The Key(s) to Alicia’s heart

MANILA, Philippines - Alicia Keys’ rise to fame as one of the most popular artists of the 21st century is rooted in a rich trove of achievements that she has accumulated in the course of her 12 successful years in the music and entertainment industry.

An acclaimed R&B/soul singer-composer, pianist, musician, record producer and actress, the American superstar has been recognized for enriching pop music because of the transforming effects of her music that encompasses R&B, hip-hop, classical, soul and jazz influences and incorporates piano tunes.

In fact, the incorporation of classical piano riffs has largely contributed to her breakout success through her debut album, Songs In A Minor, as well as her debut single, Fallin’, now considered as her signature song.

Catch Alicia as she heats up the local concert and music scene with her greatest hits that cover a range of genres from R&B to hip-hop to classical to soul and jazz on Nov. 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

To be mounted by Ovation Productions, the one-night musical presentation from Blackberry will bring the R&B singer-songwriter to the country for the Manila leg of Set The World On Fire Tour, her ongoing global series of concerts in support of her latest album, Girl On Fire.

Also to be featured in the show is Thor Dulay, finalist in the Voice of the Philippines singing competition.

The gig is expected to stir a frenzy of excitement among music fanatics for the multi-Grammy winning singer’s second local appearance in five years following her debut concert in August 2008 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aside from Girl On Fire, other songs in Alicia’s catalogue of R&B hits that she will awe fans with include Fallin’, If I Ain’t Got You, No One, You Don’t Know My Name, Unbreakable, Diary, Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart, among others.

Considered as one of this generation’s most gifted and talented artists, Alicia has been known for writing her own songs and playing several instruments with technical skill, aside from being an original-voice singer at a time the musical landscape was flooded with pop bands.

Described by a magazine as “the first new pop artist of the new millennium who was capable of changing music,” Alicia is also often dubbed as the Princess of Soul for having a “strong, raw and impassioned voice.”

Alicia, born Alicia Augello-Cook 32 years ago in New York City, stormed into the international music scene in 2001 with her debut album, Songs In A Minor, which became a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide and was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album spawned two Top 10 singles: Her debut single, Fallin’ (No. 1 in the US charts and No. 3 in the UK charts) and A Woman’s Worth (No. 7).

Aside from giving Alicia the awards for Best-Selling New Artist and Best-Selling R&B Artist of 2001, Songs In A Minor won five Grammys the following year, making her the second female solo recording artist to bring home five Grammys in a single night.

Her 2003 follow-up album, The Diary Of Alicia Keys, debuted at No. 1 and  produced another slew of hit singles, including You Don’t Know My Name (No. 1 in 2004), If I Ain’t Got You (No. 4, 2004) and Diary (No. 8, 2004).

The recording — together with her duet with Usher on My Boo (No. 1, 2004) — yielded an additional four Grammys in 2005. Alicia also picked up the Best R&B Video at both the 2004 and 2005 MTV Video Music Awards for If I Ain’t Got You and Karma, respectively.

Her first live album, MTV Unplugged, debuted at No. 1 in the US with sales of more than one million copies. It was considered as the highest-selling MTV’s Unplugged series after Nirvana’s 1994 Unplugged version.

She scored another blockbuster hit with her 2007 third album, As I Am, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 200 and grossed five million copies worldwide.

Her fourth and final single from the same album titled Superwoman gave her the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Alicia’s appearance in 2008 in The Secret Life Of Bees, alongside Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah, earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the 40th NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards in 2009.

Alicia’s fourth studio album, The Element Of Freedom, was released in December 2009 with Doesn’t Mean Anything as the first single and landed at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 200.

 Her fifth studio album, Girl On Fire, hit the market on Nov. 27, 2012 via RCA Records. The recording, which was preceded by the Sept. 4 release of its title track as its lead single, peaked at No. 11 on Billboard Hot 100 and became her fifth chart-topping album in the US.

Alicia is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America’s best-selling artists in the US, with 15 million certified albums to her name. She has sold over 35 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide.

In 2010, she was ranked by Billboard magazine as the top R&B Recording Artist of the 2000s and listed at No. 5 as Artist of the Decade. The magazine also placed her at No. 10 on its list of the Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.

 VH 1 includes her in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

(Set The World On Fire is presented by Blackberry and co-presented by Fibr in cooperation with Energizer and Federal Land. It is supported by Air 21, 2nd Avenue, Diva Universal, Jack TV, Jack City and Mercedes Benz. The media partners include The Philippine STAR, Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, Inquirer.net, 96.3 Easy Rock, Monster Radio RX 93.7, 97.9 Home Radio, Mellow 94.7, RJ 100.3, MYX and OptimaSignsolutions. Tickets are priced at P13,200, P10,560, P8,976, P5,808, P4,752, P3,696 and P1,056 and are available at all SM Tickets outlets or online at www.smtickets.com.)