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Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), better known as Aaliyah, was an American singer, dancer, actress, and model. Introduced to audiences by R&B singer R. Kelly, Aaliyah became famous during the mid-1990s with several hit records from the songwriting/production team of Missy Elliott and Timbaland and their associate Steve "Static" Garrett. Aaliyah soon joined Timbaland's R&B and hip hop collective, the Superfriends Clique.

She is notable for recording several hit records, including several number one R&B hits, a number one pop hit, and five top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She has sold 32 million records worldwide. She also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and starred in two motion pictures before dying tragically in a plane crash in the Bahamas.

Aaliyah signed with her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records label in 1993 at the age of 14. She released her debut album, titled Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, in 1994 at the age of 15. R. Kelly, was a leading songwriter and producer on her debut album. The album displayed her smooth and velvety vocals and the production work was said to be original and innovative. The album went platinum within months. The album featured the gold-selling singles "Back and Forth", "At Your Best," "Down With The Clique," and the album-title single "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number."

One In A Million, Aaliyah's second album, was chiefly written and produced by then-unknowns Missy Elliott and Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley. One in a Million was released on August 27, 1996 when Aaliyah was 17 years of age. The album became a landmark in Aaliyah's career, garnering her mass critical acclaim. The album was certified double-platinum within a year, making Aaliyah a major R&B and igniting the successful careers of Missy Elliott and Timbaland. One in a Million featured the international smash hits; "If Your Girl Only Knew", "One In A Million", "Got to Give It Up", "4 Page Letter", "Hot Like Fire", and "The One I Gave My Heart To".

To date, One in a Million has sold over 3.7 million copies in the U.S. and over 11 million worldwide.

"We Need a Resolution," the first single from Aaliyah's third studio album, was released April 24, 2001 (see 2001 in music). The self-titled Aaliyah was released three months later on July 17, 2001. The album was an instant critical success. Aaliyah introduced a darker and edgier side to Aaliyah's music and was noted as having showcased her growth as an artist. Around the time of the album's recording and release she had been filming Queen of the Damned, which helped her show a dark and edgy side as her character was a deadly villain. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 186,000 copies in its first week, and was certified gold (526,000 copies sold) within four weeks before her death. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was to produce a song on the album but scheduling conflicts did not permit the collaboration. I Care 4 U is the fourth and final single from the album.

There was no shortage of confusion at the label regarding the next single from the Aaliyah album. Aaliyah had been promoting "More Than a Woman", having performed it twice and shooting a video with director Dave Meyers in the summer of 2001. According to Blackground, a remix featuring State Property and Jay-Z was also planned, but was scrapped due to her death. The video was to be released but "Rock the Boat" began receiving huge amounts of radio-play, so she was immediately sent to the Bahamas to shoot the video. The "Rock the Boat" music video was put in the 106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live hall of fame, making the countdown over 65 times and landed in second place on BET's Top 100 videos of 2001. The album went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.

I Care 4 U was released on December 10, 2002. Along with her hit singles, a number of previously unreleased tracks were included on the album, including "Erica Kane", "Don't Worry" and "All I Need" and the new singles "Miss You", "Don't Know What to Tell Ya", and "Come Over." I Care 4 U debuted at an impressive #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the R&B album charts (where it remained for 7 weeks). The album went on to sell over 2.6 million in the U.S. and 5 million worldwide.

The video for "Miss You" features Missy Elliott, Toni Braxton, Lil' Kim, Dallas Austin, MTV presenter and close friend Ananda Lewis, actor/singer Jamie Foxx, AJ Calloway, Free, Quddus, Missy's recent protegé and longtime friend Tweet, U-God (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and DMX, Rosario Dawson, among others, paying tribute to Aaliyah. Following her death, her single "Miss You" made it to #1 on the US R&B Charts. The album earned Aaliyah a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

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