“Doing interviews, I was private to the point where I was desensitizing myself to my own emotions. “That’s one of the things I learned this year,” she says. Keys knows a little something about hiding she has never been shy as a writer or performer, but there has always been a guarded quality to her interviews - and she admits as much.

You can’t hide from somebody who knows you so well.” When you have a great friendship with somebody, there are always ups and downs and ins and outs, but they enhance the working relationship. “Obviously, are very close, dating back to the first album. “I’ve never confirmed that we’re together, and I never will,” she begins, choosing her words carefully. She clams up a bit when asked about another close collaborator-producer, Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, long rumoured to be the singer’s boyfriend. I didn’t have to worry about asserting myself - my voice comes through.”

Linda Perry and I connected incredibly well. Either you connect with the person or you don’t. Did Keys have any difficulty making her creative voice heard in the studio? “No,” she says. “It’s what I connect to, what I relate to.”This issue of personal expression is especially pertinent given the calibre of collaborators assembled for the record, including ex-4 Non Blondes member Linda Perry, who has penned hits for the likes of Gwen Stefani, Pink and Christina Aguilera. Asked if the Motown sound was a guiding influence on the album, Keys implies that its presence runs deeper than mere stylistic homage. Her triumphant first single, “No One” - which could be caught blaring out of every other car stereo on its release last September - is an upbeat number with a defiant singalong refrain: “No one can get in the way of what I’m feeling.” Old-school Motown grooves power “Wreckless Love” and the infectious “Teenage Love Affair,” which has rightly been compared to the bubbly pop of the Jackson 5. Sometimes you try to ignore them, but it comes to a point where you can’t.”Īs I Am is the sound of confidence renewed. “I wasn’t being clear about what was bothering me and the things that were bringing me heartache. “I’d been touring so much and I was just over-exhausted from the whole process,” she says. Onstage or on disc, Keys sounded as empowered as ever, but behind the scenes she was struggling to assert herself. Like her music and her lyrics, her persona seemed to be her own.īut six years and two successful albums later, the pressures of stardom started bearing down on the singer’s fragile frame. Whereas so many of her pop-starlet contemporaries suggested label-made creations, Keys struck chords of authenticity as naturally as she elicited melodies from her keyboard. Her Grammy-winning 2001 debut, Songs in A Minor, was notable not only for its abundance of complex yet radio-friendly compositions (all written or co-written by the then-21-year-old Keys) but also for its creator’s beyond-her-years bearing. It’s a surprising admission, since one of the defining aspects of Keys’ career thus far has been her almost preternatural sense of self-possession. At that point, you have to stand up and make your own choices.” There comes a time in everyone’s life when they realize they’re following other people’s good judgments. “I can definitely say that I was forced to learn about myself and the type of woman that I wanted to be. “It’s tough to nail down in a quick, neat package,” says the 28-year-old singer-songwriter during an interview on the eve of her performance at the American Music Awards. She also makes an unexpected statement about the period in which the record was produced: “This year…how can I explain it? It has simultaneously been the best and worst of my life.” So, can she explain it? In the liner notes for her chart-topping new album, As I Am, Alicia Keys doles out the requisite thank yous to friends, family and collaborators.

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