Alicia Keys' artistic light is so bright it could illuminate a dark room. A true musical prodigy whose multidimensional gifts emerged at the age of five, the beautiful Alicia will soon take modern soul R&B to a whole new level at the tender age of nineteen. Born aware of her old soul yet living in downtown New York amidst the dominance of Biggie and Jay Z, Alicia's natural talents have blossomed into a rare mix of hip-hop flavor and writing insightful and wise beyond her years. Combine all this with the singer's spine-tingling vocal power, positively inspiring live performances and experience as a classically trained pianist, Alicia Keys could be this generation's Roberta Flack. Highly sought after by record labels who held 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 writing at the age of 14. Alicia followed Clive Davis to his new J Records where she continues to chart her arrival in the music world. The creations now coming out of the studio show the signs of both a critical and commercial monster: a deep, melodic and soulful gem of an album that showcases Alicia in all her universal glory. Although the majority of the album – including the luminous “Fallin'” and the moving “Troubles” – was written and produced by Alicia Keys, the artist collaborates with Jermaine Dupri on “Girlfriend” and Isaac Hayes on “Rock Wit U" from the Tree Soundtrack series. His debut album, Songs in A Minor, will be released on J Records in late June. Born and raised in Manhattan, the gorgeous, bi-racial Alicia Keys credits a number of influences including her ultra-supportive mother who told her "You can quit anything else but you can never give up your piano lessons." Alicia also found a teacher at the Professional Performance Arts School in Manhattan who, while she was majoring in Chorus, gave her valuable lessons about her voice. “This teacher spent so much time with me that she became the closest thing to vocal training I received,” Alicia recalls. At age 16, Alicia's exceptional grades allowed her to graduate from high school early. “I was so deeply involved in music, I had already overcome all the pressure of high school cliques and gossip.” Fresh out of high school, Columbia University accepted Alicia Keys, and although she tried, the desire to focus on music was the driving force over everything else..