Posted February 7, 2008 -- At the age of just 26, ALICIA KEYS has taken modern R&B to a whole new level. In the six years since she made her recording debut with Songs in A Minor, Keys has sold millions of records, won nine GRAMMYS, numerous BET Awards and racked up an impressive list of hits. “I’ve had a deep love for music since I was 4,” she said in an interview. “Music came before everything, everything, everything. It just meant more than anything ever meant. I would risk everything for it.... There was nothing that was more important to me.”
Keys, already a triple threat – musician, singer, songwriter – by the time she signed her first recording deal in the late ’90s, has molded that passion for music into a career that skillfully blends classical, R&B, hip hop and jazz. Perhaps more significant, this self-proclaimed “old soul” has used her eclectic background, extensive travel and personal experiences to inform her music and infuse her performances with a kind of energy usually found only in much older performers.
Now Keys, who just released her third CD, As I Am, is rounding out her portfolio with movies, books and television productions. For her dedication to her craft – and the inspiration she has become to audiences worldwide – Alicia Keys nabs the 2008 “BET HONORS” award for Entertainment.