Alicia Keys Biography

Songs in Am sold 50.000 copies on the first day of release!

Not many singers enter the charts instantly with their debut album, usually it takes not just months of preparation, but then a soft release, a build, a few more singles before the audience catch on.

When Alicia Keys released Songs In Am in 2001 she could not have anticipated the huge success with 12 million albums eventually sold of the debut.

Followed up by more albums as well as acting in major feature films Alicia has almost a decade later become a household name with over 30 million albums sold and numerous Awards.

The debut album collected 5 Grammy Awards, a feat only Christopher Cross and Norah Jones had achieved previously and since.

Alicia Keys rewrote Jay-Z’s Empire State Of Mind!

One of the biggest hits during 2009 was Jay-Z’s Empire State Of Mind from his massive The Blueprint 3 album.

As it entered the charts at #1 Alicia must have known that her future release of The Element Of Freedom was going to be yet another success from the New York born singer.

The original song was released as a single in October 2009, the “Broken Down” version only a few months later in February 2010, making the song a top ten hit twice!

September 11 will always be connected with the tragedy of New York being under attack.

What most people now have forgotten is that Mariah Carey planned her big release on that day and because of the terrible events suffered in sales.

When Jay-Z almost a decade later release his The Blueprint 3 on the same date there is certainly no coincidence that the release fell on that day!

Original Jay-Z release

If the leak of the album (which is part of a trilogy) on August the 31st was a safety precaution by the label or not remains unknown.

Jay-Z himself said he was excited and wanted people to hear it 11 days in advance. The plot thickens as the album gave Jay-Z his 11th number one album!

This enabled him to break the record he previously shared with Elvis Presley.