Look up assurance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Assurance may refer to:

• Assurance services, offered by accountancy firms to improve the quality of information
• Assurance (theology), a Protestant Christian doctrine
• Life assurance in British usage, an insurance on human life, payable on an event which is certain to happen, but of unknown timing
• Quality assurance, processes designed to ensure the quality of a product or service
• HMS Assurance, the name of several Royal Navy ships
• Mount Assurance, a hill in New Hampshire, United States

See also[link]

• Insurance

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up guide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Austrian mountain guides Anselm Klotz (left) and Josef Frey (right), 19th century

A guide is a person who leads anyone through unknown or unmapped country. This includes a guide of the real world (such as someone who conducts travellers and tourists through a place of interest), as well as a person who leads someone to more abstract places (such as to knowledge or wisdom).

Guide - meanings related to travel and recreational pursuits[link]

There are many variants of guides in this context, and guides are often employed in any aspect of travel or adventure, or wherever there is an advantage to the client in terms of knowledge provided in improving the overall travel experience or making the client feel more safe due to the presumed expertise of the guide.
These days guides will normally possess an area and field-specific qualification usually issued and/or recognised by the appropriate Guide's Association or licensing authority. However this is not always the case, and it is advisable for travellers paying a premium to go on an organised tour or journey because they think this will mean they will have a better experience to check the guide's qualifications beforehand.
Explorers in the past venturing into territory unknown by their own people invariably hired guides. American West explorers Lewis and Clark hired a Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea, and Wilfred Thesiger hired guides in the deserts that he ventured into, such as Kuri on his journey to the Tibesti Mountains in 1938.
Aside from knowing the way or the area geographically, modern guides are usually hired to act as interpreters for those travellers who do not speak the local language and provide cultural, historical or other information on the area visited. Travel companies organising tours of large groups often have a guide or tour leader accompany the group. They might also be trained in First Aid and have other skills that reduce the risk for the tour operator to conduct these tours or the travel agency selling them.
Here are some examples of guide professions:

Tourist guide[link]

A tour guide at the Centre Block in Canada.

Tourist Guides are representatives of the cities, regions and countries for which they are qualified. It depends largely on them if visitors feel welcome, want to stay longer or decide to come back. They therefore contribute considerably to the perception of the destination. Tourist Guides are able to help travellers understand the culture of the region visited and the way of life of its inhabitants. They have a particular role on the one hand to promote the cultural and natural heritage whilst on the other hand to help ensure its sustainability by making visitors aware of its importance and vulnerability. [EN 13809:2003]

Mountain guide[link]

Mountain guides are those employed in mountaineering; these are not merely to show the way but stand in the position of professional climbers with an expert knowledge of rock and snowcraft, which they impart to the amateur, at the same time assuring the safety of the climbing party. This professional class of guides arose in the middle of the 19th century when Alpine climbing became recognized as a sport.

In Switzerland, the central committee of the Swiss Alpine Club issues a guides’ tariff which fixes the charges for guides and porters; there are three sections, for the Valais and Vaudois Alps, for the Bernese Oberland, and for central and eastern Switzerland.

In Chamonix (France) a statue has been raised to Jacques Balmat, who was the first to climb Mont Blanc in 1786. Other notable European guides are Auguste Balmat, Michel Cros, Maquignay, J. A. Carrel, who accompanied Edward Whymper to the Andes, the brothers Lauener, Christian Almer and Jakob and Melchior Anderegg.

Adirondack guides (carrying and rowing guideboats on the Raquette River, 1888

Wilderness guide[link]

A wilderness guide is a person who takes a number of individuals to visit some part of wilderness, such as forest, bogs, hills, on or off marked paths, and ensure the safety of the group while leading them through the wilderness which the guide has knowledge of.

The first priority is the safety of the group, which is why wilderness guides are expected to have a command of basic survival skills (such as making shelters, fire-making, hiking, orienteering and first-aid) as well as experience in survival in extreme conditions and all seasons, and how to deal with an emergency. The guide is also expected to have a deep understanding of the nature of the place he is guiding in, and able to answer questions of the group concerning the local flora and fauna, ecology, geological morphology, as well as cultural history of the place visited.

Other skills may include traditional handicrafts and cooking methods, fishing, hunting, bird watching, nature conservation and animal specialties.

These wilderness guided tours usually take place on foot (or skis or snowshoes if there is snow) but may also involve other vehicles such as cars, snowmobiles, canoes/kayaks, or sledges (traditionally pulled by huskies or reindeers in countries such as Sweden, Finland and Canada).^[1]

Hunting guide[link]

Guides employed by those seeking to hunt wildlife, especially big game animals in the wild. Hunting guides have been important in many areas of the world, including the American west, the Adirondacks, and Africa, etc. Hunting guides in Africa of European descent are commonly referred to as White hunter, although this is becoming a less fashionable term these days, as in most African countries today there are also native African "hunters" or hunting guides.

Safari guide[link]

Guides employed on safari, usually for "photographic safaris", although the term can also refer to a "hunting guide" or Professional Hunter. Safari guides who are self-employed, working on their own account with their own marketing and clientele (in contrast with those who work for an employer) sometimes refer to themselves as "professional safari guides".

Military guides and development of Guides Regiments[link]

In European wars up to the time of the French Revolution, the absence of large-scale detailed maps made local guides almost essential to the direction of military operations. In the 18th century the stricter organization of military resources led in various countries to the special training of guide officers who had the primary duty of finding, and if necessary establishing, routes across country. In the history of the American west, Native Americans and mountain men were important in leading military units and settlers alike.

The genesis of the "Guides" regiments may be found in a short-lived Corps of Guides formed by Napoleon in Italy in 1796, which appears to have been a personal escort or body guard composed of men who knew the country. Following the unification of Italy in 1870-71, the new national army included a regiment designated as Guides - the 19th Cavalleggieri (Light Horse).

In the Belgian Army the two Guides regiments, created respectively in 1833 and 1874, constituted part of the light cavalry and came to correspond to the Guard cavalry of other nations. Until the outbreak of World War I, they wore a distinctive uniform comprising a plumed busby, green dolman braided in yellow, and crimson breeches. Mechanised in October 1937, both regiments form armoured battalions in the modern Belgian Army.

In the Swiss army prior to 1914 the squadrons of "Guides" acted as divisional cavalry. In this role these light cavalry units were called upon, on occasion, to lead columns.

The "Queen’s own Corps of Guides" of the British Indian Army consisted of a unique combination of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons. After World War I the infantry element was incorporated in the 12th Frontier Force Regiment and the Guides Cavalry formed a separate regiment - the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force).

In drill, a "guide" is an officer or non-commissioned officer who regulates the direction and pace of movements.

Guide - metaphysical meanings[link]

Trip sitter[link]

A psychedelic guide is someone who guides a drug user's experiences as opposed to a sitter who merely remains present, ready to discourage bad trips and handle emergencies but not otherwise getting involved. Guides are more common amongst spiritual users of entheogens. Psychedelic guides were strongly encouraged by Timothy Leary and the other authors of The Psychedelic Experience: A Guide Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Trip sitters are also mentioned in the Responsible Drug User's Oath.

Guided meditation[link]

Jim Bridger served as guide and army scout during the first Powder River Expedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne

In Islam[link]

In Islam "Ar-Rashid", one of the 99 Names of Allah, means The Guide. From this is derived the common Arabic name Rashid.

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.  Original text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

1. ^ Tampere College. "International Wilderness Guide program". http://www.tao.tampere.fi/tao/TAOWWWAIKUISET/era-_ja_luonto-oppaan_at_%28international_wilderness_guide%29.html. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 

Alicia Keys
Keys in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off concert.
Background information
Birth name	Alicia Augello Cook
Also known as	Lellow
Born	(1981-01-25) January 25, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	New York City, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B, blues, hip hop, jazz, neo soul, electronic
Occupations	singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, cello, synthesizer, vocoder, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1997–present
Labels	RCA, J, Arista, Columbia
Website	aliciakeys.com

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide.^[1] She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001.^[2] The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'".^[3] Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies.^[4] The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005.^[5] Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States.^[6] She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.^[2]

Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and 25 million singles, which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[7] Billboard magazine placed her number ten on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.^[8] As of January 2012, Keys has sold 60 million records worldwide.

Life and career[link]

1981–2001: Early life and Career Beginnings[link]

Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City.^[9][10][11] She is the only child of Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant.^{[12][13][14][15]} Keys' mother is of Italian, Scottish, and Irish descent, and her father is African American;^[16] Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".^[10][17] Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.^[18] In 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party".^[19][20] Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother.^[21] She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.^[12] Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14.^[13][22] She graduated in four years as valedictorian at the age of 16.^[23]

In 1994 Keys met long-term manager Jeff Robinson after she enrolled in his brother's after-school program.^[24] The following year Robinson introduced Keys to her future A&R at Arista Records, Peter Edge, who later described his first impressions to HitQuarters: "I had never met a young R&B artist with that level of musicianship. So many people were just singing on top of loops and tracks, but she had the ability, not only to be part of hip-hop, but also to go way beyond that."^[25] Edge helped Robinson create a showcase for Keys and also got involved in developing her demo material. He was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after.^[25] At the same time as signing a recording contract with Columbia Records, Keys was accepted into Columbia University. At first, Keys attempted to manage both but after four weeks dropped out of college to pursue her musical career fulltime.^[23][26]

Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.^[26] The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys was unhappy with the label because her career had stalled during her two years under contract at Columbia due to executive indecision over her direction and major changes within the company.^[25] Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded.^[9][10] Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person.^[27] Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she worked with Kerry "Krucial" Brothers and recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), respectively.^[28][29]

[edit] 2001–2002: Songs in A Minor

	"Fallin" (2001) noicon "Fallin'" is a gospel-influenced piano ballad.[30] Often considered her signature song, it describes the "ins and outs" of being in a relationship.[31]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Keys released her first studio album, Songs in A Minor, in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week.^[32] The album sold over 6.2 million copies in the United States,^[33] where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[34] It went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide,^[35] establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001.^[2] The album's lead single, "Fallin'", spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[36] The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", was released in February 2002 and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, as her second Top 10 single in both charts.^[37] The album's third single, "How Come You Don't Call Me", was released in June 2002 and peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's fourth single, "Girlfriend", was released in November 2002 in UK and peaked at number 82 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The following year, the album was reissued as Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.

Keys performing in Frankfurt, Germany, 2002

Songs in A Minor led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards.^[38] That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album Stripped on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals.^[39] During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams.^[12]

[edit] 2003–2005: The Diary of Alicia Keys and Unplugged

Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003.^[40] It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA.^[34][41] It sold eight million copies worldwide,^[42] becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist.^[43] The album's lead single, "You Don't Know My Name", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for eight consecutive weeks, her first Top 10 single in both charts since 2002's "A Woman's Worth ". The album's second single, "If I Ain't Got You", was released in February 2004 and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for six weeks. The album's third single, "Diary", peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, being their third consecutive Top 10 single in both charts. The album's fourth and final single, "Karma", which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, first release to fail to achieve top ten status on both charts. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.^{[44][45][46][47][48]} Keys also collaborated with recording artist Usher on the song "My Boo" from his 2004 album, Confessions (Special Edition). The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for three weeks, became her first number-one single in Hot 100 since 2001's "Fallin'".

Keys won Best R&B Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.^[49][50] Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water."^[51] She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question".^[52] The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005.^[53][54] The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma".^[55] Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards.^[56] That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.^[57]

Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.^[58] During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers.^[59] The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release.^[60] The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide.^[12][34][61] The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one.^[2] The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[62] It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay for 11 weeks.^[63] The album's second and final single, "Every Little Bit Hurts", was released in January 2006, it failed to enter the U.S. charts.

Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.^[64] The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.^[65]

[edit] 2006–2008: Film debut and As I Am

In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable".^[66] She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[67] In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".^[68] That same year, Keys nearly suffered a mental breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."^[69][70]

Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away". Smokin' Aces had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $57,103,895 worldwide during its theatrical run.^[71][72] In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. The Nanny Diaries had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run.^[73] She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.^[74]

Keys performing live, March 20, 2008

Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist.^[75][76] The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004.^[77] The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.^[78][79] It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide.^[80] Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two.^[81] The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for ten consecutive weeks, became her first number-one single in Hot 100 since 2004's "My Boo" and becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively.^[82] The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for seven consecutive weeks. From October 27, 2007, when "No One" reached No. 1, through February 16, 2008, the last week "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was at No. 1, the Keys was on top of the chart for 17 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist in Hot R&B/Hip/Hop Songs chart.^[83] The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", which peaked at number 54 on the 'Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[83] The album's fourth and final single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[83][84]

Keys performing at the 2008 Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan

"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards.^[85] Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show.^[86] Keys also won Best Female R&B Artist during the show.^[87] She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during The Hills on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh.^[88] She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product,^[89] and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign.^[90] Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.^[91] In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists.^[92] She also starred in The Secret Life of Bees, a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight. The Secret Life of Bees had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $39,947,322 worldwide during its theatrical run.^[93] Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.^[94] She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".^[95]

In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing".^[22] Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted.^[96] Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.^[97]

[edit] 2009–2010 : The Element of Freedom, marriage and motherhood

Keys on the red carpet at the 2009 American Music Awards.

Keys and manager Jeff Robinson signed a film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney. Their first film will be a remake of the 1958 comedy Bell, Book and Candle and will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé.^[98] Keys and Robinson also formed a television production company called Big Pita.^[99] Keys and Robinson will develop live-action and animated projects from their company, Big Pita and Little Pita, with Keys as producer, thespian, banner spearheading soundtrack and music supervision.^[100]

Keys collaborated with the record producer Swizz Beatz to write and produce "Million Dollar Bill" for Whitney Houston's seventh studio album, I Look to You. Keys had approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for the album.^[101] Keys also collaborated with the recording artist Jay-Z on the song "Empire State of Mind" from his 2009 album, The Blueprint 3. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became her fourth number-one single on that chart.^[102] At the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony, "Empire State of Mind" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. It had also been one of the five nominees for Record of the Year.^[103]

Keys during the As I Am Tour in Lisbon.

The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones".^[104] She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for "Looking for Paradise", which topped the Hot Latin Songs chart, this was Keys' first number one on all three charts, which also made her the first African-American of non-Hispanic origin to reach #1 on the Hot Latin Tracks.^[105] Keys released her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009.^[106] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week.^[107] As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET).^[108] The album's lead single, "Doesn't Mean Anything", has peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[106] Keys was ranked as the top R&B recording artist of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine and ranked at number five as artist of the decade, while her song, "No One", was ranked at number six on the magazine's songs of the decade.^{[109][110][111]} In the United Kingdom, The Element of Freedom became Keys' first album to top the UK Albums Chart.^[112] The album's second single, "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", was released in November 2009 and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's third single, "Put It in a Love Song", featuring Grammy-winner Beyoncé, peaked at number 60 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The music video for the single, which was filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been postponed several times, and later it was confirmed that Alicia Keys' team made a decision not to release the video. The album's fourth single, "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", was released in February 2010 and peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 76 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's fifth single, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)", was released in May 2010 and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, for twelve consecutive weeks and became the album's most successful single, becoming Keys' eighth number-one single on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album's sixth and final single, "Wait Til You See My Smile", was released in December 2010 in the U.K only.

Keys at the Walmart Shareholders Meeting 2011.

In May 2009, Swizz Beatz announced that he and Keys were romantically involved, while he was still married to his first wife^[113] and in May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together.^[114] During the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the couple took part of a union and had the unborn child blessed in a Zulu ceremony, which took place in the Illovo suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.^[115] Keys and Beatz were married on the French island of Corsica on July 31, 2010.^[116][117] On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to a son, Egypt Daoud Ibarr Dean, in New York City.^[118]

2011–present: Other ventures and upcoming album[link]

In June 2011, Songs in A Minor was re-released as deluxe and collector's editions in commemoration of its 10th anniversary.^[119] To support the release, Keys embarked on a four-city promotional tour, entitled Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys, featuring only her piano. Keys is also set to co-produce the Broadway premiere of Stick Fly, which will open in December 2011.^[120] On September 26, 2011, was the premiere of Project 5 known as Five, short film that marks the debut of Alicia Keys as a director. It is a documentary of five episodes that tell stories of five women who were victims of breast cancer and how it affected their lives. The production also has co-direction of the actresses Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and film director Patty Jenkins.^[121]

on September 23, she performed at iHeart Music Festival and sang her new song "A Place Of My Own", which is present in her fifth studio album.^[122][123] On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Keys (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on RCA Records.^[124][125] On Saturday February 18, 2012, Alicia performed "Send Me an Angel" at Whitney Houston's memorial at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.^[126]

Artistry[link]

Musical style[link]

	"If I Ain't Got You" (2003) noicon Keys often incorporates piano into her songs
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An accomplished pianist, Keys incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love, heartbreak and female empowerment.^[10][53] She has cited several musicians as her inspirations, including Prince, Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder.^{[127][128][129]} Keys' style is rooted in gospel and vintage soul music, supplemented by bass and programmed drumbeats.^[130] She heavily incorporates classical piano with R&B, soul and jazz into her music.^[131][132] She began experimenting with other genres, including pop and rock, in her third studio album, As I Am,^{[130][133][134]} transitioning from neo soul to a 1980s and 1990s R&B sound with her fourth album, The Element of Freedom.^[135][136] Patrick Huguenin of the New York Daily News stated that her incorporation of classical piano riffs contributed to her breakout success.^[44] Jet magazine states she "thrives" by touching her fans with "piano mastery, words and melodious voice".^[137] The Independent described her style as consisting of "crawling blues coupled with a hip-hop backbeat", noting that her lyrics "rarely stray from matters of the heart".^[138] Blender magazine referred to her as "the first new pop artist of the millennium who was capable of changing music."^[139]

Songwriting, voice and achievements[link]

Keys playing the piano while performing, surrounded by three backing vocalists

Keys has a vocal range of a contralto, which spans three octaves.^[44][140] She can sing from B flat over an octave below middle C (B♭₂) to B below soprano C (B₅). Often referred to as the "Princess of Soul",^[30][138] Keys has been commended as having a strong, raw and impassioned voice;^[141][142] others feel that her voice is "emotionally manufactured" at times and that she pushes her voice out of its natural range.^[141][142] Keys' songwriting is often criticized for lack of depth, which has led to her writing abilities being called limited.^[141] Her lyrics have been called generic, clichéd and that her songs revolve around generalities.^[130][141] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune feels that she "[pokes] around for multi-format hits rather than trying to project any sort of artistic vision".^[142] Diversely, Jon Pareles of Blender magazine stated that the musical composition of her songs makes up for their lyrical weakness,^[133] while Gregory Stephen Tate of The Village Voice compared Keys' writing and production to 1970s music.^[143]

Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, with 15 million certified albums.^[144] She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has established herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.^{[19][143][145]}

Philanthropy[link]

Keys performing at the Live Earth concert

Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa.^[146] Keys and U2 lead singer Bono recorded a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up", in recognition of World AIDS Day 2005. Keys and Bono's version of the song was retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)" to reflect the nature of the charity it was benefiting.^[147][148] She visited African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and South Africa to promote care for children affected by AIDS.^{[149][150][151]} Her work in Africa was documented in the documentary Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland and was available in April 2008.^[152]

Keys has also donated to Frum tha Ground Up, a non-profit organization that aids children and teenagers with scholarships.^[153][154] She performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of the poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action.^[155] In 2005, Keys performed on ReAct Now: Music & Relief and Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.^[156][157] In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.^[158][159]

Keys performed Donny Hathaway's 1973 song "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes televised benefit concert following the September 11 attacks.^[160] She participated in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, along with other various artists.^[161] She recorded a theme song for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. She joined Joss Stone and Jay-Z on the effort, which served as a theme song for Obama's campaign.^[162] For her work, Keys was honored at the 2009 BET Awards with the Humanitarian Award.^[163] Keys performed the song "Prelude to a Kiss", retitled "Send Me an Angel", from her 2007 album As I Am for the "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[164]

Discography[link]

• Songs in A Minor (2001)
• The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)
• As I Am (2007)
• The Element of Freedom (2009)
• TBA (2013)

Live albums

• Unplugged (2005)

Tours[link]

Keys at Tokyo Summer Sonic 2008.

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Keys
• List of honorific titles in popular music

References[link]