news/2941251/alicia-keys-asap-rocky-blended-family/ |url-status=dead }} On November 1, 2016, Keys unveiled her short film, "The Gospel", to accompany the LP.{{cite web|url=http://ca.complex.com/music/2016/11/alicia-keys-gosple-short-film-here-album|title=Watch Alicia Keys's New Short Film 'The Gospel'|last=Espinosa|first=Joshua|date=November 1, 2016|access-date=November 3, 2016|archive-date=November 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104080836/http://ca.complex.com/music/2016/11/alicia-keys-gosple-short-film-here-album|url-status=live}} Keys's concert special Here in Times Square was aired on BET on November 3, and Here was released on November 4, peaking at number 2 of the Billboard 200, becoming her seventh top 10 album.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7573590/bon-jovi-sixth-no-1-album-billboard-200-charts-this-house-is-not-for-sale|title=Bon Jovi Earns Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart|magazine=Billboard|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=November 13, 2016|access-date=November 14, 2016|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613021449/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7573590/bon-jovi-sixth-no-1-album-billboard-200-charts-this-house-is-not-for-sale|url-status=live}} It peaked at number-one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming her seventh chart topper.{{cite magazine| url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7580552/alicia-keys-here-top-rb-hip-hop-albums-chart| title=Alicia Keys Collects Seventh No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart| magazine=Billboard| access-date=January 21, 2016| archive-date=November 18, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118091543/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7580552/alicia-keys-here-top-rb-hip-hop-albums-chart| url-status=live}}

In January 2017, she released the track "That's What's Up" that re-imagines the spoken word segment on the Kanye West song "Low Lights".{{cite web|url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/alicia-keys-thats-whats-up-low-lights-kanye|title=Listen to Alicia Keys' New Kanye West-Sampling Song|date=January 26, 2017|website=Noisey|access-date=January 29, 2017|archive-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219180349/https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/alicia-keys-thats-whats-up-low-lights-kanye|url-status=live}} Keys returned for Season 12 of The Voice and won the competition with her artist Chris Blue, on May 23, 2017. In May 2017, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Keys announced that she was working on her seventh studio album, therefore she did not return for the thirteenth series of The Voice.{{cite web|url=http://ratedrnb.com/2017/05/alicia-keys-readies-seventh-album/|title=Alicia Keys Readies Seventh Album|website=ratedrnb.com|date=May 5, 2017|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921202555/http://ratedrnb.com/2017/05/alicia-keys-readies-seventh-album/|url-status=live}} In August 2017, she attended WE Day, an event of Canadian WE Charity organization.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/we-day-2017-selena-gomez-demi-lovato-alicia-keys/|title=Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Alicia Keys and More to Take the Stage for WE Day Special|last=Sands|first=Nicole|work=People|date=August 3, 2017|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017075326/https://people.com/celebrity/we-day-2017-selena-gomez-demi-lovato-alicia-keys/|url-status=live}} On September 17, 2017, Keys performed at Rock in Rio, in a powerful and acclaimed performance.{{Cite news|url=https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/musica/rock-in-rio/com-classicos-e-muito-carisma-alicia-agita-rock-in-rio,3859ae9c24374a7378f91449123e94cae9df5af3.html|title=Com clássicos e muito carisma, Alicia Keys agita Rock in Rio|work=Terra|access-date=September 18, 2017|language=pt-BR|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918065938/https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/musica/rock-in-rio/com-classicos-e-muito-carisma-alicia-agita-rock-in-rio,3859ae9c24374a7378f91449123e94cae9df5af3.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.vagalume.com.br/news/2017/09/18/alicia-keys-emociona-cidade-do-rock-com-sofisticacao-e-protesto.html|title=Alicia Keys emociona Cidade do Rock com sofisticação e protesto|website=Vagalume|access-date=September 18, 2017|language=pt|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921192642/https://www.vagalume.com.br/news/2017/09/18/alicia-keys-emociona-cidade-do-rock-com-sofisticacao-e-protesto.html|url-status=live}} On October 18, 2017, NBC announced that Keys would be returning to the series for the show's fourteenth season of The Voice alongside Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Kelly Clarkson. She placed in second place with her team member Britton Buchanan, with whom Keys released a cover version of Avicii's "Wake Me Up" as a single.{{cite web |title=Britton Buchanan & Alicia Keys – 'Wake Me Up (The Voice Performance)' American iTunes Chart Performance |url=http://www.itunescharts.net/us/artists/music/britton-buchanan-alicia-keys/songs/wake-me-up-the-voice-performance/ |website=iTunesCharts |access-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023182300/http://www.itunescharts.net/us/artists/music/britton-buchanan-alicia-keys/songs/wake-me-up-the-voice-performance/ |url-status=live }} In December 2017, Keys appeared on Eminem's album Revival on the song "Like Home".{{cite news|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/12/05/ed-sheeran-pink-alicia-keys-join-eminems-revival/108334476/|title=Ed Sheeran, Pink, Alicia Keys join Eminem's 'Revival'|work=The Detroit News|date=December 5, 2017|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714152236/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/12/05/ed-sheeran-pink-alicia-keys-join-eminems-revival/108334476/|url-status=live}} Keys also featured on the song "Morning Light" from Justin Timberlake's fifth studio album Man of the Woods (2018){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8097909/justin-timberlakes-man-of-the-woods-album-reviews|title=Justin Timberlake's 'Man of the Woods': What Critics Are Saying|date=February 2, 2018|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=April 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424064906/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8097909/justin-timberlakes-man-of-the-woods-album-reviews|url-status=live}} and on "Us", the third single from James Bay's second studio album Electric Light.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-voice-see-alicia-keys-surprise-james-bay-with-us-duet-during-finale-628144/|title='The Voice': See Alicia Keys Surprise James Bay With 'Us' Duet During Finale|first=Ryan|last=Reed|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 23, 2018|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=July 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716215850/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-voice-see-alicia-keys-surprise-james-bay-with-us-duet-during-finale-628144/|url-status=live}}

On December 6, 2018, Keys spoke at the 13th Annual Billboard Women in Music event spotlighting her new non-profit named "She Is the Music".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/women-in-music/8489064/women-in-music-2018-alicia-keys-she-is-the-music|title=Women in Music 2018: Alicia Keys Speaks on Worldwide Initiative She Is the Music|date=December 6, 2018|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 5, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202102846/https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/women-in-music/8489064/women-in-music-2018-alicia-keys-she-is-the-music|url-status=live}} As part of her address, Keys spoke briefly of the organization's efforts in creating an inclusive database of women in music and a partnership with Billboard to mentor young women interested in the music industry.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/women-in-music/8489064/women-in-music-2018-alicia-keys-she-is-the-music|title=Women in Music 2018: Alicia Keys Speaks on Worldwide Initiative She Is the Music|first=David|last=Rishty|magazine=Billboard|date=December 6, 2018|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202102846/https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/women-in-music/8489064/women-in-music-2018-alicia-keys-she-is-the-music|url-status=live}} She created She is the Music upon learning that the number of women in popular music reached a six-year low in 2017, partnering with Jody Gerson, Sam Kirby and Ann Mincieli.{{Cite web|last=Aswad|first=Jem|date=June 14, 2018|title=Alicia Keys Announces Music Industry Initiative for Female Advancement|url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/alicia-keys-announces-she-is-the-song-a-music-industry-initiative-for-female-advancement-1202845709/|access-date=December 26, 2020|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201031108/https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/alicia-keys-announces-she-is-the-song-a-music-industry-initiative-for-female-advancement-1202845709/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Alicia Keys Shares the 'Huge Wake-Up Call' That Caused Her to Start She Is the Music Initiative|url=https://people.com/music/alicia-keys-shares-huge-wake-up-call-start-she-is-the-music-initative/|access-date=December 26, 2020|website=People|language=EN|archive-date=December 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210144539/https://people.com/music/alicia-keys-shares-huge-wake-up-call-start-she-is-the-music-initative/|url-status=live}}

File:Alicia Keys House of Icons 2019.jpg

On January 15, 2019, Alicia Keys was announced as the host of the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. When Keys hosted the event on February 10, 2019, it became the first time a woman hosted the show in 14 years.Flanagan, Hanna (January 27, 2020). [https://people.com/style/grammys-2020-alicia-keys-custom-hair-piece/ "All About the Custom 5-Ft. Long Crystal Hair Piece Alicia Keys Wore at the 2020 Grammy Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128184349/https://people.com/style/grammys-2020-alicia-keys-custom-hair-piece/ |date=January 28, 2020 }}. People. Retrieved January 28, 2020.[https://www.etonline.com/2019-grammys-watch-pre-post-show-live-stream-red-carpets-61st-annual-grammy-awards-today-2019-02-10-live-updates "Grammys 2019: All of the Best Performances, Biggest Winners and Most Memorable Moments"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128100818/https://www.etonline.com/2019-grammys-watch-pre-post-show-live-stream-red-carpets-61st-annual-grammy-awards-today-2019-02-10-live-updates |date=January 28, 2020 }}. Entertainment Tonight. February 10, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.Malicse, Kristine (February 10, 2019). [https://www.dailynews.com/2019/02/10/grammys-2019-7-best-moments-of-the-show-told-in-gifs/ "Grammys 2019: 7 best moments of the show told in GIFs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129185905/https://www.dailynews.com/2019/02/10/grammys-2019-7-best-moments-of-the-show-told-in-gifs/ |date=January 29, 2020 }}. Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2020. Keys performed at Pride Live's Stonewall Day Concert on June 28, 2019.Real, Evan (June 28, 2019). [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pride-live-stonewall-day-concert-lady-gaga-alicia-keys-celebrate-lgbtq-progress-1221847 "Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys and More Stars Celebrate LGBTQ Progress at Pride Live's Stonewall Day Concert"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009185544/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pride-live-stonewall-day-concert-lady-gaga-alicia-keys-celebrate-lgbtq-progress-1221847 |date=October 9, 2019 }}. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2020. Later Keys was announced as the buyer of the "Razor House" in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California.Flemming, Jack (September 6, 2019). [https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/story/2019-09-06/alicia-keys-buys-la-jollas-striking-razor-house "Alicia Keys emerges as buyer of La Jolla's striking Razor House"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130022830/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/story/2019-09-06/alicia-keys-buys-la-jollas-striking-razor-house |date=January 30, 2020 }}. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2020. In September 2019, Keys released a new single, "Show Me Love", with Miguel. The accompanying music video starred actors Michael B. Jordan and Zoe Saldana.{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Michelle |title=Alicia Keys and Miguel Share New Song "Show Me Love": Listen |url= https://pitchfork.com/news/alicia-keys-and-miguel-share-new-song-show-me-love-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |date=September 17, 2019 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date= September 24, 2019 |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924074730/https://pitchfork.com/news/alicia-keys-and-miguel-share-new-song-show-me-love-listen/ |url-status=live }} The song was released on September 24, 2019, as the first single from Keys's upcoming seventh studio album. The song was a commercial success on US Urban music charts and became Keys's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 since "Girl on Fire" in 2012; peaking at number 90 on November 22, 2019.[https://www.billboard.com/artist/alicia-keys/chart-history/hsi/ "Chart History: Alicia Keys (Hot 100), Show Me Love"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128185812/https://www.billboard.com/artist/alicia-keys/chart-history/hsi/ |date=November 28, 2021 }}. Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2020. This success extended her record as the artist with the most number one singles on the Adult R&B Songs chart; reigning for five consecutive weeks.[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-adult-r-and-b-airplay/2020-01-11 "Adult R&B Songs Chart"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130122054/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-adult-r-and-b-airplay/2020-01-11 |date=January 30, 2020 }}. Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2020. (Weeks December 14, 2019, to January 11, 2020). It was followed by the release of the single "Time Machine" in November 2019. The music video for "Time Machine" was released the same month and noted for its retro roller rink setting and vibes.Nattress, Katrina (November 21, 2019). [https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-11-21-alicia-keys-throws-a-retro-roller-rink-party-in-time-machine-video-watch/ "Alicia Keys Throws A Retro Roller Rink Party In 'Time Machine' Video: Watch"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126212918/https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-11-21-alicia-keys-throws-a-retro-roller-rink-party-in-time-machine-video-watch/ |date=January 26, 2020 }}. iHeartRadio. Retrieved January 26, 2020. In December 2019, Keys was awarded the American Express Impact Award for her efforts to foster female artist growth and provide them with new opportunities through the non-profit she co-founded the year before and developed in 2019 named She Is the Music.Aniftos, Rania (December 13, 2019). [https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/8546302/alicia-keys-impact-award-billboard-women-in-music-red-carpet-interview "Alicia Keys Discusses Receiving the Impact Award at Billboard's Women in Music & Possibly Collaborating With Billie Eilish"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215103656/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/8546302/alicia-keys-impact-award-billboard-women-in-music-red-carpet-interview |date=February 15, 2020 }}. Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2020. Keys received the award at the 14th Annual Women in Music Billboard event on December 12, 2019.

