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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-mu28aliciafeb28,0,3885026.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines
In Miami, Alicia Keys adds to her growing (dare we say it?) legend.
Alicia Keys’ musical resume reads more like that of a 20-year recording industry veteran than a 24-year-old singer-songwriter with only two studio albums. She’s already won nine Grammy Awards, collaborated with many of the music legends she grew up listening to and garnered the kind of praise usually reserved for artists in the prime of their careers. She’s also credited with raising the bar of musicianship in a pop-driven industry that makes stars out of mediocre performers and their forgettable, overproduced songs.
Keys brought her blend of r&b, funk, jazz and classical music to Miami’s James L. Knight Center on Friday night for a sold-out show itself deserving an award, with its Harlem Renaissance-inspired theme and flawless production.
Keys called it Uptown New York Saturday Night, with the stage decorated to resemble a social club in 1930sHarlem, complete with vintage posters of Cab Calloway and Keys herself, beaded lamps, a crystal chandelier and white curtains. In her white feather boa and vintage costumes, Keys bore a striking resemblance to one of the era’s prominent singers, Lena Horne.
The audience, with people from every age and race demographic, seemed to have as much fun as Keys, who smiled and laughed throughout the 90-minute set. Many of the men in the crowd seemed to be competing with the pre-teen set for the loudest I-love-you-Alicia screams.
She shimmied and sashayed her way through the first 45 minutes, effortlessly belting out hits such as Karma and Heartburn in a teal jumpsuit and a beaded feather ornament in her hair. The show took on Broadway-musical qualities during the second half as Keys changed into a baby blue dress and ditched the Yamaha for some acoustic time at microphone. Her voice was sweet and soothing one moment and as strong as a brick house the next as she sang If I Was Your Woman/Walk On By.
Also refreshing were the new song arrangements: her remake of Prince’s How Come You Don’t Call Me became a finger-snapping Motown oldie, and Diary was stripped down to a piano, flute and congas.
The Harlem Renaissance theme was a perfect fit for Keys, whose musical maturity and confident stage presence have caused artists such as Prince to call her “an old soul.” It might also be a foreshadowing of Keys’ foray into acting. She’s slated to portray classically trained pianist-turned-activist Phillipa Schuyler in an upcoming biopic produced by Halle Berry.
Equally impressive was opening act John Legend. The singer recently released his debut Get Lifted, after years as a backup performer for Kanye West (who produced the album), Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z. He wooed the early arrivers with a beautiful ballad, Ordinary People.
The musicianship of Keys and Legend (also a piano player), are a breath of fresh air among performers who don’t know the difference between a chord and a note.
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http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/concert/story/1B964846A5F67A4186256FCE0061285A?OpenDocument Whether you came to see Alicia Keys or John Legend Wednesday night at...
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What a way to ring in spring! Alicia Keys is gracing the cover of 17 Magazine’s April issue.
Check out the gorgeous photos and the cover story, on stands March 1st.
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Grammy winner picks creative endeavors carefully, lends time to causes generously.
Alicia Keys’ recent Grammy wins weren’t her first, but you wouldn’t know that by talking to the soulful songstress, who scored four awards, including Best R&B Album.
“It’s so exciting,” Keys said backstage after the show. “What an incredible night and year. I just feel so honored to be here and blessed to have been received in this way again for my work that I just truly do from my heart” (see “Kanye Steals The Show, But Ray Dominates Grammy Winners’ Circle”).
Keys performed from her heart when she teamed with Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones to pay homage to the late Ray Charles with a cover of “Georgia on My Mind.” The latest in a string of Ray Charles tributes the singer has done in recent months, the song was the first time she collaborated with Foxx, but according to Keys, she wasn’t surprised by his skills.
“I know the depth of his talent, and it runs deep,” Keys said of Foxx. “He did the title song for ‘Any Given Sunday’ when he was in that, and that song was crazy. But people never understood how versatile he is, so I wasn’t surprised at all. When we got together you could just feel his passion for music, how much he loves it and how good he is at it. I mean, he’s good — he plays for real. He doesn’t just kind-of-sort-of play, he plays for real and he sings for real. “It was really a touching moment,” she added. “I felt God was with it. I felt Ray was with us. I felt a lot of angels with us.”
Keys also had the opportunity to perform with many other artists she admires, including Stevie Wonder and U2′s Bono, when they covered the Beatles’ “Across The Universe.” Taking part in the song, which now serves as a charity download for tsunami relief, is just the latest of Keys’ many philanthropic efforts — something she credits Bono with.
