Alicia Keys

New York's Black singer and pianist Alicia Keys (born Alicia Cook) dramatically increased the level of musicianship in the neo-soul genre with her Songs in A Minor (2001), which she largely produced herself when she was technically still a teenager. She, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill made neosoul an art, not just commerce. The album opens with Keys rapping over the piano riff of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" in the overture Piano & I. Girlfriend blends jazzy piano, hip-hop beat, gospel-ish call-and-response and a sample of Ol' Dirty Bastard. The upbeat (and standout) Rock Wit U employs a lush Isaac Hayes-esque orchestral vibe to craft a cinematic thriller atmosphere. She also experiments, albeit less successfully, with flamenco steps in Mr Man and with the catchy choral singalong Jane Doe. The authentic core of the album lies in the most subdued, almost shy, tunes, starting with the fragile spartan piano ballads Butterflyz and Caged Bird that exude an intimate feeling. There is a real sense of sadness in the bedroom pop of Goodbye, and the bluesy Why Do I Feel So Sad (with her best use of the backup choir) feels almost like a requiem. The sensual and languid Troubles is a variation on that method. The songs that made her famous were the ones where she seems influenced by Aretha Franklin: the unusually propulsive as well as soaring and anthemic Lovin' U and the hit Fallin' (with echoes of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's Man's World), that channels the eternal angst of plantation songs. A cover of Prince's How Come You Don't Call Me is the low point. The utterly conventional A Woman's Worth is a close second. This was the world's best-selling record of 2001.

This best-selling album and its equally popular follow-up, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), turned her into a star. The "diary" is different in that she attempts more sophisticated arrangements, which is a mixed blessing. Harlem's Nocturne begins in almost expressionist atmosphere, followed by more aggressive songs like Karma and Heartburn, a frenzied booming funk number co-produced with Timbaland. Dragon Days concocts a feverish cinematic beat. The eclectic production peaks with the jazzy If I Was Your Woman / Walk On By (co-produced with Easy Mo Bee, who samples Isaac Hayes' Walk On By) and with the silky orchestral You Don't Know My Name, co-produced with a young Kanye West. The mellow vocal acrobatics of Diary is the closest thing to the intimate bedroom feeling of the first album. The hit of the album was If I Ain't Got You, a conventional big 6/8 ballad that somehow hypnotized an entire generation. In general the material is weaker, especially towards the end. The best song of the last six-seven is When You Really Love Someone, which is too reminiscent of Fallin'.

As I Am (2007) still contained a pop hit, No One, but The Element of Freedom (2009) and Girl on Fire (2012) marked a rapid artistic decline. Her career was rescued by Here (2016), although it focused more on lyrics than on music. Alicia (2020) continued her descent into mediocrity. The double album Keys (2021) was divided into an album of intimate, piano-driven pieces and an album of bland dance-pop ditties.