On January 26, 2020, Alicia Keys hosted the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for the second year in a row as announced on November 14, 2019.[https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-return-host-62nd-grammy-awards "Alicia Keys To Return As Host Of The 62nd Grammy Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120230904/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-return-host-62nd-grammy-awards |date=November 20, 2019 }}. Grammy.com. November 14, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020. In addition to hosting the event, Keys performed multiple times, including a tribute with Boyz II Men to basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash earlier that same day.Martoccio, Angie (January 26, 2020). [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammys-2020-alicia-keys-brittany-howard-underdog-943625/ "Alicia Keys Performs New Song 'Underdog' at 2020 Grammys"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407030755/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammys-2020-alicia-keys-brittany-howard-underdog-943625/ |date=April 7, 2020 }}. Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2020. Keys also performed her new song "Underdog" with Brittany Howard backing the performance on acoustic guitar. Keys's seventh studio album Alicia was originally scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020,{{cite web |url=https://www.rap-up.com/2020/03/09/alicia-keys-moves-album-to-may/ |title=Alicia Keys Moves 'ALICIA' Album to May |work=Rap-Up.com |date=March 9, 2020 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200920053130/https://www.rap-up.com/2020/03/09/alicia-keys-moves-album-to-may/ |url-status=live }} but then got postponed to September 18, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web |url=https://www.vibe.com/2020/03/alicia-keys-postpones-alicia-album-coronavirus-concerns |title=Alicia Keys Postpones 'ALICIA' Album |work=Vibe |date=March 20, 2020 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200722171450/https://www.vibe.com/2020/03/alicia-keys-postpones-alicia-album-coronavirus-concerns |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-alicia-release-date-1058938/ |title=Alicia Keys Announces 'Alicia' Album Release Date |magazine= Rolling Stone |date=September 14, 2020 |access-date=September 14, 2020 |author=Shaffer, Claire |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200915134525/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-alicia-release-date-1058938/ |url-status=live }} It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 in its first week and became Keys's eighth top-10 record in the US and won the Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards. On October 29, 2020, Keys released "A Beautiful Noise" with Brandi Carlile to encourage Americans to get out and vote.{{Cite magazine|last=Blistein|first=Jon|date=October 30, 2020|title=Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile Release New Get-Out-the-Vote Duet 'A Beautiful Noise'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-brandi-carlile-new-song-a-beautiful-noise-1083831/|access-date=December 27, 2020| magazine= Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130185714/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-brandi-carlile-new-song-a-beautiful-noise-1083831/|url-status=live}} It was also included on the digital reissue of Keys's seventh studio album Alicia that was released on December 18, 2020.{{Cite web|date=December 18, 2020|title=Alicia Keys Reissues 'Alicia' Album With Two New Songs| url= https://ratedrnb.com/2020/12/alicia-keys-reissues-alicia-album-with-two-new-songs/|access-date=December 27, 2020|website=Rated R&B|language=en-US|archive-date=December 18, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218184910/https://ratedrnb.com/2020/12/alicia-keys-reissues-alicia-album-with-two-new-songs/|url-status=live}}

Keys released her memoir More Myself: A Journey on March 31, 2020. In September 2020, Keys launched her lifestyle brand Keys Soulcare.{{cite web |url=https://people.com/style/alicia-keys-to-launch-lifestyle-brand-with-elf-beauty/ |title=Alicia Keys Unveils Lifestyle Beauty Brand, Keys Soulcare, And Reveals the First Product Drop |last=Fray |first=Kaitlyn |date=2022-09-22 |website=People |publisher= |access-date=2023-03-11 |archive-date=December 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222145518/https://people.com/style/alicia-keys-to-launch-lifestyle-brand-with-elf-beauty/ |url-status=live }} Keys and Brandi performed "A Beautiful Noise" on Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy on CBS.{{Cite web|last=Willman|first=Chris|date=October 30, 2020|title=Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile Release Get-Out-the-Vote Duet, 'A Beautiful Noise': The Story Behind the Song|url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/alicia-keys-brandi-carlile-duet-beautiful-noise-vote-special-single-1234819508/|access-date=December 27, 2020|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201130210017/https://variety.com/2020/music/news/alicia-keys-brandi-carlile-duet-beautiful-noise-vote-special-single-1234819508/| url-status=live}} In May 2021, Keys was featured on DMX's album Exodus in the song Hold Me Down.Condon, Dan (June 11, 2021). [https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/dmx-bono-alicia-keys-new-music-hold-me-down-skyscrapers/13379838 "Bono and Alicia Keys join DMX on his posthumous album"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622183814/https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/dmx-bono-alicia-keys-new-music-hold-me-down-skyscrapers/13379838 |date=June 22, 2021 }}. ABC. Retrieved July 8, 2021. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Songs in A Minor, Keys performed a three-song medley of singles from the album at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.Grein, Paul (May 18, 2021). [https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9574157/alicia-keys-perform-2021-billboard-music-awards "Alicia Keys to Mark 20th Anniversary of Debut Album With Billboard Music Awards Performance"] {{Webarchive| url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210710200330/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9574157/alicia-keys-perform-2021-billboard-music-awards |date=July 10, 2021 }}. Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2021. In June 2021, a 20th-anniversary edition of Songs in A Minor was released.{{Cite web| last= Powell|first=Jon|date=2021-06-09|title=Alicia Keys celebrates 20th anniversary of 'Songs In A Minor' with special re-release|url=https://www.revolt.tv/new-music/2021/6/9/22525915/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-anniversary-edition|access-date=2021-10-27|website=REVOLT|language=en|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211027090334/https://www.revolt.tv/new-music/2021/6/9/22525915/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-anniversary-edition|url-status=live}}

On September 9, 2021, Keys released the single "Lala (Unlocked)" featuring US rapper and singer Swae Lee of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. The song was performed at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video was released on September 23, 2021.{{Cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=2021-09-23|title=Alicia Keys' 'LaLa' Video Is a Party and Snoop Dogg, Lena Waithe, and More Are Invited|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-lala-video-swae-lee-1231179/|access-date=2021-10-27|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211027090332/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alicia-keys-lala-video-swae-lee-1231179/|url-status=live}} The single preceded the release of Keys's eighth studio album and follow-up companion to 2020's Alicia, entitled Keys as final release under RCA Records. First previewed via Alicia's 2021 Noted YouTube docu-series,{{Cite web|title=Here's How To Watch Alicia Keys' Documentary: 'Noted: The Untold Stories'|url=https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-09-27-heres-how-to-watch-alicia-keys-documentary-noted-the-untold-stories/|access-date=2021-10-27| website= iHeart.com |language=en|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027090332/https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-09-27-heres-how-to-watch-alicia-keys-documentary-noted-the-untold-stories/|url-status=live}} the album was released on December 10, 2021, as a double album featuring both fully produced and broken down versions of new material.{{Citation|title=#KEYS. The Album. 2 Sides. 2 Versions. Original 🔒and Unlocked 🔓 Coming Soon.| date=October 26, 2021 | url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m1cFDSPhJM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/3m1cFDSPhJM| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status= live| language=en|access-date=2021-10-27}}{{cbignore}} On April 7, 2022, Keys released "City of Gods (Part II)" through her own label AKW Records. It was written and produced by Keys and is a sequel to the single "City of Gods" by Fivio Foreign, Kanye West and Keys.{{cite web |url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/albums/B09X2MM4Q7/ |title=City of Gods (Part II) by Alicia Keys |website=Amazon |date=April 7, 2022 |access-date= April 7, 2022 |archive-date=January 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114235240/https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/browserWarning?0=%2Fplayer%2Falbums%2FB09X2MM4Q7%2F&1=player%2Falbums%2FB09X2MM4Q7%2F&subView=music&useHorizonte=true |url-status=live }} On July 14, 2022, Keys unveiled that "Come for Me" featuring Khalid and Lucky Daye would be released as the next and final single, ahead of a re-release of the album titled Keys II during the following month. The music video was released the same day.{{Cite web |url=https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2022/07/14/alicia-keys-come-for-me-music-video/ |title=Alicia Keys Unveils the Spellbinding Music Video for "Come for Me" |date=July 14, 2022 |access-date=2022-08-07 |archive-date=2022-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714134159/https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2022/07/14/alicia-keys-come-for-me-music-video/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-07-14/180406/alicia-keys-connects-with-khalid-and-lucky-daye-in-come-for-me-unlocked-visual/ |title=Alicia Keys connects with Khalid and Lucky Daye in "Come for Me" visual |access-date=2022-08-07 |archive-date=2022-08-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220807192612/https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-07-14/180406/alicia-keys-connects-with-khalid-and-lucky-daye-in-come-for-me-unlocked-visual/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.deltaplexnews.com/alicia-keys-drops-come-for-me-music-video-announces-deluxe-album-keys-ii/ | title=Alicia Keys drops "Come for Me" music video, announces deluxe album, 'Keys II' | date=14 July 2022 | access-date=November 15, 2022 | archive-date=November 15, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115154030/https://www.deltaplexnews.com/alicia-keys-drops-come-for-me-music-video-announces-deluxe-album-keys-ii/ | url-status=live }} From June 9, 2022, the singer embarked on the global tour Alicia + Keys World Tour, extending it with eight dates in Latin America in May 2023.{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Valeska |date=2023-03-21 |title=Alicia Keys Expands Alicia + Keys World Tour Into Latin America |url=https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2023/03/alicia-keys-expands-alicia-keys-world-tour-into-latin-america/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Live Nation Entertainment |language=en-US |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925205148/https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2023/03/alicia-keys-expands-alicia-keys-world-tour-into-latin-america/ |url-status=live }}

