This weekend marks the 20th anniversary for the studio debut album from Alicia Keys Songs In A Minor. The album went platinum here in NZ peaking at #4 on the RMNZ chart. It's first two singles "Fallin" and "A Woman's Worth" peaked at #1 and #5 respectively on our charts, "Fallin" has a gold certification. Keys recently performed a couple of the tracks on the Billboard Music Awards.
Let's take a look aback at the album. While there are a couple songs that definitely scream late 90s and early 2000s the majority of the album still holds up today and doesn't sound terribly dated. Quick fun fact, even though it is titled Songs In A Minor only one song on the album, "Jane Doe," is actually in the key of A minor.
Keys had been in the industry since the mid 90s. Her first song credit is actually for a song called "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)" which was on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Men In Black.
The songs that would make up her debut album were being written by Keys when she was just 14 years old. Album cut "Butterflyz" was one of the earliest to be completed for the album. A remix of that song was featured on the soundtrack for the film Drumline.
Keys would begin recording Songs In A Minor in 1998 for Columbia Records but they rejected what she presented. After a performance for Clive Davis he signer her to Arista Records feeling Keys was a "special, unique" artist. After the signing Keys went back to work on her album but encountered struggles. It wasn't until she was working on the song "Troubles" that a breakthrough occurred.
"That's when the album started comin' together," Keys told Rolling Stone magazine in a 2001 interview. "Finally, I knew how to structure my feelings into something that made sense, something that can translate to people. That was a changing point. My confidence was up, way up."
32 songs were eventually recorded for the album which featured an original title of Soul Stories In A Minor. The title was changed in hopes of not pigeon-holing Keys into an urban only space. Songs In A Minor is looked at as a neo-soul album with elements of R&B, jazz, soul, hip hop, blues, classical and gospel music. Keys wrote, arranged, and produced the majority of the album herself.
In a 2001 interview with Billboard Keys described the album as a "fusion of my classical training, meshed with what I grew up listening to ... things I've been exposed to and drawn from and my life experiences."
The first single "Fallin" was released in April and was one of the best-selling singles of 2001. It is generally considered here signature song. The music video was directed by Chris Robinson and featured a plot that would be continued in her 2nd single "A Woman's Worth."
The 3rd single was a cover of Prince's song "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" retitled "How Come You Don't Call Me." Keys had never heard the original before listening prior to recording. While her rendition was praised many thought it fell short of another singer's cover, Stephanie Mills did a take on the song in 1983.
This wasn't the only cover on the album. Keys also took a shot at Brian McKnight's 1992 song "Never Felt This Way." (We've got a playlist full of R&B covers and originals that you can check out HERE.)
The 4th and final single off Songs In A Minor, "Girlfriend," was only released outside the United States. The video was shot in East London. The video version is different than the album version as the Krucialkeys Sista Girl Mix was used.
Songs In A Minor is one of the strongest debut albums and would help start Keys on the path to becoming a force in the 2000s. It is certainly one of the best albums of 2001 which was a strong year for R&B and Hip Hop in general. Check out our list HERE of other albums turning 20 this year to see just how loaded it was.
Keys debut has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and was certified seven times platinum by the RIAA. It would also garner her 5 Grammy wins at the 44th Grammy Awards including Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album and Song of the Year.
A 20th Anniversary edition has been released digitally featuring the 16 original tracks and 2 unreleased bonus tracks. A limited-edition two-LP set pressed on black and green blended colour vinyl is also available for pre-order.
Revisit this classic below today.
