Singer Aliya: creativity and biography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In Russia, this performer is simply called Aliya. Her full name is Alia Dana Houghton. Her date of birth is 1979-16-01 City - New York, Brooklyn area. The debut album of the singer was released in 1994. Later, her popularity only developed, many songs were at the top of the charts. But in August 2001, the girl's life was cut short.

Prerequisites for a music career

Alia got into singing when she was a little girl. In many ways, this is the merit of her mother, who was a singer. Her daughter performed with her at weddings and charity events. The girl also sang in the choir of the local church.

When Alia was only 5 years old, her family moved from New York to Detroit. There, the girl began to study at the Catholic educational institution "Jesu Elementary".

As a student, the girl was awarded a role in the school play "Annie". For her, this was a defining moment in deciding the issue of future musical and acting activities.

Initial steps

Singer Aliya appeared on the big stage at the age of nine. Then she participated in the "Looking for Stars" contest. Castings for various labels followed.

Two years later she was performing the song in tandem with Gladys Knight, the legendary American soul vocalist.

The former husband of this singer, Barry Hancreson (aka Alia's uncle), was then the manager of the famous singer R. Kelly.

Barry's main profile was the law practice in the field of show business.

He decided that his niece should definitely get to know this artist personally. And the acquaintance took place.

Debut album

R. Kelly has been a huge support to Alia on her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.

Not only that, he wrote almost all the songs for her. The exception is the track At Your Best.

The release of the collection took place in the summer of 1994. The album later reached platinum status. And the singles Back & Forth and At Your Best were certified gold.

Marriage Rumors

Singer Aliya in the mid-90s developed the musical direction "new jill swing". With this, she attracted great attention from journalists.

At that time, the singer was only 15, and she was still a student at the local performing arts academy. The girl successfully graduated in 1997

Kelly spent a lot of time with his ward. And some members of the press spread the rumor that the girl was about to become his wife. Although he was older than her by more than 10 years. These rumors were neither denied nor confirmed.

And some mediaclaimed that their marriage took place and was declared illegal. Because of this excitement, the girl had to break the contract with the label Jive Records. And he recorded the next album, collaborating with Atlantic Records.

Second album

About a year before graduating, singer Aliya completes her discography with One In a Million.

This work was produced by the famous showman Timberland. When recording the album, the singer Alia worked with rappers Slick Rick and Trach. Critics called the material of the album borderline between hip-hop and R&B style.

The following songs from this release took off to the top of the charts:

1. The composition of the same name.
2. 4 Page Letter.
3. If Your Girl Only Knew.

In America, the sales figure reached about 2 million discs. Over 8 million in the world.

Songs for films

In the biography of the singer Alia there are works that have become soundtracks in famous films.

Composition	Movie	Year
Journey To The Past	"Anastasia" (m/f)	1997
Are You That Somebody?	"Dr. Dolittle"	1998
I Don't Wanna	"Next Friday"	2000
Come Back In One Piece Try Again	"Romeo must die"	2000

The fourth track from this list was certified platinum.

And the artist performed the first song at the Oscars. After all, the authors of the song were candidates for this award.

Acting

In 1997, Alia's acting work began. Her debut is with Undercover Cops. In the series, she played herself. It was a modest but very responsible role.

In 2000, more serious work took place - a character named Trish Oday in the film "Romeo Must Die".

The next female character is Akasha in the horror movie Queen of the Damned. She perfectly realized this image. For example - a photo of the singer Aliya in this role.

The picture was released six months after the artist's death. And the creators dedicated it to her. For this role, the singer Aliya was posthumously awarded the MTV Movie Awards-2002.

Another film in which it was planned to use the actress was the famous "Matrix".

Third album

In 2001, the singer Aliya released her third album - Aaliyah. As it turned out, this was her last studio work.

The album was produced by Timberland. This work was placed on the second position of the national rating "Billboard 200".

187,000 copies sold in the first seven days of sale. And the composition WeNeed a Resolution hit 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tragic events

It was August 2001. Aliya and her creative team traveled to the Bahamas to shoot the Rock the Boat video. On the 25th, work on it was completed. Initially, according to the plan, the shooting was supposed to end a day later. Even the tickets were booked for the 26th.

However, Aliya and 8 other people decided to fly to Florida on August 25th. They were placed on board a Cessna 402B (N8097W) aircraft. Before that, all the equipment was loaded into the plane. All aircraft personnel claimed that the mass of the equipment exceeded the allowable values, and the takeoff might not work.

But contrary to the recommendations, heavy equipment was loaded. And the plane crashed, breaking away from the runway by 60 m. As a result of the crash, none of those on board survived.

Investigators identified the following causes of death of singer Alia:

1. Severe burns.
2. Severe skull injuries.
3. Powerful shock.
4. Heart failure.

Specialists concluded that if the girl survived, she would not be able to fully recover due to too severe injuries.

The investigation also revealed that the pilot had a fake license to operate. And an autopsy found drugs and alcohol in his body.

Popularity

The death of singer Alia shocked fans. And after that, the popularity of her songs increased incredibly.

In 2002, I Care 4 You was released. It includes all the strongest songssingers, as well as six unreleased pieces. Among them, special priority was given to the composition Miss you. And then they filmed a video for it.