File:Gareth_Owen_&_Alicia_Keys_at_the_first_preview_of_Hells_Kitchen_Broadway.jpg at the first preview of Keys's Hell's Kitchen on Broadway]]

After her contract with RCA Records ended, Keys released her ninth studio album and first Christmas album, Santa Baby, on November 4, 2022, exclusively on Apple Music. It was her first release as an independent artist under her own record label Alicia Keys Records. Also released as her label debut on Mom+Pop, it peaked at number 148 on the Billboard 200.{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Ebony |date=2022-10-24 |title=Alicia Keys announces first Christmas album "Santa Baby" |url=https://www.ajc.com/life/alicia-keys-announces-first-christmas-album-santa-baby/2YXSPAMW65HATLF2VMIADEWWUQ/ |website=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=2022-10-28 |archive-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101162554/https://www.ajc.com/life/alicia-keys-announces-first-christmas-album-santa-baby/2YXSPAMW65HATLF2VMIADEWWUQ/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/fi/album/santa-baby/1651348683?i=1651348943 |title=Santa Baby by Alicia Keys |website=Apple Music |accessdate=2022-10-28 |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028160629/https://music.apple.com/fi/album/santa-baby/1651348683?i=1651348943 |url-status=live }}

Between June and August 2023, Keys undertook the Keys to the Summer Tour in North America. Keys wrote, composed and produced with Kristoffer Diaz a musical entitled Hell's Kitchen, which premiered at The Public Theater's Newman Theater in New York City in November 2023 and transfer to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway in March 2024.{{Cite news |last=Mechling |first=Lauren |date=2023-11-20 |title=Hell's Kitchen review – Alicia Keys jukebox musical is a marvel|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/nov/19/hells-kitchen-alicia-keys-musical-review |access-date=2023-11-28}}{{Cite web |last=Huston |first=Caitlin |date=December 4, 2023 |title=Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen to Open on Broadway This Spring |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/alicia-keys-musical-hells-kitchen-broadway-1235711097/ |access-date=December 5, 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205023643/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/alicia-keys-musical-hells-kitchen-broadway-1235711097/ |url-status=live }} On November 27, 2023 "Lifeline" was published as the second original song from the 2023 film The Color Purple, written and performed by Keys .{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2023 |title=Warner Bros. Pictures, WaterTower Music and gamma. Announce December 15th Arrival of The Color Purple (Music from and Inspired by) |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127702935/en/Warner-Bros.-Pictures-WaterTower-Music-and-gamma.-Announce-December-15th-Arrival-of-THE-COLOR-PURPLE-MUSIC-FROM-AND-INSPIRED-BY |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=Business Wire |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208204227/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127702935/en/Warner-Bros.-Pictures-WaterTower-Music-and-gamma.-Announce-December-15th-Arrival-of-THE-COLOR-PURPLE-MUSIC-FROM-AND-INSPIRED-BY |url-status=live }}

In February 2024, Keys performed in the Super Bowl LVIII halftime entertainment as a guest of headliner Usher;{{cite web |url=https://people.com/super-bowl-2024-alicia-keys-outfit-halftime-show-8575802 |title=Alicia Keys Scorches in Head-to-Toe Red During Halftime Appearance with Usher at 2024 Super Bowl |author=Charna Flam |date=February 11, 2024 |work=People |accessdate=February 12, 2024 |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212173619/https://people.com/super-bowl-2024-alicia-keys-outfit-halftime-show-8575802 |url-status=live }} she performed "If I Ain't Got You", before joining Usher to sing their duet "My Boo".{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68270826|title=Usher joined by Alicia Keys and will.i.am at Super Bowl half-time show|website=BBC|last=McIntosh|first=Steven|date=12 February 2024|access-date=12 February 2024|archive-date=February 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212175059/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68270826|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/usher-alicia-keys-super-bowl-halftime-show-performance-3585753|title=Usher brings out Alicia Keys during throwback Super Bowl Halftime Show performance|website=NME|last=Daly|first=Rhian|date=12 February 2024|access-date=12 February 2024|archive-date=February 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212095239/https://www.nme.com/news/music/usher-alicia-keys-super-bowl-halftime-show-performance-3585753|url-status=live}}

In March 2024, Keys released "Kaleidoscope" as the lead single from the soundtrack album of Hell's Kitchen.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=March 22, 2024 |title=Alicia Keys Releases 'Kaleidoscope' Single From Broadway's 'Hell's Kitchen' |url=https://deadline.com/2024/03/alicia-keys-kaleidoscope-1235865224/ |access-date=March 25, 2024 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-date=March 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325092128/https://deadline.com/2024/03/alicia-keys-kaleidoscope-1235865224/ |url-status=live }} "Finally", Keys's collaboration with Swedish House Mafia, was released in August 2024.{{cite web |title=Finally - Single |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/finally-single/1764403352 |website=Apple Music |access-date=2024-08-30 |date=2024-08-29}}

{{Listen|filename=Alicia Keys - If I Ain't Go You sample.ogg|title="If I Ain't Got You" (2003)|description=Keys often incorporates piano into her songs|format=Ogg}}

File:Alicia Keys at the Summer Sonic Festival on piano crop.jpgs]]

From the beginning of her career, Keys has been noted for being a multifaceted talent as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, arranger, and producer.{{refn|{{cite web|title=Alicia Keys – Songs in a Minor|work=Yahoo! Music|first=John|last=Mulvey|date=August 16, 2001|access-date=April 17, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517094335/http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/l_reviews_a/21489.html|archive-date=May 17, 2008|url=http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/l_reviews_a/21489.html}}}} She achieved acclaim for her unique style and maturity as a classical musician and singer-songwriter. The Times wrote that Keys's debut album, Songs in A Minor, "spoke from a soul that seemed way beyond its years", and her follow up, The Diary of Alicia Keys, "confirmed her place in musical history". The Seattle Times assessed that with her third album, As I Am, Keys continued showing diversity in her music and her "depth as a songwriter, singer and pianist."{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010848/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2008188607_keys19.html|title=Six Years After "Minor" Success, Alicia Keys is a Major Star|work=The Seattle Times|first=Patrick|last=MacDonald|date=September 19, 2008|access-date=April 17, 2018|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2008188607_keys19.html|archive-date=May 2, 2009}} USA Today, in a review of Songs in A Minor, commended Keys's "musical, artistic and thematic maturity" starting out her career.{{cite web|title=Travis, made manifest R&B;'s Alicia Keys hits all the right ones|work=USA Today|first=Steve|last=Jones|date=June 12, 2001|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309060742/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/doc/408824874.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun%252012,%25202001&author=Edna%2520Gundersen;%2520Brian%2520Mansfield;%2520Steve%2520Jones&pub=USA%2520TODAY&edition=&startpage=&desc=Travis,%2520made%2520manifest%2520R&B%2527s%2520Alicia%2520Keys%2520hits%2520all%2520the%2520right%2520ones|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/408824874|url-status=live|archive-date=March 9, 2016|id={{ProQuest|408824874}} }} The Japan Times regarded Keys's production of Songs in A Minor as displaying "the kind of taste and restraint that is rare in current mainstream R&B".{{cite web|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525113824/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20011003a2.html|title=Alicia Keys: 'Songs in A Minor'|work=The Japan Times|first=Philip|last=Brasor|date=October 3, 2001|access-date=April 16, 2018|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fm20011003a2.html|archive-date=May 25, 2012}} Billboard wrote that her debut "introduced a different kind of pop singer. Not only was she mean on the ivories, but she showed true musicianship, writing and performing her material", and Keys continued developing her artistry with subsequent albums. Rolling Stone remarked that Keys broke into the music world as a singer "with hip-hop swagger, an old-school soul sound and older school (as in Chopin) piano chops", her appeal "bridging the generation gap".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/alicia-keys-fallin-20110617|title=100 Best Songs of the 2000s|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=June 17, 2011|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614144326/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/alicia-keys-fallin-20110617|url-status=live}} On MSN's list of "Contemporary R&B, hip hop and rap icons", it was stated that Keys achieved prominence by "drawing from her classical technique as a pianist, enhanced by her ease as a multi-instrumentalist ... and songwriting steeped in her formal studies."{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/gallery/black-music-month-contemporary-randb-hip-hop-and-rap-icons/ss-AAc4wIL#image=40|title=Black Music Month: Contemporary R&B, hip hop and rap icons|publisher=MSN|date=June 17, 2015|access-date=June 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060628/https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/gallery/black-music-month-contemporary-randb-hip-hop-and-rap-icons/ss-AAc4wIL|archive-date=June 22, 2018|url-status=live}} In March 2025, The Recording Academy named Keys as one of the essential R&B female artists in their list of 7 Women Essential To R&B, writing that by "majestic blend of classical piano and R&B" Keys brought an "impeccable level of musicianship to the 21st century".{{cite web |last1=Gabbara |first1=Princess |title=7 Women Essential To R&B: Aretha Franklin, SZA, Mary J. Blige & More |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/female-rnb-singers-essential-women-sza-aretha-franklin-mary-j-blige |website=Grammy.com |access-date=2025-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314165725/https://www.grammy.com/news/female-rnb-singers-essential-women-sza-aretha-franklin-mary-j-blige |archive-date=2025-03-14 |date=2025-03-13}}

Keys is also distinguished for being in control of her artistic output and image and having fought for creative independence since getting signed at 15 years old.{{refn|{{cite web|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/31495/1/alicia-keys-on-her-musical-emancipation|title=Alicia Keys on her musical emancipation|work=Dazed|first=Kemi|last=Alemoru|date=June 13, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-date=April 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418031752/http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/31495/1/alicia-keys-on-her-musical-emancipation|url-status=live}}}} PopMatters called Keys an artist who "clearly has a fine sense of her creative talents and has struggled to make sure they are represented in the best way." Rolling Stone wrote that, with her classical training, Keys "reintroduced the idea of a self-reliant (but still pop-friendly) R&B singer-songwriter – a type that stretches back to Stevie Wonder", crossing generational lines in the process.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/songs-in-a-minor-reissue-20110718|title=Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor (Reissue)|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Barry|last=Walters|date=July 18, 2011|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=December 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213182941/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/songs-in-a-minor-reissue-20110718|url-status=live}} Blender magazine expressed that Keys emerged as a "singer-songwriter-instrumentalist-producer with genuine urban swagger", and her largely self-produced second album showcased her growing "deftness and explorative verve".{{cite web|date=February 12, 2003|title=Alicia Keys: Album review |work=Blender|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/new/51866/diary-alicia-keys.html|access-date=May 18, 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624045733/http://www.blender.com/guide/new/51866/diary-alicia-keys.html |archive-date=June 24, 2009}} In 2016, NPR stated that Keys "stood apart from pop trends while forging a remarkable career" and "sustained her focus on artistry".{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQFbDCKiJwA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/XQFbDCKiJwA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Songwriting State Of Mind: The Stories Behind Alicia Keys' Hits|work=NPR|date=September 22, 2016|access-date=June 14, 2018}}{{cbignore}} MOBO described Keys as an accomplished pianist, singer, songwriter and producer who "has made a consistent and indelible contribution" to the music industry, her "unique approach" making classical music more accessible and "diffusing barriers between traditional and contemporary" while "keeping musical excellence at the core of her art". In 2003, The Guardian wrote that Keys's largely self-created work is an "indication of how much power she wields", and described her as "an uncompromising artist" who "bears little resemblance" to contemporary stars.

