The Beauty of Song, Part Three: Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys is a prime mover of the "neo-soul" movement in twenty-first century R&B.

Born Alicia Cook, she released her debut album Songs in A Minor in 2001.  Selling over twelve million copies  globally, it was too huge a success for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences not to notice. Ms. Keys won five Grammys at 2002 awards ceremony, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin.'" She became the first American female recording artist and the second American overall to win five Grammys at one ceremony . . . after  Christoper Cross.

Unlike Christopher Cross, Alicia Keys has gone on to have once success after another, with hits such as "You Don't Know My Name," "If I Ain't Got You," "Dairy," "No One," and "Girl On Fire."

Ms. Keys has put out five studio albums.  All but one of them hit number one on the Billboard album charts. The exception, her 2009 album The Element of Freedom - her fourth - "only" made it to number two.

Fun fact: Bob Dylan devoted an entire verse to Alicia Keys in his 2006 song "Thunder On the Mountain."