Alicia Keys

A true musical prodigy whose multi-dimensional gifts emerged at age five, the beautiful Alicia Keys has taken modern R&B soul to a whole new level. Born aware of her old soul, yet living in New York's inner city amidst the dominance of Biggie and Jay Z, Alicia's natural talents blossomed into a rare mix of hip-hop flavor and insightful, wise-beyond-her-years songwriting. Coupling this with the singer's spine-tingling vocal power, positively stirring live performances and expertise as a classically trained pianist, Alicia Keys could be this generation's Roberta Flack. Highly sought-after by record labels that held good, old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor, Alicia signed to Arista Records in 1998. There, in the spirit of a genius like D'Angelo or Prince, she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut she had begun penning at age 14.