Keys has been praised for her expressive vocals and emotive delivery. In a review of Songs in A Minor, Jam! complimented her "crooning" and "warm" vocals as well as her belting "gospel-style".{{cite web|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205225902/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Keys_Alicia/AlbumReviews/2001/07/08/771200.html|title=Songs in A Minor|first=Jane|last=Stevenson|work=Jam!|date=July 8, 2001|access-date=April 17, 2018|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Keys_Alicia/AlbumReviews/2001/07/08/771200.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 5, 2012}} CMJ New Music Monthly commended her "deep soulful voice and heartfelt delivery" of her songs.{{cite magazine|magazine=CMJ New Music Monthly|title=Alicia Keys|date=April 30, 2001|page=21}} Q magazine compared her vocal talent to Mary J Blige's and acknowledged her "sincerity" as "another plus" to her musical instincts.{{cite magazine|magazine=Q|title=Review: Songs in A Minor|date=September 2001|page=110}} PopMatters noted her "deep purple vocals" and considered that Keys is "less concerned about technical proficiency" and more interested in "rendering musical moments as authentic and visceral as possible". The Guardian wrote that Keys "sings with devastating allure".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/nov/02/shopping.artsfeatures9|title=Interview: Alicia Keys|work=The Guardian|date=November 1, 2001|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109164315/http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2001/nov/02/shopping.artsfeatures9|url-status=live}} Reviewing a live performance, the Los Angeles Times wrote that Keys has a "commanding voice" and the "style and vision to convey the character and detail of the songs", and praised "the range and taste of her musical instincts". NPR described her voice as "yearning and ready to break, even as it remains in control", considering it one of the elements integral to her music. Rolling Stone wrote that her "dynamic" vocal tone extends "from a soft croon to a raspy, full-throated roar".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-alicia-keys-soulful-healing-new-song-holy-war-w447274|title=Hear Alicia Keys' Soulful, Healing New Song 'Holy War'|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=October 28, 2016|access-date=June 25, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161449/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-alicia-keys-soulful-healing-new-song-holy-war-w447274|url-status=live}} Keys has a three octave contralto vocal range.{{cite web|url=http://mobo.com/news-blogs/throwback-single-alicia-keys-fallin|title=Throwback Single: Alicia Keys 'Fallin'|work=MOBO|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614173024/http://mobo.com/news-blogs/throwback-single-alicia-keys-fallin|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=f04af0a4-3aa8-477c-b783-903549139ac3 |title=Alicia Keys: She sings, she acts, she smoulders |date=October 15, 2008 |work=Canwest News Service |access-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503015841/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=f04af0a4-3aa8-477c-b783-903549139ac3 |archive-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead }} In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Keys at number 185 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.{{cite magazine|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=1 January 2023|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/alicia-keys-23-1234642347/|access-date=7 February 2023|archive-date=February 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207202913/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/alicia-keys-23-1234642347/|url-status=live}}

Keys has cited influences including Whitney Houston, John Lennon, Sade, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Carole King, Prince, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Barbra Streisand, Radiohead,{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/alicia-keys-wants-to-collaborate-with-radiohead-together-wed-do-something-amazing-28379/|title=Alicia Keys wants to collaborate with Radiohead: 'Together we'd do something amazing!'|date=April 12, 2023|access-date=April 13, 2023|archive-date=April 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413120200/https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/alicia-keys-wants-to-collaborate-with-radiohead-together-wed-do-something-amazing-28379/|url-status=live}} and Stevie Wonder.{{refn|{{cite web|url=http://people.com/archive/keys-to-success-vol-56-no-9/ |title=Keys to Success |date=August 27, 2001 |work=People|access-date=February 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205053222/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0%2C%2C20135193%2C00.html|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/08/08/seven-who-influenced-alicia-keys-life/|title=Seven who influenced Alicia Keys' life|last=Fiore|first=Raymond|date=August 8, 2006|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020054602/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1186026,00.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3607474/CD-of-the-week-The-Diary-of-Alicia-Keys-by-Alicia-Keys.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3607474/CD-of-the-week-The-Diary-of-Alicia-Keys-by-Alicia-Keys.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=CD of the week: The Diary of Alicia Keys by Alicia Keys|last=Horan|first=Tom|date=November 29, 2003|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=July 2, 2009|location=London}}{{cbignore}}}} An accomplished classical pianist, Keys incorporates piano into a majority of her songs. Keys was described by the New York Daily News as "one of the most versatile musicians of her generation". Keys's music is influenced by vintage soul music rooted in gospel,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/arts/music/09pare.html|title=A Neo-Soul Star as She Is: Nurturing Her Inner Rebel|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=September 9, 2007|work=The New York Times|pages=1–2|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-date=June 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617215150/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/arts/music/09pare.html|url-status=live}} while she heavily incorporates classical piano with R&B, jazz, blues and hip hop into her music.{{refn|}} The Guardian noted that Keys is skilled at fusing the "ruff hip-hop rhythms she absorbed during her New York youth" into her "heartfelt, soulful R&B stylings". The Songwriters Hall of Fame stated that Keys broke onto the music scene with "her unmistakable blend of soul, hip-hop, jazz and classical music". She began experimenting with other genres, including pop and rock, in her third studio album, As I Am,{{cite web|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/new/54849/as-i-am.html |title=Alicia Keys – As I Am on Blender |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=November 13, 2007 |work=Blender |access-date=February 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502005547/http://www.blender.com/guide/new/54849/as-i-am.html |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1213242|title=As I Am – Overview|last=Brown|first=Marisa|work=Allmusic|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303031539/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1213242|url-status=live}} transitioning from neo soul to a 1980s and 1990s R&B sound with her fourth album, The Element of Freedom.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/arts/music/14choi.html|title=News CDs from Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Jimmy Buffett – Review|last=Ratliff|first=Ben|date=December 13, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 14, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130430180721/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/arts/music/14choi.html| archive-date=April 30, 2013| url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2009/12/alicia_keys_and_the_freedom_of_1.html|title=Alicia Keys and the Freedom of love|date=December 14, 2009|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=December 14, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117171134/http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2009/12/alicia_keys_and_the_freedom_of_1.html| archive-date= January 17, 2010 | url-status=live}} In 2005, The Independent described her musical style as consisting of "crawling blues coupled with a hip-hop backbeat, and soul melodies enhanced with her raw vocals".{{cite news|date=November 18, 2005|title=Alicia Keys: Soul princess|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alicia-keys-soul-princess-515710.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226173910/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alicia-keys-soul-princess-515710.html |archive-date=2009-02-26 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=December 25, 2008|location=London}} The New York Daily News stated that her incorporation of classical piano riffs contributed to her breakout success. Jet magazine stated she "thrives" by touching fans with "piano mastery, words and melodious voice".{{cite magazine|year=2004|title=Alicia Keys Wraps Up Busy Year With Awards, Hit CD, Tour And Poetry Book?|magazine=Jet|volume=106|issue=24|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F78DAAAAMBAJ&q=alicia+keys+voice&pg=PA58|access-date=December 25, 2008|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026072033/https://books.google.com/books?id=F78DAAAAMBAJ&q=alicia+keys+voice&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q=alicia%20keys%20voice&f=false|url-status=live}} In 2002, The New York Times wrote that on stage Keys "invariably starts with a little Beethoven" and "moves into rhythm-and-blues that's accessorized with hip-hop scratching, jazz scat-singing and glimmers of gospel." Keys's debut album, PopMatters wrote, reflects her sensibilities as young woman and as a "musical, cultural, and racial hybrid."{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/keysalicia-songs-2495953384.html|title=Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor|last=Neal|first=Mark Anthony|work=PopMatters|date=June 21, 2001|access-date=April 16, 2012|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406172143/https://www.popmatters.com/keysalicia-songs-2495953384.html|url-status=live}} NPR stated in 2016 that Keys's overall work consists of "diversity to style and form". Salon wrote that the diversity of Keys's music is "representative of her own border-breaking background and also emblematic of the variety responsible for the excitement and energy of American culture."

Keys's lyrical content has included themes of love, heartbreak, female empowerment, hope, her philosophy of life and struggles, inner city life experiences, and social and political commentary.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-alicia-keys-20160720-snap-story.html|title=Alicia Keys unveils 'crazy powerful' new album at the Troubadour: 'The best music I've made'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 22, 2016|access-date=June 25, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161333/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-alicia-keys-20160720-snap-story.html|url-status=live}} John Pareles of The New York Times noted that Keys presents herself as a musician first, and lyrically, her songs "plunge into the unsettled domain of female identity in the hip-hop era, determined to work their way through conflicting imperatives", while she plays multiple roles in her songs, expressing loyalty, jealousy, rejection, sadness, desire, fear, uncertainty, and tenacity. Pareles considered in 2007 that Keys did not "offer private details in her songs" and that her musical compositions make up for a lack of lyrical refinement. Gregory Stephen Tate of The Village Voice compared Keys's writing and production to 1970s music.{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-11-20/music/extensions-of-a-woman/ |title=Extensions of a Woman |last=Tate |first=Gregory Stephen |date=November 20, 2007 |work=The Village Voice |pages=1–2 |access-date=February 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212154921/http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-11-20/music/extensions-of-a-woman/ |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |url-status=dead }} NPR described a few foundational elements in Key's music: "heartache or infatuation", a "tenderness and emotion made heavy with wisdom", a "patiently unfurling melody", and her "yearning" voice. In 2016, referencing her sixth album, Here, Salon noted a "hypnotic tension" in Keys's lyrical expression and complimented her "sense of rhythmic timing" and socio-political consciousness.

