Keys says her latest album helped her grow.

Alicia Keys is up for eight Grammy Awards including Album of the Year for “The Diary of Alicia Keys.” She tells MTV.com that she poured herself into making the album and, in the process, really grew as an artist.

Explains Keys, “[Diary] sits in the same place as ‘Songs in A Minor’ in regards to my heart and soul. All of me is poured into it, but it’s just truly grown to another level.”

She adds, “Personally, for me, I don’t want to be stuck in one box. I wanna always spread my wings. That’s how the songs on the album are. Every song on the album is a growth in some way, even if it’s something as simple as vocally. I feel my vocal growth is definitely something I’ve experienced. Seeing different places broadened my mind, seeing how people are so much alike.”