Word: aaliyah
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Aaliyah's latest album got great reviews but it didn't sell quite as well as many were expecting. The 22-year-old Aaliyah found herself beaten out on the charts by another hip-hop-R. and B. youngster, 20-year-old Alicia Keys. Still, Aaliyah's release garnered some of the best reviews of any album this year. And, despite the fact the Keys' album is pretty good, Aaliyah's was better and more challenging...
...Aaliyah's debut album, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" was a beautifully restrained work - her girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R.Kelly's rough beats. While other R. and B. divas turned their songs into workouts or prayer revivals or wild romps in the sack, Aaliyah's work was calm, almost prayerful. On her latest album, she came into her own as a vocalist - she was still laid back, but her voice, as a result of training and maturity, was even better able to emotionally detail a song. She was setting an example for all the other young...
...that is gone now. Aaliyah joins the small but significant list of musicians who have died in plane crashes: Richie Valens, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, John Denver, Otis Redding, a few others. The blues, and the suffering associated with them, are at the heart of American music; when an American pop performer dies, it brings the bluesy core of the music out, and makes the work seem richer, deeper, sadder. Aaliyah's albums, in the wake of her death, are already shooting to the upper reaches of the Amazon.com charts. Listeners hear the blue echo of tragedy...
...When I wrapped up my interview with Aaliyah a few months ago, I was left with many thoughts. I thought she hadn't said very much. I thought that she had played her secrets too close to the vest and her album, though terrific, probably wouldn't sell as well as it perhaps could have because she was such a restrained interview subject...
...also thought this: Aaliyah started performing at the age of 11. She was already a star by the time she was a teenager. Most kiddie stars get less interesting as they get older, they become less expressive, less innocent, less bright-eyed, less creative...