File:Alicia Keys @ Tokyo Summer Sonic 2008 01.jpg in 2008]]

Keys has been referred to as the "Queen of R&B" by various media outlets.{{refn|{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/alicia-keys-and-the-indigenous-rights-movement-in-canada-honoured-with-top-amnesty-international-award/|title=Alicia Keys and the Indigenous rights movement in Canada honoured with top Amnesty International award|publisher=Amnesty International|date=April 13, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=April 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419035238/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/alicia-keys-and-the-indigenous-rights-movement-in-canada-honoured-with-top-amnesty-international-award/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Superwoman Keys earns title of R&B queen|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/music/article/Superwoman-Keys-earns-title-of-R-B-queen-1285870.php|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=September 21, 2008|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=August 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829042858/http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/music/article/Superwoman-Keys-earns-title-of-R-B-queen-1285870.php|url-status=live}}{{cite news|quote=On Friday, the queen of R&B, Alicia Keys, took over RodeoHouston.|last=Clark|first=Michael|title=Duff makes rodeo a pop event|page=5|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=March 7, 2005|issn=1074-7109}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/whatever-happened-to-grammys-best-new-artists/43/|title=Whatever happened to Grammy's Best New Artists?|work=CBS News|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=February 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208124522/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/whatever-happened-to-grammys-best-new-artists/43/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/101237-alicia-keys-new-single-28-thousand-days-is-so-inspiring-youll-want-to-take-on-the|title=Alicia Keys' New Single "28 Thousand Days' Is So Inspiring, You'll Want To Take On The World After Hearing These Lyrics — VIDEO|work=Bustle|date=July 31, 2015|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=July 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705150711/https://www.bustle.com/articles/101237-alicia-keys-new-single-28-thousand-days-is-so-inspiring-youll-want-to-take-on-the|url-status=live}}}} Time has listed her in its list of 100 most influential people twice. Journalist Christopher John Farley wrote: "Her musicianship raises her above her peers. She doesn't have to sample music's past like a DJ scratching his way through a record collection; she has the chops to examine it, take it apart and create something new and personal with what she has found" in 2005.{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972696_1973219,00.html |title=Alicia Keys by Christopher John Farley |magazine=Time |date=April 18, 2005 |access-date=July 8, 2016 |last1=Farley |first1=Christopher John |archive-date=August 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811152313/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972696_1973219,00.html |url-status=live }} In 2017, Kerry Washington also wrote "Songs in A Minor infused the landscape of hip-hop with a classical sensibility and unfolded the complexity of being young, gifted, female and black for a new generation. Alicia became an avatar for millions of people, always remaining true to herself" in 2017.{{cite magazine| url=https://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736184/alicia-keys/| title=Alicia Keys|magazine=Time| access-date=April 8, 2017| archive-date=April 20, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420210603/http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736184/alicia-keys/| url-status=live}} Rolling Stone named Songs in A Minor as one of the "100 Greatest Albums",{{cite magazine|title = 100 Best Albums of the 2000s|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-2000s-20110718/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-20110718|magazine = Rolling Stone|date = July 18, 2011|access-date = June 19, 2016|archive-date = June 18, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160618121944/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-2000s-20110718/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-20110718|url-status = live}} and its single "Fallin{{'"}} in their "100 greatest songs" of the 2000s decade.{{cite magazine|title = 100 Best Songs of the 2000s|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/alicia-keys-fallin-20110617|magazine = Rolling Stone|date = June 17, 2011|access-date = June 19, 2016|archive-date = June 14, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160614222401/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/alicia-keys-fallin-20110617|url-status = live}}

VH1 have listed Keys in their "100 Greatest Artists of All Time",{{cite web|url=http://blog.vh1.com/2010-08-25/who-will-come-out-on-top-of-vh1s-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/|title=Who Will Come Out on Top of VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time?|access-date=August 28, 2010|archive-date=July 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701153718/http://blog.vh1.com/2010-08-25/who-will-come-out-on-top-of-vh1s-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/|url-status=dead}} 14th on "100 Greatest Women",{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-02-13/100-greatest-women-in-music/88/|title=VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music|author=Graham, Mark|date=February 13, 2012|work=VH1|publisher=Viacom International|access-date=December 31, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017094147/http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-02-13/100-greatest-women-in-music/88/}} 33rd on "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" lists{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=66355 |title=Ep. 071 │ 50 Greatest Women of the Video Era │ The Greatest |work=VH1 |publisher=MTV Networks |access-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629061423/http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=66355 |archive-date=June 29, 2011}} and at number 10 on their 100 Sexiest Artist list.{{cite web|title = VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists [Complete List]|url = https://www.vh1.com/news/tjzpw6/vh1-100-sexiest-artists-complete-list|website = VH1|access-date = June 19, 2016|archive-date = January 20, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220120150412/http://www.vh1.com/news/1187/vh1-100-sexiest-artists-complete-list/|url-status = live}} Considered a music icon,{{refn|{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7534274/the-evolution-of-alicia-keys|title=The Evolution of Alicia Keys|magazine=Billboard|date=October 12, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-date=May 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519081940/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7534274/the-evolution-of-alicia-keys|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2017/03/11/the-gospel-of-alicia-keys-in-an-era-dominated-by-phony-vulgarity-she-stands-for-wisdom-authenticity-and-genuine-artistic-vision/|title=The gospel of Alicia Keys: In an era dominated by phony vulgarity, she stands for wisdom, authenticity and genuine artistic vision|work=Salon|date=March 11, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161355/https://www.salon.com/2017/03/11/the-gospel-of-alicia-keys-in-an-era-dominated-by-phony-vulgarity-she-stands-for-wisdom-authenticity-and-genuine-artistic-vision/|url-status=live}}{{cite press release|url=https://www.grammy.com/press-releases/international-music-icons-alicia-keys-and-swizz-beatz-be-honored-recording-academy%E2%84%A2|title=International Music Icons Alicia Keys And Swizz Beatz To Be Honored By Recording Academy™ Producers & Engineers Wing® On Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018|publisher=The Recording Academy|date=November 30, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511010230/https://www.grammy.com/press-releases/international-music-icons-alicia-keys-and-swizz-beatz-be-honored-recording-academy%E2%84%A2|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/art_market/swizz_beatz_alicia_keys-51096|title=How Basquiat Inspired Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys to Collect Art|work=Artspace|date=May 2, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161305/https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/art_market/swizz_beatz_alicia_keys-51096|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://lasentinel.net/los-angeles-musician-terrence-cunningham-makes-it-to-the-playoffs-on-nbcs-the-voice.html|title=Los Angeles Musician Terrence Cunningham Makes it to the Playoffs on NBC's The Voice|work=Los Angeles Sentinel|date=April 12, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625185239/https://lasentinel.net/los-angeles-musician-terrence-cunningham-makes-it-to-the-playoffs-on-nbcs-the-voice.html|url-status=live}}}} Keys was placed at number 27 on Billboard{{'}}s "35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time" list in 2015.{{cite magazine|title = The 35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time|url = https://www.billboard.com/photos/6737387/best-r-and-b-singers-of-all-time/10|magazine = Billboard|access-date = June 19, 2016|archive-date = June 27, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160627021710/http://www.billboard.com/photos/6737387/best-r-and-b-singers-of-all-time/10|url-status = live}} In January 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Keys at number 185 on their list of The 200 Best Singers of All Time.{{cite magazine |title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2023-02-10 |date=2023-01-01 |archive-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101151200/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/ |url-status=live }} In March 2025, Keys was ranked at number ten on Billboard's chart of the Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century.{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Trevor |last2=Asker |first2=Jim |last3=Bustlos |first3=Pamela |last4=Caulfield |first4=Keith |last5=Frankenberg |first5=Eric |last6=Rutherford |first6=Kevin |last7=Trust |first7=Gary |last8=Zellner |first8=Xander |title=Billboard’s Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century Chart, Nos. 100-1 |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-women-artists-21st-century-chart/no-10-alicia-keys/ |website=Billboard |access-date=2025-03-23 |date=2025-03-19}} The BET Honors honored Keys for her contributions to music with the Entertainment Award in 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.bet.com/photo-gallery/8as4nj/the-evolution-of-alicia-keys/epglrc|title=The Evolution of Alicia Keys|website=The BET Honors|access-date=August 8, 2016|archive-date=August 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821172325/http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-honors/2013/photos/performers/the-evolution-of-alicia-keys.html|url-status=live}} In 2009, ASCAP honored Keys with its Golden Note Award, presented "to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones."{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/rsawards/2009/golden_note.aspx|title=ASCAP Golden Note Award|publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=September 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234118/http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/rsawards/2009/golden_note.aspx|url-status=dead}}

In 2015, The Recording Academy honored Keys with the Recording Artists' Coalition Award for "her artistry, philanthropy and her passion for creators' rights as a founding member of the Academy's brand-new GRAMMY Creators Alliance".{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-be-honored-2015-grammys-hill-awards|title=Alicia Keys To Be Honored At 2015 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards|publisher=The Recording Academy|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805062344/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-be-honored-2015-grammys-hill-awards|url-status=live}} In 2018, she was honored by The Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing for her "outstanding artistic contributions" and accomplishments.{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-receive-2018-producers-engineers-wing-award|title=Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz To Receive 2018 Producers & Engineers Wing Award|publisher=The Recording Academy|date=November 30, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2018|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105133653/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-receive-2018-producers-engineers-wing-award|url-status=live}} In 2018, The National Music Publishers Association honored Keys with the Songwriter Icon award for her "credits as a music creator" and her "role as an inspirational figure to millions".{{cite press release|url=http://nmpa.org/press_release/nmpa-to-honor-alicia-keys-with-songwriter-icon-award-at-annual-meeting/|title=NMPA To Honor Alicia Keys With Songwriter Icon Award At Annual Meeting|publisher=National Music Publishers' Association|date=May 3, 2018|access-date=May 24, 2018|archive-date=May 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522112405/http://nmpa.org/press_release/nmpa-to-honor-alicia-keys-with-songwriter-icon-award-at-annual-meeting/|url-status=live}}

Rolling Stone wrote that Keys was "something new" in contemporary popular music, "bridging the generation gap" with "hip-hop swagger, an old-school soul sound and older school (as in Chopin) piano chops." Key's debut, Billboard stated, "introduced a different kind of pop singer. Not only was she mean on the ivories, but she showed true musicianship, writing and performing her material". Barry Walters of Rolling Stone wrote that Keys "reintroduced the idea of a self-reliant (but still pop-friendly) R&B singer-songwriter – a type that stretches back to Stevie Wonder", crossing generational lines in the process. On MSN's list of "Contemporary R&B, hip hop and rap icons", it was stated that Keys "set a high bar" from the outset of her career, "drawing from her classical technique as a pianist, enhanced by her ease as a multi-instrumentalist...and songwriting steeped in her formal studies." AllMusic wrote that her debut "kicked off a wave of ambitious new neo-soul songsters" and "fit neatly into the movement of ambitious yet classicist new female singer/songwriters that ranged from the worldbeat-inflected pop of Nelly Furtado to the jazzy Norah Jones, whose success may not have been possible if Keys hadn't laid the groundwork".{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-diary-of-alicia-keys-mw0000320100|title=The Diary of Alicia Keys|work=AllMusic|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|access-date=June 11, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613014143/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-diary-of-alicia-keys-mw0000320100|url-status=live}}

Keys transcends genres, The Recording Academy also stated, incorporating her "classical background into her music and including gospel, jazz, blues and vintage soul, rock, and pop influences", and she is "one of the most respected musicians of today." Jet said that in 2001, Keys "ushered in a marriage between classical and soul music." BBC's Babita Sharma stated in 2016 that Keys has had a significant impact "on the R&B-soul-jazz sound of the last two decades".{{cite interview|subject=Alicia Keys|interviewer=Babita Sharma |title=Alicia Keys: The 100 Women Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04omyqMvT2A |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/04omyqMvT2A| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|date=December 4, 2016|work=BBC|access-date=June 23, 2018}}{{cbignore}} MOBO described Keys as an accomplished pianist, singer, songwriter and producer who is "responsible for the emergence of vintage R&B imbibed with a post-modernist twist where genres divinely melt" and "has made a consistent and indelible contribution" to the music industry, her "unique approach" making classical music more accessible and "diffusing barriers between traditional and contemporary". ASCAP stated that Keys's "innovative and enduring contributions to rhythm & soul music have earned her an Extraordinary Place in American Popular Music."

