page_title: Alicia Keys
section_title: 1998–2002: Breakthrough with Songs in A Minor
hierarchical_section_title: Alicia Keys / Life and career / 1998–2002: Breakthrough with Songs in A Minor
caption_attribution_description: Alicia Keys live in Frankfurt
context_page_description: Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter. A classically-trained pianist, Keys began composing songs by age 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records. After disputes with the label, she signed with Arista Records, and later released her debut album, Songs in A Minor, with J Records in 2001. The album was critically and commercially successful, producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Fallin'" and selling over 16 million copies worldwide. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002. Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was also a critical and commercial success, spawning successful singles "You Don't Know My Name", "If I Ain't Got You", and "Diary", and selling eight million copies worldwide. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards. Her duet "My Boo" with Usher became her second number-one single in 2004. Keys released her first live album, Unplugged, and became the first woman to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one.
context_section_description: Robinson and Keys, with Davis' help, were able to negotiate out of the Columbia contract and she signed to Arista Records in late 1998. Keys was also able to leave with the music she had created. Davis gave Keys the creative freedom and control she wanted, and encouraged her to be herself. Keys said of Davis' instinct: "he knows which artists are the ones that maybe are needing to craft their own sound and style and songs, and you just have to let an artist go and find that space. And I think he somehow knew that and saw that in me and really just let me find that." After signing with Davis, Keys continued honing her songs. Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name at the age of 16 until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. She felt that name embodied her both as a performer and person. Keys contributed her songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror" to the soundtracks of the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), respectively.
  In 2000, Davis was ousted from Arista and the release of Keys' album was put on hold. Later that year, Davis formed J Records and immediately signed Keys to the label. "He didn't try to divert me to something else", Keys said on following Davis to his new label. He understood that she wants to be herself and not "made into what somebody else thinks I should be."
  Keys played small shows across America, performed at industry showcases for months and then on television. Davis thought "pop stations might feel she's too urban. Urban might feel she's too traditional", and as he felt Keys was a "compelling, hypnotic performer" best experienced in person, he had Keys perform her music to different crowds in different places to spread the word. "I created opportunities for those who saw her to spread the word", Davis recalled. "She is her own ambassador." Davis wanted to "let people discover her, and you can only do that with a few artists." Keys later performed on The Tonight Show in promotion for her upcoming debut. Davis wrote a letter to Oprah asking her to have Keys, Jill Scott, and India.Arie perform on her show to promote new women in music. Oprah booked Keys the day she heard her song "Fallin'", her debut single. Keys performed the song on Oprah's show the week prior to the release of her debut album. "Fallin'", released as a single in April, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed atop the chart for six consecutive weeks. Ebony magazine wrote that at the time "the music that was pumping on the airwaves was hip-hop and rap – not Alicia's unique blend of classical meets soul, meets hip-hop, meets, well, Alicia. What could have been a recipe for disaster...turned into the opportunity of a lifetime." Keys as an artist since her early days, Davis said, "does her own thing. She has set out her own vision. That's the way it is for artists of her ilk...They don't try to fit in. They try to establish their own paths...[she has] sure natural instinct and sure vision" and "a respect for musical history."
  Songs in A Minor, which included material that Columbia Records had rejected, was released on June 5, 2001, to critical acclaim. Musically, it incorporated classical piano in an R&B, soul and jazz-fused album. Jam! described the music as "old-school urban sounds and attitude set against a backdrop of classical piano and sweet, warm vocals". USA Today wrote that Keys "taps into the blues, soul, jazz and even classical music to propel haunting melodies and hard-driving funk". Songs in A Minor would be "lauded for its mix of traditional soul values and city-girl coolness", wrote The Guardian. PopMatters wrote that "Keys's Songs in A Minor is a testament to her desire (and patience) to create a project that most reflects her sensibilities as a 20-year-old woman and as a musical, cultural, and racial hybrid."
  Songs in A Minor debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number one, selling 236,000 in its first week at retail. On its second week, word of mouth and exposure from television performances was so significant that record stores requested another 450,000 copies. The album we
caption: Keys performing in Frankfurt, Germany, 2002
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