# Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, and model.

## Quotes

* I saw [the Vibe article], but I don't really comment on that because I know it's not true.
* When people ask me, I tell them, "Hey don't believe all that mess. We're close and people took it the wrong way."
** Aaliyah on a possible romantic relationship with fellow musician R. Kelly (December 1994); Quoted by Christopher John Farley in Aaliyah: More Than a Woman, p. 47. (2001)
* It was a painful time for me and my family. That's why I'm proud to say I'm a strong person. I'm a survivor and I can handle anything. I'm very confident about that. I come from a very strong family and they are always there to protect me. If I need any help I'll just call on my mummy or daddy or my brother to whom I'm very close.
** Aaliyah reflecting on the claims of her marriage to R. Kelly (1996); Quoted by Christopher John Farley in Aaliyah: More Than a Woman, p. 48. (2001)
* I'm seventeen now so I've grown in a lot of ways, artistically and vocally.
* Honestly, there were negative things that were said in the past and that was one reason that I did feel it was best for me to move on. That was a rough period for me and my family, a very tumultuous time. But I'm a very strong person. I think it says a lot about me that I'm here today and I answer the questions.
* I knew at a very young age this was what I wanted to do. I started singing at six so I knew by the time I was eight.
** 1997 interview
* I breathe to perform, to entertain, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I’m just a really happy girl right now. I honestly love every aspect of this business. I really do. I feel very fulfilled and complete.
** In Vibe magazine cover story, "What Lies Beneath" (Published in 2001)
* There's a dark side to me that comes out in everything I do.
** As quoted in the book Aaliyah: More Than a Woman by Christopher John Farley, p. 162 (2001)
* I’ve always been mysterious. My mother and father always used to ask me, "What are you thinking, what’s going on?" There are times when I don’t understand myself, you know what I mean?
* I have black-out shades in my apartment, I push a button, it’s totally dark. I think I’m a bit of a vampire in real life, and there are times when I just want to be myself. I wanna be alone.
** As quoted in Aaliyah's Vibe cover story: "What Lies Beneath"
* It is dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling.
** Interview in Die Zeit newspaper (2001)

### CBS interview (2000)

* When I went to shoot the film I was very nervous. I kept telling myself, "This is it. This is what you've wanted, this is the real deal. Now you've gotta do your thing. You've gotta put all of you in this and hopefully they'll like you." And for people to say it's impressive and "You're so natural", I mean, it's the best feeling in the world. I feel like hard work, you know, payed off.
* I waited for the right project for the right time and it just came together.
* I was actually just blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful veterans and people that I had great chemistry with and that were just open to me.
* Playing off of people that great was great for me.
* I love Eddie Murphy so I wanted to do a song on the soundtrack.

### MTV Stripped interview (2001)

* I have a few childhood nicknames. One is "Babygirl". My father gave that to me when I was born. He said, "I have a beautiful baby girl" and that one stuck with me. A lot of people still call me "Babygirl".
* I love baths. Absolutely love baths. I like to just draw a nice warm bath with a lot of bubbles, get a few sweets, maybe put them by the bath, put on really good music and chill.
* Don't like motorbikes. Don't like them, I've been on a few, even in a few videos and they scare me. They scare the hell out of me and you know in videos, course I've got "the cool face on" and cool breezing it, tough, glasses, but underneath I'm screaming.

## Attributed

* I feel like I'm really just getting started. I don't know what's going to happen in the next five or ten years.
** Said to Honey magazine, as claimed in Aaliyah: More Than a Woman, p. 178.
* I'm the interpreter. I'm the one who takes your words and brings them to life. I was trained to sing and dance and laugh, and that's what I want to do.
* Always be true to yourself.
* Well, I think that the image is a part of me. I wear the baggy pants, the hats, the whole nine. And you know, I may add a little for the excitement and the intrigue in the videos, but my family has told me that little air of mystery that surrounds me is for real.
* I don't feel I made any sacrifices at all. I'm doing my best to juggle.
* I think it's important to take a break, you know, from the public eye for a while, and give people a chance to miss you. I want longevity. I don't want to get out there and run myself ragged and spread myself thin.
* There is a bit of acting involved when you get in front of a camera for a video. Even when you perform onstage, you're putting on a show.
* Keep working hard and you can get anything that you want.
** From Treye Green's article "Happy 35th Birthday, Aaliyah: 15 Of The Singer's Best Quotes" (15 January 2014)

## Quotes about Haughton

* Aaliyah's loss is major, because she was one of R&B and urban music's brightest stars. She was an excellent singer, a talented performer, and a great actress, whose success had only just begun. There will be a huge gaping hole in urban music now that she's no longer with us.
* Aaliyah is an excellent role model, because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album entitled Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. And then her second album, One in a Million went double platinum. She had the leading role in Romeo Must Die, which was a box office success. She's won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself in a very professional manner. She was well spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire her.
* I don't know if Aaliyah's accident will change the way that celebrities fly, but I hope it will make people realize that life is very short, and that you have to appreciate everything each day. And when you are making decisions, to make sure that they are safe decisions and smart decisions. But there has been a long history of celebrities dying in plane crashes.
* I think that Aaliyah's death could definitely be compared to Selena's, because of her powerful music and lyrics, and her huge fan base. For urban music and hip hop, we also make the comparison to The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac.
* I think that Aaliyah's death will always leave a hole in urban music, and I think that people will always miss her, but I hope that the positive image that she represented will carry on, and that young people will still aspire to the greatness that she exuded.
** Emil Wilbekin in an interview published two days after her passing (27 August 2001)
* I watched her grow up, and, with the rest of the world, saw her achieve success with her very special and unique talents. From an early age, I knew she had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift.
* She had a refreshing outlook for one so young, with true respect for her art and for her elders. She brought joy to my heart, and I felt blessed to encourage and support her professionally and personally as she strove for each new goal.
** Gladys Knight in interview shortly after her death (28 August 2001)
* (Aaliyah) was like my seventh daughter. She had so much grace. That's why I just thought her so special — that such a young person always approached her creativity with humility and her success with such grace.
** Quincy Jones while speaking with USA Today (August 2003)
* She was true to who she was and she didn't seem to care about it. The core of her art to me is heavily, heavily urban based. When an artist's music is so urban based, sometimes people like to take risks with artists like that. When you think about it, it really is pop, it really is cultural and that's the one thing that I thought was cool about her music. It never felt like she was trying to reach across or do anything more than just keep that cool, soulful, heavy urban core about it. It wasn't like she was trying to be anything more than who she was. I really respect that and I appreciate that.
** Ciara in an interview with Billboard (January 16, 2014)
* Her star had just begun to shine so brightly. Though she was ours for only a short time, what a time it was. I love Aaliyah, and I will miss her for the rest of my life.
* I ain’t discrediting Aaliyah in any kind of way, but you know how sometimes when people die… You know how somebody’s an asshole their whole life, but when you go to their funeral it’s like, “This guy is the greatest man that ever walked this Earth.”
* Because she passed nobody’s good enough to be next to her. If she was still alive, then everybody would be saying, “Oh you’re trying to be like Beyoncé.” But now that she’s passed, everybody’s like, “Nobody can be like her.” That’s just how it is, and that’s how people are.
** T-Pain on criticism he received for using her vocals (March 2015)
* There will never be another Aaliyah, period, point blank. Aaliyah is Aaliyah, her legacy will live forever. So what Tim basically was saying is that Aaliyah gave him confirmation that this is going to be something.
** Tink on comments made by Timbaland (April 2015)