Keys has been credited with inspiring and influencing many artists,{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/retro-r-b-why-pop-is-getting-jiggy-with-the-1990s-1.3435159|title=Retro R&B: Why pop is getting jiggy with the 1990s|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=March 26, 2018|access-date=June 28, 2018|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622032518/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/retro-r-b-why-pop-is-getting-jiggy-with-the-1990s-1.3435159|url-status=live}} including a younger generation of artists like Adele,{{cite magazine|title=Adele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage Fright|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-opens-up-about-her-inspirations-looks-and-stage-fright-20120210|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 28, 2011|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=July 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727071315/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-opens-up-about-her-inspirations-looks-and-stage-fright-20120210|url-status=dead}} Rihanna,{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427203025/http://www.sixshot.com/articles/5228/|url=http://www.sixshot.com/articles/5228/|title=Jay-Z's Latest Def Jam Artist 'Rihanna' Ready To Take Over!|website=Sixshot|date=June 8, 2005|access-date=June 26, 2018|archive-date=April 27, 2006}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131012131/http://kidzworld.com/article/5853-rihanna-interview|url=http://kidzworld.com/article/5853-rihanna-interview|archive-date=January 31, 2009|title=Rihanna Interview|website=KidsWorld|access-date=June 26, 2018}} Janelle Monáe,{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JanelleMonae/status/990634112548388864|first=Janelle|last=Monáe|title=thank YOU sis for being an inspiration @aliciakeys|date=April 29, 2018|via=Twitter|access-date=June 27, 2018}} H.E.R.,{{cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/2018/06/daniel-caesar-her-bet-awards-performance/|title=The "Best Part" Of H.E.R. And Daniel Caesar's 2018 BET Awards Performance Is All Of It|date=June 24, 2018|work=Vibe|access-date=June 27, 2018}} Jessie Ware,{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/2014/10/jessie-ware-interview|title=Interview: Jessie Ware Discusses Her New Album, "Tough Love," and Why She Wants to Work With Kanye West|work=Complex|date=October 13, 2014|access-date=June 28, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308154726/https://www.complex.com/music/2014/10/jessie-ware-interview|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/wt8ttd/jessie-ware-on-alicia-keys|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524002554/https://www.vh1.com/news/wt8ttd/jessie-ware-on-alicia-keys|url-status=live|archive-date=May 24, 2022|title=Jessie Ware Imitates Alicia Keys's Spoken Word Verse In "You Don't Know My Name"|work=VH1|date=April 29, 2013|access-date=June 28, 2018}} James Bay,{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JamesBayMusic/status/999206140784373760|title=So incredible and inspiring to work with @aliciakeys on this version of 'Us'...|first=James|last=Bay|publisher=Twitter|date=May 23, 2018|access-date=June 28, 2018}} Ella Mai,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8461270/ella-mai-chartbreaker-bood-up-interview|title=Chartbreaker: Ella Mai Can't Believe How Huge 'Boo'd Up' Has Become: 'I Have No Words'|magazine=Billboard|date=June 20, 2018|access-date=June 28, 2018}} Wyvern Lingo, Anuhea Jenkins,{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hawaiian-artist-anuhea-traces-island-reggae-influences/story?id=40389940|title=Hawaiian Artist Anuhea Traces Island Reggae Influences|work=ABC News|date=July 8, 2016|access-date=June 28, 2018}} Jorja Smith,{{cite web|url=https://www.playboy.com/read/fall-in-love-with-jorja-smith|title=Fall in Love With Jorja Smith, Music's Rising Seductress|work=Playboy|first=Ariela|last=Kozin|date=June 1, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/6/8/17441920/jorja-smith-lost-and-found-future-superfly-soundtrack-dej-loaf-liberated|title=New Music Fridays: Jorja Smith's Debut and Future's 'Superfly' Soundtrack|work=The Ringer|date=June 8, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018}} Lauren Jauregui,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/video/bilboard-women-in-music-2015-fifth-harmony-on-their-musical-influences-6805718|title=Bilboard Women in Music 2015: Fifth Harmony on Their Musical Influences|magazine=Billboard|date=December 12, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lauren-jauregui-shares-playlist-of-her-life|title=Lauren Jauregui Shares the Playlist of Her Life|work=Teen Vogue|date=October 26, 2018|access-date=December 14, 2018}} Normani, Alessia Cara,{{cite web|url=https://roli.com/stories/la-la-land-grammys|title=La La Land's Seaboard soundtrack sweeps up two Grammy Awards|publisher=ROLI|date=February 1, 2018|access-date=July 3, 2018|archive-date=July 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703162315/https://roli.com/stories/la-la-land-grammys|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/alessia-cara-know-it-all|title=Know-It-All Alessia Cara is aware of possible detractors|work=The Line of Best Fit|date=March 10, 2016|access-date=July 3, 2018}} Ruth-Anne Cunningham,{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/meet-ruthanne-the-woman-behind-hits-for-britney-spears-and-niall-horan-who-is-launching-her-own-singing-career__22388/|title=Meet RuthAnne, the woman behind hits for Britney Spears and Niall Horan who is launching her own singing career|publisher=Official Charts Company|date=March 23, 2018|access-date=July 2, 2018}} Lianne La Havas,{{cite web|url=https://www.thepitchkc.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/blog/20835152/lianne-la-havas-and-leon-bridges-packed-the-uptown-with-soul-last-night|title=Lianne La Havas and Leon Bridges packed the Uptown with soul last night|first=April|last=Fleming|work=The Pitch|date=September 28, 2016|access-date=September 26, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/mar/12/lianne-la-havas-review|title=Lianne La Havas – review|work=The Guardian|date=March 12, 2013|access-date=September 26, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a407489/lianne-la-havas-joins-alicia-keyss-mtv-crashes-manchester-gig/|title=Lianne La Havas joins Alicia Keys's MTV Crashes Manchester gig|work=Digital Spy|date=September 21, 2012|access-date=September 26, 2018}} Heather Russell,{{cite web|url=https://www.toronto.com/whatson-story/8879238-toronto-songstress-signed-by-simon-cowell-at-10-comes-home/|title=Toronto songstress signed by Simon Cowell at 10 comes home|website=Toronto.com|date=September 11, 2018|access-date=September 26, 2018|archive-date=September 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926130901/https://www.toronto.com/whatson-story/8879238-toronto-songstress-signed-by-simon-cowell-at-10-comes-home/|url-status=dead}} Grimes,{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15439-darkbloom-ep/|title=d'EonGrimes: Darkbloom EP|work=Pitchfork|date=May 19, 2011|access-date=September 26, 2018}} and Sophie Delila.{{cite news|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/sophie-delila-hooked|title=Sophie Delila – Hooked|work=musicOMH|date=June 7, 2010|access-date=September 26, 2018|last1=Soghomonian |first1=Talia }}

{{see also|List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Keys}}

Keys is one of the world's best-selling music artists and is also listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, selling over 17.8 million albums and 21.9 million digital songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6516951/tidal-backers-twitter-followers | title=Jay Z's Superstar Tidal Backers Have How Many Twitter Followers?| magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 21, 2016}} She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide,{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/film/the-secret-life-of-keys/2009/02/23/1235237496952.html|title=The secret life of Alicia Keys|last=Sams|first=Christine|date=February 23, 2009|work=The Age|pages=1–3|access-date=March 8, 2009|location=Melbourne| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090225193628/http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/film/the-secret-life-of-keys/2009/02/23/1235237496952.html| archive-date= February 25, 2009 | url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/121327 |title=R&B queen Alicia Keys to play Dodge Theatre |last=Orf |first=Chris Hansen |date=July 22, 2008 |work=East Valley Tribune |access-date=November 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014112443/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/121327 |archive-date=October 14, 2008 |url-status=dead}} while her singles "No One" and "Empire State of Mind" are also amongst the list of best-selling singles worldwide.{{cite web |title= top 10 digital single tracks 2008 |page= 7 |url= http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2009.pdf |publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industry |access-date= December 17, 2016 |archive-date= September 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924033145/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2009.pdf |url-status= dead }}{{cite magazine|title= Ask Billboard: Belinda's Back, JT Too, Mariah Carey's Album Sales & More |magazine= Billboard |date= March 31, 2013 |url= https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/1555095/ask-billboard-belindas-back-jt-too-mariah-careys-album-sales |access-date= April 25, 2014}} Billboard ranked Keys as the fifth-most successful artist of the 2000s decade, top R&B artist of the 2000s decade,{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-decade-rb-idUSTRE5BH5HN20091218|title=Alicia Keys named top R&B artist of decade|last=George|first=Raphael|date=December 18, 2009|website=reuters.com|access-date=January 23, 2017}} and placed her at number 10 in their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.{{cite magazine | url = https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/950681/the-top-50-rb-hip-hop-artists-of-the-past-25-years | title = Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years| magazine = Billboard|date = November 18, 2010 | access-date = January 6, 2012}} Keys was the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. She has attained 4 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from 9 top-ten singles.{{citation |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/alicia-keys/chart-history/hsi/ |title=Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 8, 2017}} She has also attained 8 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Airplay number-one singles,{{citation |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/alicia-keys/chart-history/bsi/ |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 8, 2017}}{{citation |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/alicia-keys/chart-history/rbm/|title=R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 8, 2017}} and set a Guinness World Record on the former in 2008, when she became the first artist to replace herself at number one with "No One" and "Like You'll Never See Me Again".{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-singer-to-replace-themselves-at-no1-on-us-rbhip-hop-songs-chart|title=First singer to replace themselves at No.1 on US R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart|website=Guinness World Records |date=May 2008 |access-date=December 2, 2016}} Keys is one of three female artists included on Billboard magazine's list of the "Top 20 Hot 100 Songwriters, 2000–2011" for writing songs that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/list/471171/top-20-hot-100-songwriters-2000-2011|title=Top 20 Hot 100 Songwriters, 2000–2011|magazine=Billboard|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=April 17, 2018}}

Keys has earned numerous awards including 16 Grammy Awards,{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/alicia-keys|title=Alicia Keys|publisher=The Recording Academy|access-date=January 2, 2019}} 17 NAACP Image Awards, 9 Billboard Music Awards and 7 BET Awards.{{cite web|title = Past grammy awards|url = http://www.grammy.com/artist/alicia-keys|website= Grammy.com| date=January 14, 2013 |access-date=June 19, 2016}} Keys received 5 Grammy Awards in 2002, becoming the second female artist to win as many in one night.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101267&page=1|title=Keys, U2, 'O Brother' Musicians Win Big at Grammys|work=ABC News|date=February 28, 2002|access-date=June 14, 2018}} In 2005, Keys was awarded the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award, which honors "gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs".{{cite web|url=https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/alicia_keys|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704083028/https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/alicia_keys|title=Alicia Keys|publisher=Songwriters Hall of Fame|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=July 4, 2018|url-status=live}} That year, ASCAP awarded Keys Songwriter of the Year at its Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/press/2009/0603_alicia_keys.aspx|title=Alicia Keys To Receive Golden Note Awardat 22Nd Annual Ascap Rhythm & Soul Music Awards|publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|date=June 3, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2018}} In 2007, she was a recipient of The Recording Academy Honors, which "celebrate outstanding individuals whose work embodies excellence and integrity and who have improved the environment for the creative community."{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/news/new-york-chapter-honors-set|title=New York Chapter Honors Set|publisher=The Recording Academy|date=December 2, 2014|access-date=July 4, 2018}} In 2014, Fuse ranked her as the thirteenth-most awarded musician of all time.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtango.com/series/one_hundred_most_award_winning_artists|title=100 Most Award-Winning Artists|publisher=Fuse|access-date=2023-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701110852/http://www.tvtango.com/series/one_hundred_most_award_winning_artists|archive-date=2014-07-01|url-status=live}} In 2020, Pollstar listed Keys among top female artists of the 21st century in the concert industry; according to the publication, she sold more than 1.7 million tickets, with an earning exceeding $111.5 million.{{cite web|author=Allen, Bob|date=2020-03-27|url=https://www.pollstar.com/article/ladies-might-box-office-triumph-by-top-female-earners-144117|title=Ladies Might: Box Office Triumph By Top Female Earners|publisher=Pollstar|access-date=2022-12-26}}

