Keys began performing at age four and playing piano at age seven, concentrating on classical music and jazz. At age 14 she began composing, and two years later she graduated as valedictorian from the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan. Keys's compositions showed modern influences but were rooted in the sounds of earlier soul artists, including Marvin Gaye (Gaye, Marvin) and Stevie Wonder (Wonder, Stevie). After attracting the attention of record mogul Clive Davis, she signed to his Arista Records in 1998, and, when Davis formed J Records in 2000, she was one of the first artists to sign with the new label. In 2001 Keys released Songs in A Minor, a hugely successful debut album that featured a number one hit with "Fallin'" and that went on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide. She won five Grammy Awards (Grammy Award) in 2002, including those for song of the year and best new artist.

The following year Keys released a second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. She also recorded a duet with Usher called "My Boo," which for six weeks was the number one song on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In 2005 Keys cemented her status as one of pop music's leading artists by winning four Grammy Awards: best album, song, female vocal performance, and performance by a duo or group with vocals. That same year she recorded and released Unplugged, an album from the MTV special on which she performed stripped-down versions of past hits, new songs, and covers of songs popularized by Aretha Franklin (Franklin, Aretha) and by the Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones, the). In 2007 Keys released the soul (soul music)-infused As I Am, which featured the Grammy-winning single "No One." The following year she teamed with Jack White of the White Stripes on "Another Way to Die," the lead single on the sound track to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

In addition to her music-related activities, Keys acted in several films, including Smokin' Aces (2006), The Nanny Diaries (2007), and The Secret Life of Bees (2008).