Alicia Keys has struck again. Her latest album, MTV Unplugged, went straight into the US Billboard chart at No 1, making her the first female R&B artist to score a hat-trick of No 1 debuts. “Performing is my thing,” explains Keys. “It just felt like it was absolutely the right time to be able to do a broken-down version of my songs and make them really intimate and personal. I wanted to draw the listener into my world, into my personal, private, intimate location.”

Sitting pretty in a Manhattan hotel, Keys has a curvaceous figure that contrasts sharply with the industry’s usual requirements. Today, she’s wearing her trademark braids, but has recently taken to wearing her hair straight. “I’m definitely not afraid to branch out and try new things, new looks,” she says.

Keys is charming and thoughtful in conversation, and even when admitting she may need a holiday, she leavens the complaint with a megawatt smile. “I haven’t had the greatest life-work balance,” she says. “But I definitely make sure that when I need time to relax or just be with my family, or sit down and do silly things like watch movies, or go bowling or whatever you need to do to relax or unwind, I make sure I take it.”

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