- 2007
Alicia Covers EW
Keys appears on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, where she discusses her breakdown as a result of always saying "yes" and working nonstop to her subsequent breakthrough that led to her latest album As I Am. "This CD was so severely personal, it changed my voice," she says. "There's so much more that I needed to say...I'm at the point now like, F--- it. Who gives a s---? I don't really care what you think about me...I'm not gonna sacrifice my spirit for nobody.''
- 2008
Alicia Wins Two Grammys
Keys opens the 2008 Grammy Awards singing along with Frank Sinatra, who is shown on a screen above the stage, on his 1955 hit "Learnin' the Blues." Before the night is over, Keys wins two Grammys for Best Female R&B performance and Best R&B song for her hit, "No One," which she later performs with John Mayer.
Bees Dramatic Buzz
The film adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees opens in third place, earning $11.1 million. Costarring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson, the film centers on three sisters, a young girl, and her caretaker that band together in 1964 South Carolina. "She's a passionate, emotional person, but she's definitely been hurt and it's a hard time," Keys says of her character, Boatwright sister June.
- 2009
Alicia's New Beat
Keys makes headlines when hip hop producer Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean – while in the process of divorcing his wife Mashonda – reveals that he and Keys are an item. "What we have is so precious," he tells New York's Daily News. In July, the couple attends a preview event of Whitney Houston's comeback album – where Houston sings "Million Dollar Bill," a song the duo produced together.
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Valerie Macon/Getty; Twentieth Century FOX; Liquid Entertainment
- Name
- Alicia Keys
- Real Name
- Alicia Augello Cook
- Date of Birth
- January 25, 1980
- Birth Place
- New York, N.Y.
- Relationships
-
Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, boyfriend (2009 to present)
Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, ex-boyfriend (1990s to 2008)
