Alicia Augello Cook is nowdays known as Alicia Keys of NY, born on 25.1.1981. A mix of African American, Italian, Scottish and Irish, she has the looks and the voice of the popular singer.
She got into the music world thanks to her love of piano. Since she released her first debut album in 2001 until her 4th one in 2009 -she sold over 30mill copies and won 12 awards for 5 albums together (including Unplugged), putting her as one of the best R&B performers of all time in a decade. While singing, she completed 5 tours, each one starting with a new album.
She also tries it out in acting with her first role when she was only 4, in The Cosby Show. Since 2001, she appeared in TV shows and movies, some of them being Charmed, American Dreams, Sesame Street, Smokin' Aces and The Nanny Diaries. Her work doesn't stop there, as she's also involved in charity work supporting the causes of HIV and Aids and providing medicines for the people in Africa as well as supporting scholarships for young students.
Interesting facts about Alicia Keys include the fact that she changed her last name to current stage last name before releasing her first album (thanks to her manager), is from a divorced family, is a talented piano player and has a voice which can hit the notes in 3 different octaves. She is possibly one of the best performers of her time, including the superseding of Nirvana at having the album, MTV Unplugged and being number 1 with it. Every album and a song she releases is inspired by love, commitment and the girl-power and is always backed up by a piano that she personally plays. The fact that she's a mix of different cultures gives her a better understanding of people relations, as she advised. She completed her High School studies and enrolled at Uni but didn't complete it as she wanted to concentrate on her ultra-successful music career.
