Alicia Keys

Short Biography
ALICIA KEYS RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND IN 2008 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS JORDIN SPARKS AND LOWRIDER (AUS ONLY)
The Frontier Touring Company and Roundhouse Entertainment are thrilled to confirm the return of R&B superstar Alicia Keys to Australian and New Zealand shores this December. Alicia will return for her biggest shows to date Down Under, and will also perform a series of winery shows. Special guests on this tour will be Jordin Sparks and Lowrider (AUS only).
With 30 millions album sales, 11 Grammy Awards, 4 US #1 albums, a name-check from Bob Dylan, and most recently being awarded the prestigious honour of recording the Bond theme with Jack White, A...

Short Biography
ALICIA KEYS RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND IN 2008 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS JORDIN SPARKS AND LOWRIDER (AUS ONLY)
The Frontier Touring Company and Roundhouse Entertainment are thrilled to confirm the return of R&B superstar Alicia Keys to Australian and New Zealand shores this December. Alicia will return for her biggest shows to date Down Under, and will also perform a series of winery shows. Special guests on this tour will be Jordin Sparks and Lowrider (AUS only).
With 30 millions album sales, 11 Grammy Awards, 4 US #1 albums, a name-check from Bob Dylan, and most recently being awarded the prestigious honour of recording the Bond theme with Jack White, Alicia Keys has set herself apart from her contemporaries. Selling almost 20 million singles, Alicia has created instant classics with the likes of ‘Fallin', ‘A Woman's Worth', ‘Karma' and ‘Superwoman', and has become one of the brightest stars of this decade.
The release of her fourth album As I Am received a rapturous response from fans, as they sent it sailing to a #1 debut on the US Billboard chart, achieving the highest first week sales of any female R&B artist in history. ‘No One' received two Grammy Awards, as the single peaked at #2 in both Australia and New Zealand. The media have been just as taken with what is, arguably, Alicia's finest work to date.
Spin announced that: "On her melodically powerful third studio album, she matures into the matriarch of her genre," and Billboard mirrored their sentiments: "The strong stories that Keys spins are complemented by deft musical arrangements that integrate more rock and pop into her enriched old-school vibe."
Blender were awestruck, offering: "The music is dizzying, even mesmerizing." The New York Times pronounced that "As I Am radiates not just confidence but also experience. On the whole it's her strongest effort yet." And People Magazine declared that Alicia continued to "scale artistic heights on As I Am" ranking the album their #1 for the year.
Those witnessing the live shows have been similarly wowed. The Independent enthused that "Keys proves she's still in a league of her own," while the Manchester Evening News gushed "Despite lyrics bursting with attitude and huge critical acclaim the performing arts school valedictorian remarkably remains more dignified than diva. And it is that, teamed with her ability to both silence and excite her audience through her performance at the piano that secures Keys' place among modern R&B royalty."
Alicia's special guest at all shows will be the esteemed Jordin Sparks. Winner of American Idol in 2007, it took Jordin little time to establish herself as one of the stars of 2008. Capturing a worldwide audience following the release of her debut album Jordin Sparks and single ‘Tattoo', it wasn't until Jordin handed the reigns to her fans, that things really took off. Allowing them the privilege of choosing her second single, they settled on ‘No Air' which saw Jordin hit #1 around the world - including Australia and New Zealand. Playing her first live shows in Australia and New Zealand as part of this tour, there's no doubt that those before her will be left in awe.
Hip-hop funk enthusiasts Lowrider will open all Australian shows for Alicia on this tour. Lowrider drew major attention upon securing the Australian opening slot for Christina Aguilera's Australian 2007 tour. 2008 saw more milestones achieved as they toured nationally with the Big Day Out and released their sophomore record Diamond Amongst The Thieves (out now through Illusive). Boasting radio favourites ‘Be Bad' and ‘Friend', Diamond Amongst The Thieves introduced Lowrider to a new audience, and drew rave reviews. Inpress described the album best, writing: "The foursome are not bound by where their sound goes or what path their sound follows. Instead they appear to have free rein to let their sound, style and range develop."
On her last Australian and New Zealand tour in 2004, Alicia Keys sold out every show. There's no doubt tickets to see Alicia live this December will sell fast!

In-depth Biography
Alicia Keys helped redefine the term "overnight sensation" when her 2001 debut effort, Songs in A Minor, sold more than 50,000 copies during its first day of release. Mixing R&B songcraft with a sultry dose of neo-soul, the album went on to move more than ten million units worldwide, officially establishing the young Alicia Keys (who was only 19 during the recording process) as an international star. Although she shared the charts with such R&B contemporaries as Destiny's Child, Keys' talents distinguished her as a different sort of diva, one who played a variety of instruments and penned the vast majority of her songs without outside help. The Diary of Alicia Keys solidified her popularity two years later, and Alicia Keys spent the rest of the decade refining her now-signature sound.

Alicia Augello Cook was born in Harlem in early 1981. Raised by her Italian-American mother, she enrolled in classical piano lessons at the age of seven and began writing songs four years later. An education at the Professional Performance Arts School helped hone her vocal skills, and Alicia graduated at the age of 16 as the class valedictorian. Two Columbias loomed on the immediate horizon: Columbia University and Columbia Records, both of whom had extended offers to the talented student/musician. Although she attempted to make both options work, Alicia found it difficult to juggle the two commitments and chose to focus exclusively on her music career. Assuming the stage name of Alicia Keys, she began to work with Columbia and contributed a song to the Men in Black soundtrack, but disputes with the label resulted in her contract's termination.

Keys bounced back by aligning herself with Clive Davis, the president of Arista Records, but work on her debut album stalled when Davis was ousted from the company in 2000. Davis soon formed his own label, J Records, and welcomed Keys back into the fold with an aggressive publicity campaign (including an influential appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show). Songs in A Minor was then released in June 2001 and debuted at the top of the charts, eventually netting five Grammys and platinum certifications in ten different countries. Released in 2003, The Diary of Alicia Keys enjoyed similar Grammy-certified success, and Keys released a book of poetry the following year. A live CD/DVD package, Unplugged, arrived in 2005 and followed Keys' two previous releases to the top of the charts, even if it failed to win any of the four Grammys for which it was nominated. Alicia Keys then entered the acting world, starring in both Smokin' Aces and The Nanny Diaries in 2007, before issuing the pop-influenced As I Am later that year. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide