Even if she only comes close to winning as many Grammys as she did the first time, Alicia Keys will have a great night.
In 2002, the recording industry rewarded the singer-composer with five of the honors for her debut album, “Songs in A Minor.” Voters clearly like her sophomore effort; “The Diary of Alicia Keys” has eight nominations in the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. CBS will broadcast the event Sunday from Staples Center in Los Angeles. Queen Latifah will serve as host for the first time, with Keys and fellow nominees U2, Tim McGraw and Green Day slated to perform.
Kanye West leads the pack of nominees with 10 bids, and Keys is tied with Usher for eight; posthumously, Ray Charles is next with seven nominations.
“It’s just incredible,” Keys says. “I’m even more excited this time and incredibly grateful. The first time, it was overwhelming and I was just catching up to myself in a way. I was trying to figure out what was going on and what was coming next, because everything was so brand new to me. I’m also excited about being able to perform again this year, because that’s my favorite thing to do.”
Keys will do much more of that on a two-month concert tour that starts Feb. 25 in Miami. She maintains awards are just the icing on the cake for her: “As I’m creating, I’m doing it from my life as it evolves. The last thing I was thinking of was outdoing ‘Songs in A Minor,’ so this is pretty exciting. The thing with me is that I know that I’m going to get better, so I just look forward to my future.
“All the greats I admire — Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra — weren’t at their peak until they were in their 40s. Who knows what I’ll be writing about 10 years from now?”
If it matches the impact of “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” the artist can anticipate another big Grammy year in another decade. Her current CD is up for album of the year and best R&B album, and Keys also is up for song of the year and best female R&B performance, both for “If I Ain’t Got You.” Additionally, she has two nominations each in the categories of best R&B song (“My Boo,” with Usher, and “You Don’t Know My Name”) and best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals (“Diary,” with Tony! Toni! Tone! and “My Boo”).
“The Diary of Alicia Keys” is the product of some notable musical collaborations that Keys says have allowed her to “explore the different sides of myself. From performing with Stevie Wonder and Lenny Kravitz to doing a song with Usher, those are different sides of the spectrum, but I feel comfortable in them. I’m happy to challenge myself to become more than just me by myself.”
A songwriter since the age of 14, Keys is a strong proponent of the notion that things happen for a reason. “I look back to different things that have happened in my life, and at the time, I wondered why they happened and if things would ever change. I would feel sad, then fast-forward five or six years, and it all made sense. It all came together the way it was meant to, and I feel that way about this time right now.
“I feel very fulfilled, although I’m the kind of person who’s always looking for ways to improve myself. There’s so much more, and so many ways in which I can be growing, but the way that people respond to my music is probably the biggest reason I’m so grateful this year.”