File:Alicia Keys at Education Rally.jpg in 2002]]

Keys performed Donny Hathaway's 1973 song "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes televised benefit concert following the September 11 attacks.{{cite web|last=Samuels|first=Allison|date=December 31, 2001|title=Alicia Keys|work=Newsweek|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2001/12/30/alicia-keys.html |access-date=November 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117194926/http://www.newsweek.com/2001/12/30/alicia-keys.html| archive-date=November 17, 2010 |url-status=live}} Keys protested at the New York City Hall against proposed budget cuts for students' education in June 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/russell-simmons-alicia-keys-and-tigga-during-a-mobilization-news-photo/2289468#russell-simmons-alicia-keys-and-tigga-during-a-mobilization-for-on-picture-id2289468|title=Russell Simmons, Alicia Keys, and Tigga during a 'Mobilization For Education' march on City Hall in New York City to protest Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki's proposed budget cuts for education.| website=Gettyimages|date=July 29, 2003 |access-date=April 8, 2017}} Keys has also donated to Frum tha Ground Up, a non-profit organization that aids children and teenagers with scholarships.{{cite news|date=June 24, 2005|title=Keys lends support to mentoring group|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-06-24-alicia-keys_x.htm|access-date=December 16, 2008}}{{cite news|date=January 22, 2007|title=Frum Tha Ground Up Story Page|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-01-21-alicia-keys_x.htm|access-date=December 16, 2008}}

Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine, orphan care, and social support to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.{{cite news|date=November 20, 2008|title=Green Family Foundation Sponsors Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive College Student Aids Summit|publisher=Green Family Foundation|url=http://www.greenff.org/index.php/news-events/2008/153-green-family-foundation-sponsors-alicia-keys-keep-a-child-alive-college-student-aids-summit|access-date=March 25, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nonprofitpro.com/article/keep-child-alive-raises-over-130-000-during-bet-awards-show-through-mgive-mobile-donation-program-409207/all/|title=Keep a Child Alive Raises Over $130,000 During BET Awards Show Through mGive- Mobile Donation Program|work=NonProfitPRO|date=July 1, 2009|access-date=March 22, 2018}} She discovered first-hand the extensive impact of the AIDS epidemic on a visit to South Africa, a trip that was the impetus to cofounding Keep a Child Alive. Keys had befriended AIDS activist Leigh Blake, who had reached out to her and helped raise her awareness to the global impact of HIV/AIDS. Keys and Leigh visited South African clinics with HIV-infected mothers and children, where Keys encountered the lack of resources and education on the disease present in the communities.{{Cite news|url=http://people.com/celebrity/alicia-keys-opens-up-about-fighting-hivaids-black-ball-fundraiser/|title=Alicia Keys Opens Up About Fighting HIV/AIDS, Black Ball Fundraiser|date=October 30, 2015|magazine=People|access-date=March 25, 2018}} Keys visited other African countries such as Uganda and Kenya to promote care for children affected by AIDS.{{cite web|date=April 10, 2006|title=For The Record: Quick News On Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Obie Trice, Notorious B.I.G., Jessica Simpson & More|work=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528266/20060410/coldplay.jhtml|access-date=December 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227235047/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528266/20060410/coldplay.jhtml| archive-date= December 27, 2008 | url-status=dead}}{{cite press release|date=April 16, 2006|title=Alicia Keys and 'Keep a Child Alive' Visit AHF's Ithembalabantu Clinic, Free AIDS Clinic in Durban, South Africa Run by AIDS Healthcare Foundation|agency=PR Newswire|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=168584|access-date=December 4, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011101846/https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=168584|archive-date=October 11, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-04-06-alicia-keys_x.htm|title=Alicia Keys in Kenya for HIV Project|date=April 6, 2006|work=USA Today|access-date=July 17, 2009}} Keys hosted and acted as the musical director of Keep a Child Alive's annual fundraising gala The Black Ball.{{cite web|url=http://keepachildalive.org/black-ball/|title=Black Ball|publisher=Keep a Child Alive|access-date=March 25, 2018|archive-date=March 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326021227/http://keepachildalive.org/black-ball/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://newstaging.success.com/article/keep-a-child-alive|title=Keep a Child Alive|work=Success|date=December 4, 2011|access-date=March 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326202548/http://newstaging.success.com/article/keep-a-child-alive|archive-date=March 26, 2018|url-status=dead}} In 2005, Keys and Bono released a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up" to raise funds for the organization.{{cite web|date=December 1, 2005 |title=Alicia Keys And Bono Team Up For Charity Track |work=Vibe Group|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2005/12/alicia_keys_bono_dont_give_up_africa/|access-date=December 16, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915122631/http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2005/12/alicia_keys_bono_dont_give_up_africa/ |archive-date=September 15, 2008 }}{{cite news|date=December 4, 2005|title=Bono and Keys duet on Africa song|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4497232.stm|access-date=December 16, 2008}} Her work in Africa was recorded in the documentary Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland which was released in April 2008.{{cite news|date=April 7, 2008|title=Alicia Keys' Documentary "Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland" Available...|agency=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/spiralfrog/child_alive/prweb838624.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408232538/http://www.prweb.com/releases/spiralfrog/child_alive/prweb838624.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2008|access-date=November 2, 2010}}

In 2005, Keys performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of the poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action.{{cite magazine|last=Wolinsky|first=David|date=June 27, 2005|title=Keys, Peas Join Live 8|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7425214/keys_peas_join_live_8|access-date=December 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114081815/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7425214/keys_peas_join_live_8| archive-date= January 14, 2009 | url-status=dead}} In the same year, Keys performed on ReAct Now: Music & Relief and Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.{{cite web|last=Moss|first=Corey|date=September 2, 2005|title=Kelly, Stones, Kanye Added To Massive Disaster-Relief Special |work=MTV News |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1508922/20050902/clarkson_kelly.jhtml |access-date=December 16, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114033919/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1508922/20050902/clarkson_kelly.jhtml |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news|date=December 6, 2005 |title=Celebrity-Studded Benefit Raises Funds for Hurricane Katrina Survivors; Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast |work=FindArticles |publisher=CBS Corporation |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Dec_6/ai_n15896288/ |access-date=February 15, 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503042002/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Dec_6/ai_n15896288/ |archive-date=May 3, 2009}}

File:Alicia Keys at Live Earth.jpg concert in July 2007]]

In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.{{cite web|last=Dolan |first=Jon |author2=Lynskey, Dorian |date=July 7, 2007 |title=Live Earth |work=Blender |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/live/54717/hot-in-herre-giants-stadium-east-rutherford-nj.html |access-date=December 16, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010045/http://www.blender.com/guide/live/54717/hot-in-herre-giants-stadium-east-rutherford-nj.html |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }}{{cite web|date=July 9, 2007 |title=Live Earth New York Rocks Giants Stadium |work=Spin |publisher=Spin Media |url=https://www.spin.com/2007/07/live-earth-new-york-rocks-giants-stadium/ |access-date=December 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007155101/http://spin.com/articles/live-earth-new-york-rocks-giants-stadium |archive-date=October 7, 2008}} She participated in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, along with other artists.{{cite web|title=Nobel Peace Prize Concert |work=Nobel Peace Prize |url=http://nobelpeaceprize.org/concert/history/index.php |access-date=December 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019090824/http://nobelpeaceprize.org/concert/history/index.php |archive-date=October 19, 2008 }} Keys performed the song "Prelude to a Kiss", retitled "Send Me an Angel", from her 2007 album As I Am for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1630327/20100122/keys_alicia.jhtml |title=Alicia Keys Performs 'Prelude to a Kiss' During 'Hope for Haiti Now' |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |date=January 22, 2010 |publisher=MTV News |access-date=February 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208143948/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1630327/20100122/keys_alicia.jhtml |archive-date=February 8, 2010 |url-status=dead}} In 2009, the BET Awards honored Keys with the Humanitarian Award.{{cite web|url=https://www.bet.com/photo-gallery/c1lp0w/alicia-keys-humanitarian-award/ckpdsd|title=Alicia Keys Humanitarian Award|publisher=BET|date=September 17, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2018}}

In June 2011, Keys spoke alongside Annie Lennox at the United Nations AIDS conference in New York. She participated in a panel titled "HIV Priorities for Positive Change: In Women's Words", in which she calls on supporting organizations that provide treatment and care for families affected by AIDS.{{Cite news|url=http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2011/06/alicia-keys-speaks-up-for-womens-empowerment-at-united-nations-aids-conference/|title=Alicia Keys Speaks Up For Womens' Empowerment at United Nations' AIDS Conference|newspaper=Clutch Magazine|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021001227/http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2011/06/alicia-keys-speaks-up-for-womens-empowerment-at-united-nations-aids-conference/|archive-date=October 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}

In September 2012, she was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book.{{cite web |url=http://www.halftheskymovement.org/blog/entry/30-songs-30-days-for-half-the-sky1.html |title=30 Songs / 30 Days for Half the Sky |publisher=Halftheskymovement.org |date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=February 28, 2019 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014103757/http://www.halftheskymovement.org/blog/entry/30-songs-30-days-for-half-the-sky1 |archive-date=October 14, 2012 }}

In March 2013, Keys teamed up with Greater Than AIDS to launch EMPOWERED, a new public information campaign to reach women in the United States about HIV/AIDS. Appearing in a public service announcement for EMPOWERED, Keys spoke with five women whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.{{cite web|url=http://singersroom.com/content/2013-03-11/Alicia-Keys-Reveals-EMPOWERED-Campaign-PSA-Video/ |title=News | Alicia Keys Reveals EMPOWERED Campaign, PSA Video |publisher=Singersroom |date=March 11, 2013 |access-date=April 16, 2013}} In December 2012, Keys performed alongside many other artists in 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy.{{cite web|url=http://www.121212concert.org/about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214071912/http://www.121212concert.org/about |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |title="12–12–12" The Concert for Sandy Relief |publisher=121212concert.org |access-date=December 14, 2012 }}

File:Alicia Keys Woman's March VOA FFB021D6-63E1-47D7-9683-D1E80409DCBE w610 r1 s.jpg

