Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook to a Puerto Rican-Italian mother, Terri Augello, and a Jamaican father, Craig Cook, in Manhattan, New York, and was raised in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City.

She began playing piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite Chopin. She wrote her first song "Butterflyz" at the age of fourteen; the song was later recorded for her debut album.

She credits much of her success to her mother's insistence on her continuing with the lessons, and ultimately growing as an artist. Her ultra-supportive mother advised her that piano-playing was the one thing in life that she would not allow her daughter to give up on. While many children may consider this to be a form of punishment, Alicia thought otherwise. Piano-playing proved to become one of her true passions in life and she pursued it.

Keys' mother and father separated during her early childhood, thus she was raised by her mother during her formative years; her mother was the one who most supported her during the time she was developing her musical talents. It has been reported by the press that Keys reconciled her relationship with her father. However, Keys has denied this but says she does not hold on to negative feelings towards her father.

In 1998, major record labels began discovering her, which resulted in old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor. She eventually signed with Arista Records. At this point, she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut that she'd been working on since the age of 14.

In late 1999, Alicia decided to join Clive Davis and his newfound record label, J Records. Davis has supported and groomed many high-profile artists in the past, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Santana. Keys saw this as an opportunity to grow and Davis, being the legendary record mogul that he is, has been relentlessly hyping the piano-playing prodigy ever since.

Recently, the 19-year-old musician's debut album, Songs in A Minor entered the Billboard album charts at #1. The album includes the hit single "Fallin," along with collaborations from other high-profile artists, including Jermaine Dupri and Isaac Hayes.

The near future looks to be very promising for this hot, young, musical talent. Her next single, "A Woman's Worth" is scheduled for release very shortly. If it follows in the footsteps of her debut release, it will most likely prove to be a chart-topper. Alicia is also scheduled to perform during the 27th season premiere of Saturday Night Live, which is to be hosted by Reese Witherspoon.

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