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 Not since the emergence of Stevie Wonder and the Jacksons has there been such hype about a teen star in black music. Ever since exploding on to the music scene in 95 with the #1 R&B single "Back and Forth": at the age of 15, Aaliyah has opened the doors for many of todays hot young singers. It was thanks to her successful debut album that record companies everywhere went looking for young talented female vocalist, which resulted in a explosion of singers into the scene such as Brandy, Monica & Mya. Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th, 1979 and raised in Brooklyn, New York up until the age of 5, when her family (father-Michael, Mother-Diane, brother-Rashad), uprooted to Detroit Michigan, home of Berry Gordy´s Motown Records. Although Aaliyah did a lot of performing at a young age, she did not fully realize her potential until the tender age at 6, thanks to a elementary school play of Annie, which ignited Aaliyah´s interest into becoming a singer.By the time she was 10, Aaliyah had hit the famous "Star Search" stage with her rendition of Chaka Khan´s "My Funny Valentine". Although Aaliyah did not win the competition, it was a real learning experience. At the age of 11, Aaliyah was half way towards her dream, singing on stage in Las Vegas for a five night stand with Gladys Knight's troupe. Aged 12, Aaliyah was introduced to R. Kelly via her uncle, Barry Hankerson (who also happened to be R. Kelly's manager). From there, R. Kelly helped Aaliyah craft an impressive debut album, "Age Ain´t Nothing But a Number", which produced two gold singles and a platinum album. At the age of 15, Aaliyah seemed like she was on top of the world. However, before you could say 'second album' a huge furore developed about Aaliyah´s relationship with R.Kelly. US magazine Vibe printed what they alleged to be a copy of Kelly and Aaliayah's marriage certificate, where it clearly stated that Aaliyah was just 15 years old. Both Kelly and Aaliyah evaded the issue – never actually confronting the question as to whether a relationship ever took place. However, the damage to their reputations was evident: Aaliyah changed labels and after a deliberate passage of time set to work on her second set with new producers, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot and Timbaland. With a quiet three years passing before her next album would appear, Aaliyah waited until the rumors subsided and appeared on numerous songs on soundtracks as well as guest appearing on other artists' songs. In 1997, Aaliyah delievered the impressive and critically acclaimed album, "One In A Million. This album which was a result of countless studio hours, showed her growth and maturity. They included collaborations with artists such as Timbaland and Missy Elliot as well as Kay-Gee, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, Vincert Herbert and others. This album went double platinum and produced the #1 single, If Your Girl Only Knew and although most of the singles off this album were not available for commerical release, they were quite successful themselves. Since then, Aaliyah has made appearances on the soundtrack of the animated feature: ANASTASIA with her oscar nominated song, "Journey to the Past". She has also had a #1 hit off the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack with the single, Are You That Somebody. And 1999 marked the year when Aaliyah made her movie debut in Romeo Must Die with international superstar Jet Li & DMX (also making his movie debut). She also contributed to the movie´s soundtrack, and had two hit singles with "Try Again" and "Back In One Piece" featuring DMX. It looks like Aaliyah will be here to stay for years to come... For Aaliyah music & merchandise, click here to go to CDNow |
