Alicia Augello Cook was born on January 25, 1981, in Manhattan, New York. She was raised by her mother Nikki Augello; a part-time actress and paralegal. She was feature on the Crosby show when she was 5. She began piano lesson when she 7 years old. She graduated from Manhattan's prestigious Professional Performance Arts School at the age of 16 because of her academic excellence and majored in choir. After graduating she signed with Clive Davis from Arista Records in 1998. She was accepted to Columbia University on a full scholarship, but four weeks at the school she decided to devote herself to music completely.
When Clive Davis left Arista Records to start J records, Alicia decided to follow him because he had engineered the careers of soul luminaries as Aretha Franklin, to his new label. What was unique about Alicia was that she was able to write, produce and sing her own music. Being signed to this record gave her the freedom to be creative and independent. Alicia Appeared on series of television and small venues appearance before her album came out. When it was released, Songs in A Minor went platinum five times over. She was praised by critic because of her polished music and lyric maturity.
‘At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Keys took home awards for Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Keys fronted for fellow R&B sensation Maxwell in 2001. Her album "Diary" won her four Grammys in 2005.In