Twenty-five years after she released her debut album, we pick the best of an artist pairing Chopin-inspired piano with pop, soul and powerful emotion.
20. Skydive (Unlocked) (2021)
Two different takes on the same album – one traditional, the other more beat-heavy – packaged together, Keys was an experiment that didn’t quite work, but Skydive, co-written with Raphael Saadiq, is a fine song: both versions are great but Mike WiLL Made-It’s bumping rework wins by a fraction.
19. Jane Doe (2001)
A collaboration with former Xscape vocalist Kandi Burruss, Jane Doe is a splendidly sassy slice of early 00s get-your-hands-off-my-man R&B. In mood, if not exactly sound, you could file it next to the songs Burruss co-authored for TLC and Destiny’s Child: No Scrubs, Bills Bills Bills and Bug a Boo.
18. Wait Til You See My Smile (2009)
Shameless no-holds-barred 80s bombast – Billy Joel piano, booming drums, epic stadium rock synths – meets utterly infectious emotional uplift: on one level, Wait Til You See My Smile is completely ridiculous, but it is also irresistible, and Keys’ vocal, alternately sultry and ecstatic, is fantastic.
17. Love Looks Better (2020)
There is a distinct hint of EDM about the synths on Love Looks Better and the song, co-written by Ryan Tedder, is pure bright-hued pop. Clearly we’re a long way from the classic R&B of Keys’ debut, but her voice brings the soul, and it’s a churlish character indeed who doesn’t find themselves carried along with it.
16. Blended Family (What You Do for Love) (ft A$AP Rocky) (2016)
It is hard to think of many other pop songs about the pleasures of being a stepmother, or to think of any as sweetly affecting as this: charmingly plain-spoken lyrics (“even though I married your father / That’s not the only reason I’m here for ya”), killer sample from Edie Brickell’s What I Am, great guest verse by A$AP Rocky.
15. Dragon Days (2003)
You can, if you wish, view The Diary of Alicia Keys as a concept album about the ups and downs of its author’s romantic life. Dragon Days, which crops up halfway through, captures her very much on the upswing: her voice is a breathy growl, the music is impressively tough funk.
14. Fire We Make (ft Maxwell) (2012)
Fire We Make couldn’t be more straightforward: an old-fashioned, understated slow jam, decorated with horns and an impressively dextrous guitar solo. But who needs gimmicks when a song’s this good, and moreover features Maxwell in falsetto lover-man mode?
13. A Woman’s Worth (2005)
Originally a string-laden ballad from her debut album Songs in A Minor, A Woman’s Worth sounds best on the live Unplugged album: more urgent, stripped back to drums, bass, piano and guitar, bolstered by an audience audibly in raptures throughout.
12. Doesn’t Mean Anything (2009)
The first single from The Element of Freedom, Keys’ fourth album, was released to tepid reviews: the main criticism was that it was too unadventurous, but you could just as easily paint it as the distilled essence of what Keys does: an unflashy but superbly written song, piano driven, mid-tempo, beautifully sung, job done.
11. Diary (ft Tony! Toni! Toné! and Jermaine Paul) (2003)
Diary is all about the slow burn, its gradual shift from intimacy to intensity. The lyrics are about a relationship seemingly being conducted in secret, but by the end of the song, things appear to be fraying – a climax amped up by the appearance of Tony! Toni! Toné!
10. Empire State of Mind Part II (Broken Down) (2009)
You might expect Keys’ solo piano interpretation of the 21st century’s answer to New York, New York to be more melancholic than the swaggering Jay-Z version: it keeps the monster chorus, but if anything, it’s more romantic and glossy, closer to a show tune. It’s still a fantastic song.
9. Like You’ll Never See Me Again (2007)
Keys covered Prince’s How Come You Don’t Call Me on her debut album and his influence audibly lurks around Like You’ll Never See Me Again, a beautiful, falsetto-heavy ballad. But it’s not just that it sounds like Prince, it’s that you could definitely imagine him singing it, which counts as high praise indeed.
8. Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart (2009)
Keys’ album The Element of Freedom suggested a major musical shift, the 70s soul influences displaced by inspiration from 80s pop. Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart is the leading example: a thunderous old-skool hip-hop beat, equally immense synths, and, most importantly, a superb pop song at its core.
7. Karma (2003)
Keys trained as a classical pianist – she studied the Suzuki method and is a fan of Chopin. Perhaps that background seeped into the sound of Karma, which splits the difference between the kind of high-drama strings popular in early 00s hip-hop and a more complex, rococo arrangement.
6. Underdog (2020)
Co-written by Ed Sheeran and his regular collaborator Amy Wadge, the never-give-up mood of Underdog took on a fresh potency when Covid was declared a pandemic two months after the song’s release. But you don’t need to be in the middle of a global catastrophe to appreciate its infectiously breezy sound and hopeful message.
5. No One (2007)
The first single and the standout track from Keys’ third album, As I Am, No One boasts possibly the single best vocal performance the singer has ever captured in the studio: no fireworks, just pure wrenching emotion from the opening note. Plus, the chorus is amazing.
4. Un-thinkable (I’m Ready) (remix ft Drake) (2010)
The original is great, but it’s the Drake remix – recorded at the height of his initial purple patch – that you really want to hear. It is dreamier and more overcast in tone, which perfectly fits the subject matter: teetering on the verge of romantic commitment in your late 20s.
3. You Don’t Know My Name (2003)
The pillowy sound of 70s soft soul given a wonderful 21st-century reboot – the sample comes from the Main Ingredient’s 1975 album track Let Me Prove My Love to You – You Don’t Know My Name is lush and heady: the whole track sounds dizzy with unrequited love.
2. Fallin’ (2001)
Fallin’ was Keys’ breakthrough, but it came after a number of false starts: a 90s major-label deal went nowhere. It is tempting to suggest you can hear her sensing that this might be her last chance in the forcefulness of her vocal: certainly, it is an extraordinarily powerful introduction to her work.
1. If I Ain’t Got You (2003)
Ostensibly a love song, but actually inspired by the death of Aaliyah and the 9/11 attacks that took place a few weeks after the singer’s passing, If I Ain’t Got You is Alicia Keys’ most popular song – more than 1.5bn streams on Spotify alone – for a reason: beautifully played and sung, it is the perfect summation of Keys’ ability to come up with a timeless classic soul song that sounds entirely modern, rather than retro. Pub quiz fact: she nearly gave it away to Christina Aguilera, believing “I’ll write a hundred more like that”, until her A&R convinced her not to.
