Singer Aliya: creativity and biography

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

Prerequisites for a music career

Alia was carried away by singing, being still a little girl. In many ways, this is the merit of her mother, who was a singer. The daughter performed with her at weddings and charity evenings. Also, the girl sang in the choir of the local church.

When Aliya was only 5 years old, her family changed her place of residence: they moved from New York to Detroit. There, the girl began to study at the Catholic educational institution "Jesu Elementari".

As a student, the girl won 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 was on the big stage at the age of nine. Then she participated in the competition "Looking for the stars." Then came auditions for various labels.

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

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

Barry's main profile was 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 greatly supported Alia in recording her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.

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

The collection was released in the summer of 1994. The album later reached platinum status. And the singles Back & Forth and At Your Best received the status of "gold".

Rumors of marriage

Singer Alia in the mid-90s developed the musical direction “New Jill Swing”. This attracted the great attention of journalists.

At that time, the singer was only 15, and she was still a student of the local Academy of Performing Arts. 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 did not find either a refutation or confirmation.

And some media claimed that their marriage took place and was declared illegal. Due to this hype, the girl had to break the contract with Jive Records. And he recorded the next album in collaboration with Atlantic Records.

Second album

About a year before graduation, singer Alia replenishes her discography with One In a Million.

In this work, the producer was the famous showman Timberland. When recording the album, singer Alia worked with rappers Slick Rick and Trach. Critics called the album material the boundary between hip-hop and the R&B style.

The following things from this release soared 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, sales reached around 2 million drives. In the world - over 8 million.

Songs for films

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

The fourth track from this list was awarded the title "platinum".

And the artist performed the first composition at the Oscars. After all, the songwriters were candidates for this award.

Acting

In 1997, Alia began acting. Her debut is related to Undercover Police. 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 heroine of the girl is Akasha in the horror film “Queen of the Damned”. She perfectly realized this image. For example, a photo of the singer Alia in this guise.

The picture was released six months after the death of the artist. And the creators dedicated it to her. For this role, singer Alia received the posthumous MTV Movie Awards-2002.

Another film in which the actress was planned to be involved was the famous Matrix.

Third album

In 2001, singer Alia 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 billboard 200 rating.

In the first seven days of sales, 187,000 copies were sold. And the song We Need a Resolution was on the 59th place on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Tragic events

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

However, Aliya and another 8 people decided to fly to Florida on August 25th. They were located on board the aircraft Cessna 402B (N8097W). Before that, all the equipment was loaded on the plane. All aircraft personnel claimed that the mass of the equipment exceeded the permissible values, and take-off may not work.

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

Investigators identified such causes of the death of singer Aliya:

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

Experts 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 for his activities. And an autopsy revealed drugs and alcohol in his body.

Popularity

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

In 2002, I Care 4 You was released. It included all the strongest songs of the singer, as well as six unreleased things. Among them, Miss you was given particular priority. And then they shot the clip.