Songs in A Minor by Alicia Keys

Songs in A Minor, Alicia Keys's debut, came out on J Records in June 2001, and it had taken the long road to get there. She had been writing songs for it since 1995, when she was 14, signed with Columbia, bristled at the label's attempts to steer her, and started recording on her own in 1998, only for Columbia to turn the finished tapes down. Clive Davis bought out her contract, and the album was finally finished at J.

The classically trained pianist wrote, arranged and produced most of it herself, often with her then-partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, and the result blends contemporary classical music with R&B, soul and jazz, with streaks of hip-hop, blues and gospel. The songs dwell on love, survival and self-worth, and "Fallin'" put her on top of the Hot 100. It debuted at number one, won her five Grammys in one night, including Best R&B Album, and joined the National Recording Registry in 2022.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.