Aaliyah

At 22 years old, Aaliyah has this physical status:

Career

Hankerson signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12. Hankerson introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, which was released when she was 14 years old. Age Ain't Nothing But a Number was Aaliyah's debut album on May 24, 1994, Jive and Blackground Records' "Aaliyah" debuted on her mononym "Aaliyah" on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 38,000 copies in the first week. The RIAA designated it as Platinum twice by the RIAA and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200. In the United States, the album has sold over 3 million copies to date. Music Canada awarded the album gold in Canada for 50,000 copies. According to Vibe magazine, the album had sold six million copies around the world in 2014.

Age Ain't Nothing But a Number's received generally positive feedback from music critics on its first release. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" combined with Kelly's latest jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s. Her music was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue. The album's Christopher Farley of Time magazine called it a "beautifully restrained work," noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R. Kelly's rough beats." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the album had its "share of filler," but that the singles were "sly seductive." On the album, he also said that the songs on the album were "usually better" than that of Kelly's second studio album, 12 Play. Billboard chastised "At Your Best (You Are Love)" for being out of place on the album and length.

"Back & Forth," Aaliyah's debut single, debuted at number 5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip Songs chart for three weeks. Two more singles charted: "At Your Best (You Are Love)" by the Isley Brothers topped the Billboard Hot 100 at number six, while the album's title track, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number," reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, she released "The Thing I Love" as part of the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame's soundtrack.

Aaliyah left Jive Records in 1996 and signed with Atlantic Records. Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who made her second studio album, One in a Million, worked with her. Timbaland and herself were both excited to work with Aaliyah since Aaliyah had already released her debut album, although Missy Elliott and Timbaland were still insecure. Missy Elliott feared she'd be a diva, but Aaliyah "came in and was so warm; she made us feel like family right away." The album featured lead single single "If Your Girl Only Knew," which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Songs chart for two weeks. The singles "Hot Like Fire" and "4 Page Letter" were also released. One in a Million reached number 18 on the Billboard 200, and the RIAA designated it as double platinum on June 16, 1997, denoting two million copies. The album has since sold 3 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. Aaliyah appeared on Timbaland & Magoo's debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie," the following year.

Aaliyah graduated with a 4.0 GPA from the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she concentrated on drama. Aaliyah began her acting career in the same year; she appeared in the police drama television series New York Undercover. Aaliyah performed in the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York, during this period. Aaliyah also became the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation's spokesperson. During Tommy Hilfiger's tenure, the company sold over 2,400 pairs of the red, white, and blue baggy jeans she wore in their advertisements. "What Child Is This?" she performed in December 1997. The annual Christmas in Washington, D.C. special. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty earned a nomination for Best Original Song on the Academy's soundtrack album Anastasia's animated film Anastasia. At the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony, Aaliyah performed the song and became the youngest singer to perform at the ceremony. In addition, she released the song "Are You That Somebody?" in 1998. The Dr. Dolittle soundtrack was included on the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack. The song debuted at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination.

Aaliyah's debut in Romeo Must Die was in 1999. Jet Li, a martial artist, starred in a couple who fall in love among their warring families. The film, which was released on March 24, 2000, grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranked second at the box office. Aaliyah deliberately avoided reading the film in order to "make it simpler on" herself, but she learned that people were able to get inside me, which is what she wanted." Some commentators, on the other hand, felt that there was no chemistry between her and Jet Li, as well as the film being too simplistic. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times said that although Aaliyah was "a natural" and that the film was designed as a spotlight for both her and Li, "they have so little chemistry together that they might want to put out a fire rather than blowing off sparks."

Aaliyah performed as an executive producer of the film's soundtrack, for which she contributed four songs. The song "Try Again" was released as a single from the soundtrack, making Aaliyah the first artist to chart solely on airplay; the album was released in a 12-inch vinyl and 7-inch single. At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video received the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film Awards. In addition, she was given a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. In the United States, the soundtrack has gone on to sell 1.5 million copies.

Aaliyah began to work on her second film, Queen of the Damned, after completing Romeo Must Die. Queen Akasha, the ancient vampire who was described as a "manipulative, wild being," she played. Both Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned have been postponed, so the album's debut was postponed. Aaliyah had no intention of presenting her albums with such a void. "I wanted to take a break after One in a Million to just relax, but think about how I wanted to get to the next album." Then, as I was set to resume, "Romeo" happened, and I had to take another break to film the film and then do the soundtrack, then promote it. The break turned into a longer break than I had expected. Aaliyah loved balancing her singing and acting careers. Though she described music as a "first" for her, she also had been acting since she was young and wanted to start "at some point in her career," but "wanted it to be the right time and the right way" and decided Romeo Must Die "was it." According to Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times, Aaliyah's inability to concentrate on her film career may have prompted her not to give the album "the attention it deserved."

Aaliyah's publicist said that the album's launch date was most likely in October 2000 during the recording sessions. She stopped recording the album in March 2001, after a year of recording sessions that began in March of the previous year. Aaliyah came five years after One in a Million was released on July 17, 2001, and the brand debuted on July 17, 2001, selling 187,000 copies in its first week. "We Need a Resolution," the album's first single, debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. The week after Aaliyah's death, her third and self-titled studio album, climbed from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200. "Rock the Boat" was released as a posthumous single. The music video premiered on BET's Access Granted, and it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the show's history. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song ranked at number 14. Aaliyah's promotional posters were put up in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, and the homeless citizens were made into makeshift memorials. The album was awarded double platinum by the Royal Institute of British Architects in February 2002.

"More than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U" were among the top-five singles and peaked inside the Billboard Hot 100's top 25. Aaliyah became the first female deceased artist to reach number one on the UK singles chart, with "More than a Woman" debuting at number one on the UK singles chart. "More than a Woman" was replaced by George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," the only time in the UK singles chart that a deceased artist has replaced another deceased artist at number one.

Aaliyah has been cast in numerous future films, including a romantic film called Some Kind of Blue and a Whitney Houston-produced version of the 1976 film Sparkle. Aaliyah was "too enthusiastic" about the film, according to Houston; the initiative was shelved after she died. Aaliyah filmed some scenes for The Matrix sequels before her death as the character Zee. In the tribute segment of the Matrix Ultimate Collection series, a portion of her appearance in The Matrix Reloaded was shot; these unused scenes were included in the tribute section of the Matrix Ultimate Collection collection series.

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