When it came time for the 2020 Grammys to choose a host, Alicia Keys was the only choice.
After all, she's a 15-time winner herself. She's also a true talent and class act, having been taught classical piano at age seven.
Did you know that she once almost signed a record deal just for a piano? For more on the singer, keep reading.
Life wasn't easy for the star growing up.
While she was in her father's life, she was raised by her single mother, Terri. This meant that they scraped by.
"My neighborhood was porno hell—prostitutes everywhere," she told Oprah.
This caused her to promise herself that no matter "how difficult it gets, I will never do that."
It's Alicia Augello-Cook!
She chose Keys due to her piano background, but Alicia originally wanted her last name to be Wild.
However, her mom intervened. "She said, 'It sounds like you're a stripper,"' said Keys.
"When you're trying to get your music heard and yourself out there, it's rare that you get big opportunities, and this one was awesome," Keys recalled in an interview with q host Tom Power.
"It was like, 'Can you just kind of lift this a little bit? Can you pull this down a little bit? Can you open this a little bit?'" remembered Keys.
While the photographer never physically touched Keys, she did feel violated and taken advantage of.
It was also a turning point for her, as she became determined to honor her true, authentic self.
This is something she decided to do after going bare-faced during a photoshoot.
"I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt," she shared in an essay.
This was a nerve-wracking experience for the star, who wrote about it in her memoir, More Myself. She also recalled it to Rolling Stone.
But, as expected, the late Prince was so gracious.
RIP.
There, he had engraved piano, candles, doves, and the outfits from Purple Rain.
"My jaw was on the floor the entire time." We're so jealous!
Ironically enough, the singer wasn't too fond of Swizz when they were teenagers.
But that all changed when they reconnected in 2008.
That's because Beatz was allegedly still married to his first wife, Mashonda Tifrere, at the time.
Tifrere even accused Keys of "destroying a family" in a lengthy Twitter post.
"You know the role you played and you know how you contributed to the ending of my marriage."
Drama! To this day, Keys denies any truth to this.
The singer was tragically killed in a plane crash.
When Alicia heard the news while on a plane, she told The Guardian that the lyrics just "poured out" of her.
She never did since her record team intervened. It's a good thing they did since it's one of her greatest hits.
“It took me 300 different ways to get to what it sounds like today,” she told The Guardian.
But since Alicia and her mom were so poor, she actually begged to quit her lessons.
Thankfully, her mom intervened. "My mom would tell me, 'Quit what you like, but you're not quitting piano.' She didn't care what it cost."
That's because so many reality contestants wanted to sing it for their auditions.
Simon Cowell even said that it's the most ruined song ever!
Not many can say that!
But the singer has admitted that she almost made a big mistake when signing the major deal.
She almost signed on the dotted line just to get a brand new baby grand piano!
In the end, she got a similar piano and good negotiations thanks to her manager.