In July 2016, Keys participated in a video on taking action against systemic racism in the United States titled, "23 Ways You Could Be Killed if You are Black in America".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonce-rihanna-alicia-keys-how-to-get-killed-while-black-20160713 |title=Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia Keys: How to Get Killed While Black |last=Spanos |first=Brittany |date=July 13, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 28, 2019}} After the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in 2017, Keys protested during the Women's March on Washington and was one of the key speakers.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/7662588/watch-alicia-keys-janelle-monae-maxwell-perform-at-womens-march-on-washington |title=Watch Alicia Keys, Janelle Monae & Maxwell Perform at Women's March on Washington |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 22, 2017}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/music/2017/01/21/womens-march-alicia-keys-girl-on-fire/|title=Watch Alicia Keys Perform at Washington Women's March |date=January 21, 2017 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=April 22, 2017}} In 2017, Keys received and shared the award for the Ambassador of Conscience from Amnesty International alongside Canadian Indigenous rights activists.{{cite web|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3483921/alicia-keys-canada-indigenous-rights-amnesty-international-prize/ |title=Alicia Keys and Canadian indigenous rights activists share Amnesty International prize |publisher=Global News |date=May 27, 2017 |access-date=March 26, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/alicia-keys-and-the-indigenous-rights-movement-in-canada-honoured-with-top-amnesty-international-award/|title=Alicia Keys and the Indigenous rights movement in Canada honoured with top Amnesty International award |publisher=Amnesty International|date=April 13, 2017 |access-date=July 4, 2018}} In 2018, Keys was honored at Variety{{'s}} Power of Women luncheon for her work with Keep a Child Alive.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/alicia-keys-power-of-women-1202751948/|title=Alicia Keys Calls Out Grammy President, 'The Crown' Pay Gap at Variety's Power of Women Luncheon|magazine=Variety|date=April 13, 2018|access-date=July 5, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/04/13/alicia-keys-calls-out-netflix-crown-pay-gap-queens-gonna-get-their-paper/515689002/|title=Alicia Keys calls out Netflix for 'Crown' pay gap: 'The queens are gonna get their paper'|newspaper=USA Today|date=April 13, 2018|access-date=July 5, 2018}}

Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz are also avid art collectors. On July 26, 2019, Bloomberg News reported Keys and Beatz were avidly purchasing works by artist Tschabalala Self and that they decided to keep two of the pieces they bought and donate one to the Brooklyn Museum.Kazakina, Katya (July 26, 2019). [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-26/alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-snap-up-work-from-sought-after-artist "Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz Snap Up Work From In-Demand Artist"]. Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 31, 2020. Through the Dean Collection, they also collect artists such as Henry Taylor, Jordan Casteel, Kehinde Wiley, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Arthur Jafa, and Cy Gavin.{{Cite magazine|last=Durón|first=Maximilíano|date=December 11, 2019|title=Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean and Alicia Keys|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-collectors/top-200-profiles/swizz-beatz-kasseem-dean-alicia-keys/|access-date=August 10, 2021|magazine=ARTnews}} Keys and Dean are co-chairs of the Gordon Parks Foundation, which permanently preserves the work of Gordon Parks, the pioneering photographer, filmmaker, musician and activist.{{cite web|title=Kasseem Dean And Alicia Keys-Dean Are Changing History One Image At A Time |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/kasseem-dean-alicia-keys-dean/ |work=Cultured Magazine |first=Rebecca |last=Bengal |date=June 7, 2018 |access-date=February 28, 2019}} The couple acquired what is now the largest private holding of Gordon Parks's images, part of the Dean Collection, the couple's philanthropic organization and family collection of international contemporary art. In the summer of 2018, Keys and Dean were featured on the cover of the magazine Cultured where they delved into Gordon Parks's works and The Dean Collection.

File:Alicia Keys NRJ Music Awards 2013.jpg

For over a decade until 2008, Keys was in a low-profile romantic relationship with her long-time good friend and collaborator Kerry Brothers Jr..{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1521106/alicia-keys-nearly-spills-secrets-to-jane/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905203128/http://www.mtv.com/news/1521106/alicia-keys-nearly-spills-secrets-to-jane/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2014|title=Alicia Keys Nearly Spills Secrets To Jane|website=MTV News|date=January 18, 2006|access-date=January 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/photos/18249/throwback-couples-at-the-grammys/680114|title=Throwback: Couples at the Grammys|website=E!|access-date=January 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/galleries/comeback-love-how-your-favorite-celebs-bounced-back-big-splits#760956|title=Comeback Love: How Your Favorite Celebs Bounced Back From Big Splits|work=Essence|date=September 22, 2015|access-date=July 2, 2018}} Keys later dated hip hop artist-producer Swizz Beatz, whom she married on July 31, 2010.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/first-photo-alicia-keys-and-swizz-beatz-seal-marriage-with-a-kiss/|title=First Photo: Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz Seal Marriage with a Kiss|work=People|date=August 1, 2010|access-date=July 1, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.accessonline.com/articles/swizz-beatz-marrying-alicia-keys-was-a-blessing-89072/|title=Swizz Beatz: Marrying Alicia Keys Was A 'Blessing'|work=Access|date=August 22, 2010|access-date=July 2, 2018}} They have two sons together.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/953545/congratulations-alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-on-baby-boy|title=Congratulations Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz On Baby Boy!|magazine=Billboard|date=October 15, 2010|access-date=July 2, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alicia-keys-gives-birth-welcomes-second-baby-boy-swizz-beatz-20142812/|title=Alicia Keys Gives Birth, Welcomes Second Baby Boy With Swizz Beatz: See His Unique Name!|work=Us Weekly|date=December 28, 2014|access-date=July 2, 2018}}

{{Main|Alicia Keys discography|List of songs written by Alicia Keys}}

Studio albums

• Songs in A Minor (2001)
• The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)
• As I Am (2007)
• The Element of Freedom (2009)
• Girl on Fire (2012)
• Here (2016)
• Alicia (2020)
• Keys (2021)
• Santa Baby (2022)

{{Main|Alicia Keys videography#Filmography}}

Films starred

• Smokin' Aces (2006)
• The Nanny Diaries (2007)
• The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

• Hell's Kitchen (2023–2024)

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Headlining tours

• Songs in A Minor Tour (2002)
• Diary Tour (2005)
• As I Am Tour (2008)
• Freedom Tour (2010)
• Set the World on Fire Tour (2013)
• Alicia + Keys World Tour (2022–2023)
• Keys to the Summer Tour (2023)

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Co-headlining tours

• The Verizon Ladies First Tour (2004)

Concerts

• Piano & I: A One Night Only Event with Alicia Keys (2011)

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Books

• {{Cite book|last=Keys|first=Alicia|title=Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics|year=2004|publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons|isbn=0-425-20560-6|ref=none}}
• {{Cite book|last=Keys|first=Alicia|title=Unplugged|year=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=1-4234-0822-5|ref=none}}
• {{Cite book|last=Keys|first=Alicia|title=How Can I Keep from Singing?: Transforming the Lives of African Children and Families Affected by AIDS|year=2007|publisher=Umbrage|isbn=978-1-884167-60-7|ref=none}}
• {{Cite book|last1=Keys|first1=Alicia|last2=Walton|first2=Jessica|title=Blue Moon: From the Journals of MaMa Mae and LeeLee|publisher=IDW Publishing|year=2014|isbn=978-1-61377-789-3|ref=none}}
• {{Cite book|last1=Keys|first1=Alicia|title=More Myself: A Journey|publisher=Flatiron Books|year=2020|isbn=978-1-250-15329-6|ref=none}}
• {{Cite book|last1=Keys|first1=Alicia|last2=Weiner|first2=Andrew|title=Girl on Fire|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2022|isbn=978-0-06-302956-9|ref=none}}

Published articles

• Keys, Alicia (2008): AIDS Not Killing Hope in Africa. CNN.{{cite web |author1=Keys, Alicia |title=AIDS Not Killing Hope in Africa |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/06/09/keys.aids/index.html |website=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612011341/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/06/09/keys.aids/index.html |archive-date=2008-06-12 |date=2008-06-10 |url-status=live|accessdate=2023-03-16}}
• Keys, Alicia (2015): Don't Fail the Children in Africa. CNN.{{cite web |title=Don't Fail the Children in Africa |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/opinions/alicia-keys-hiv-aids/index.html |author1=Keys, Alicia|website=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110154114/https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/opinions/alicia-keys-hiv-aids/index.html |archive-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10|url-status=live|accessdate=2023-03-16}}
• Keys, Alicia (2016): Time to Uncover. Lenny Letter.{{cite web |author1=Keys, Alicia |title=Time to Uncover |url=https://www.lennyletter.com/style/a410/alicia-keys-time-to-uncover/ |website=Lenny Letter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602040041/https://www.lennyletter.com/style/a410/alicia-keys-time-to-uncover/ |archive-date=2016-06-02 |date=2016-05-31 |url-status=dead|accessdate=2023-03-16}}

Other contributions

• Keys, Alicia (2014): Introduction. in Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music by Angelique Kidjo and Rachel Wenrick. Harper Design. {{ISBN|978-0-06-207179-8}}{{cite book |title=Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music – January 7, 2014 |date= January 7, 2014|isbn=978-0-06-207179-8 |last1=Kidjo |first1=Angelique |last2=Wenrick |first2=Rachel |publisher= HarperCollins}}
• Keys, Alicia (2018): Foreword. in Blend: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family by Mashonda Tifrere. TarcherPerigee. {{ISBN|978-0-14-313257-8}}.{{cite book |title=Blend: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family |isbn=978-0-14-313257-8 |last1=Tifrere |first1=Mashonda |date=October 2, 2018 |publisher=Penguin }}

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• Honorific nicknames in popular music
• List of songs written by Alicia Keys

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Today's Superstars: Alicia Keys|first=Geoffrey M.|last=Horn|publisher=Gareth Stevens|year=2005|isbn=0-8368-4233-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/aliciakeys00horn|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|title=Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Beyoncé, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez & Mya: Divas of the New Millennium|first1=Stacy|last1=Deanne|first2=Kelly|last2=Kenyatta|first3=Natasha|last3=Lowery|editor-first=Kwynn|editor-last=Sanders|publisher=Amber Books Publishing|year=2005|isbn=0-9749779-6-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/aliciakeysashant0000stac|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|title=Biography Today Annual Cumulation 2007: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5rmMrYWkaQC|editor-first=Cherie D.|editor-last=Abbey|isbn=978-0-7808-0974-1|publisher=Omnigraphics|year=2007|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|title=Alicia Keys (Transcending Race in America: Biographies of Biracial Achievers)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKZBgAAQBAJ|first=Russell|last=Roberts|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4222-9099-6|ref=none}}

{{Sister project links|s=no|v=no|b=no|wikt=no|d=Q121507}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000005307}}
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{Playbill person}}

{{Alicia Keys|stat=expanded}}

{{Alicia Keys songs}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Alicia Keys

|list =

{{American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist}}

{{BET Award for Best Collaboration}}

{{BET Award for Best Female R&B Artist}}

{{BET Award for Best New Artist}}

{{Billboard Year-End number one albums 1990–2009}}

{{Grammy Award for Song of the Year 2000s}}

{{Grammy Award for Best New Artist}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Rap Song}}

{{Grammy Award for Best R&B Album}}

{{Grammy Award for Best R&B Song}}

{{MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B}}

{{MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist}}

{{MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song}}

}}

{{Swizz Beatz}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, Alicia}}

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