She has only been on the music scene for less than 10 years, but Alicia Keys has been as steady a hitmaker as any artist during that span.
Keys has sold more than 30 million copies of her four studio albums and one live album, collected 12 Grammy Awards and been named the R&B/Hip-Hip Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine.
Not bad for a girl raised by a single mother in the Hell’s Kitchen section of new York.
“I think that no matter where you’re from and no matter what situations you’ve been through, I feel like it’s so important to use your surroundings as your fuel that really ignites you to say there’s more out in this world and I’m not going to accept only what I see,” Keys said. “That’s sometimes the hardest trap.
“Some of the most incredible people I know in my life have been through some of the most tragic situations and they are brilliant and they’re unstoppable and they don’t use it as any type of excuse.
“They build and they grow and they create some of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. I think that using it as fuel is the key.”
Keys is certainly using her “fuel” wisely, and not just for her music. in addition to having another hit album, “The Element of Freedom,” and a major tour, the 29-year-old also juggles charity work — most notably as the co-founder of Keep a Child Alive — along with several other business ventures.
“Element,” released Dec. 11, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard top 200 and sold more than 400,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week. To date, it has sold nearly 2 million copies.
Keys credits her natural curiosity with helping keep her sound fresh after 10 years in the limelight.
“I think that the way that I do that is by just constantly exploring and trying new things, new sounds and new elements and new feelings,” she said during a recent conference call with reporters. “We’re all really multi-dimensional people (and) no one, I don’t care who you are, just thinks one thought and just feels one way.
“So I think that the way that I wrestle it and tackle that is just by continuing to stretch myself, to get people used to the fact that they’re going to always hear something new, always hear something different.
“I think that’s why I’m most excited about the show this time because as my catalog continues to grow, there’s so many places that I can go and I can take you to these different journeys in the show.
“So there’s going to be something for everyone in this show, because that’s who I am. I am a person who feels things from all different angles and directions and I’m going to express it that way. So that’s what makes it really exciting and I really love how it’s all coming together.”
On “Element,” Keys had two notable collaborations. She worked with rap superstar Jay-Z on the song “Empire State of Mind” on his last album, “The Blueprint 3,” and put a sequel of sorts, “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down,” on her new disc. Keys and Jay-Z were featured prominently in the New York Yankees’ World Series run late last year.
“To be able to perform that song at the brand-new Yankee Stadium and for the World Series, you just kind of couldn’t beat that,” Keys said.
“We actually should have an honorary ring, I think,” she added with a laugh.
Keys teamed with Jay-Z’s wife, pop star Beyonce, for “Put it in a love Song,” the next single from “Element.”
” `Put it in a love Song’ was a lot of fun and it just worked out incredibly, incredibly well,” Keys said. “You never know how it’s all going to pan out, but from the minute that we were in the studio, there was just a certain energy for the song that was so powerful and so incredible.
“And the fun way that it sounds on the album, is exactly the fun that we had in the studio.”
As proud as Keys is of her music, it is equalled by her feelings for Keep a Child Alive, which she started almost immediately upon arriving as a certified music star a decade ago.
“I’m really proud of it,” she said. “We provide the medicine for children and families who have AIDS and wouldn’t be able to afford it, especially in places like Africa, and we’re moving into India, as well, which is incredible.
“There’s a big orphan issue that happens when parents aren’t able to access the medicine that would keep them alive and then they pass away and there’s so many children who then are left with no parents.
“So we’re able to also focus on orphan care and help the other orphanages and build pediatric wings and also just distribute the medicine and the information and nourishment that goes along with it.
“We really support the local neighborhood initiatives that are really about serving their people. So it’s beautiful because there’s so many incredible organizations that are helping each other really change the face of the AIDS pandemic.”
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Alicia Keys always seeks fresh challenge