“I have to say he’s a big inspiration for me,” Keys said. “I think that he’s really a very worldly person — somebody who really takes into perspective everything that is going on — [and] I do as well. From the ghettos of Harlem and L.A. to the pandemic of AIDS in Africa, where I got involved in keepachildalive.org; to the youth in Jacksonville who don’t have any mentors, where I got involved with From the Ground Up, ftgu.org; in the Bronx, so close to where I grew up, to a gentleman that helped me get started — he has a whole organization called Teens in Motion. Just being able to help reach out to people, show my love and my gratitude and know that there is more than just superficial things going on in this world. It’s so much deeper, so it’s definitely important for me to get involved in what’s important.”
Now, with nine Grammys and a host of charitable ventures to her credit, Keys still finds time to write and produce for other artists via her Krucial Keys production company, with partner Kerry “Krucial” Brothers. The duo has already produced tracks for the likes of Mario and Christina Aguilera, among others.
“Krucial just finished producing Keyshia Cole’s second single, which is bananas,” Keys explained. “When y’all hear that, it’s going to be crazy. We definitely love collaborating with artists. We pick and choose, take it kind of easy and let the vibe move us. But there is so much coming up in the future for Krucial Keys, [from] the writers that we sign, the producers that we have and just really continuing to grow as a legacy, to really create quality and make something that is going to last the test of time. That’s why we don’t just go ahead and do anything and everything. We pick things that are really special and are going to be here forever — classic.”
Source: www.mtv.com
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The first DJ that played the entire album “The Diary of Alicia Keys” on the air in Los Angeles, has launched his official website. Come check it out at www.pjbutta.com for all the exclusive music that you can hear first in the bootlegs section. Thanks to the Bum Squad for supporting the site.
- DJ Fatal certified! check it!
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Hey AK fans!
Alicia added an extra NYC date 2 her tourschedule!
She’ll also perform @ Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, April 20th.
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Feb 17, 2005 01:05 AM
Forgive me for taking so long. I’ve barely had a minute to even sit with all that has happened back to back. But NOTHING has touch me as deeply as this amazingly selfless gift that you have given me for my birthday! I can’t believe how thoughtful you all have been. That you have thought bigger than any individual gain of you or I and went directly to the bigger picture where indeed it is true that we as a people CAN and WILL change the world….means more to me than these words can ever express!
Sometimes when you speak you wonder if anyone is even listening. If anyone understands the depth of your words. You absolutely do and have!
And I want to thank you for the best present I’ve ever received in my entire life!
I am thanking you for me and I am thanking you for all these kids and mothers and families that you are helping to do a daily Miracle…..LIVE!
My goodness, I am speachless!
and you all are more special than I could have ever imagined!
Truly!
My love 4ever!
Your friend,
Alicia
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Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs and Alicia Keys have joined Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson in their TV war on acne.
The four stars all appear in a new Proactiv Solution infomercial, presented by actress/singer Vanessa Williams, which is currently being shown on American TV.
Diddy and Keys actually discuss their acne nightmares with Williams in the ad, while Simpson, who starred in Proactiv ads that ran through 2004, discusses teen acne with a group of girls who have used the miracle spot cream to clear up their complexions.
Diddy, who has used the spot cream for the past six years, insists his bad skin was a secret he tried to keep throughout his twenties, and he credits Proactive products with giving him the confidence to succeed as a rap mogul. He says, “The way you take care of your face reflects who you are.”
Meanwhile, Keys admits she started using the product two years ago when she found herself trying to hide her spotty face from the cameras. She explains, “I just looked in the mirror one day and I just virtually broke down… I remember going through airports with hats pulled down and people asked me all the time, ‘Are you hiding?’ and I think maybe I was.”
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Alicia Keys wore one of the most glamorous outfits on the green carpet at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. (The carpet was green instead of red because of Heineken’s sponsorship of the program at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.)
“She looked amazing,” Glamour Magazine editor-in-chief Cindi Leive said on The Early Show, offering her review, along with stylist to the stars David Evangelista.
Keys wore a full-length white satin gown with thick gold straps and a bare back. The dress, paired with simple dangling earrings and sparkling gold eye makeup, made for a sophisticated look that was sexy in its demureness.
Leive noted, “We are so used to seeing her with the braids and she often wears a hat. And she was wearing this white Roberto Cavalli dress with all of those golden sashes that went well with all the statues she won.”
Evangelista agreed, “It wasn’t trying too hard. It was soft and pretty. It was Grammy. That was the right way to do it with a Cavalli gown.”
Beyonce Knowles and Eve also wore Cavalli, but did not get the same review. “It was too Oscary for me,” noted Evangelista about Knowles’ gown. “This is the Grammys,” he exclaimed.
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