Alicia Keys performed at Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, USA, on Saturday, June 7, 2008, as part of her very successful "As I Am" tour. Photo Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos
June 8, 2008 () - Alicia Keys performed at Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, USA, on Saturday, June 7, 2008, as part of her very successful "As I Am" tour to promote her third studio album.
Propelled by the hit singles No One and Like You'll Never See Me Again, the album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide since its November 2007 release.
Alicia Keys performed at Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, USA, on Saturday, June 7, 2008, as part of her very successful "As I Am" tour. Photo Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos
The disc has claimed the #1 spot for several non-consecutive weeks on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart.
The single No One, earned Keys two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Additionally, Keys received four awards at the NAACP Image Awards and was honored at the first annual BET Honors ceremony.
Alicia is set to make her film debut in October with The Secret Life of Bees, co-starring Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson.
Alicia Keys performed at Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, USA, on Saturday, June 7, 2008, as part of her very successful "As I Am" tour. Photo Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos
An adventure / drama based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the film is set in South Carolina in 1964. It is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Okonedo and Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping, honey and the Black Madonna.
Her current success notwithstanding, Alicia , 26, says life hasn't been easy for her. Two years ago, a workaholic lifestyle and the death of a close relative from cancer pushed her to the brink.
Alicia chose to withdraw into a shell, rather than create a public spectacle of herself.
Alicia Keys performed at Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, USA, on Saturday, June 7, 2008, as part of her very successful "As I Am" tour. Photo Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos
"I knew I needed time away, so I went to Egypt for a month -- on my own, which gave it a whole different perspective," she told Reuters in a recent interview.
"It allowed me to see things I'd never seen before -- all the temples on the Nile, the Pyramids, the history. It was so rich and beautiful and strong, and it inspired me so much, and renewed me."
