Aaliyah

Aaliyah Biography

On January 16th 1979 the World was blessed with the birth of Aaliyah Dana Haughton in Brooklyn, New York. Aaliyah was raised by her father, mother and brother Rashad in Detroit.

At age 9 she appeared on Star Search, the TV programme and sang 'My Funny Valentine', a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. In 1992, she began to work on her debut album with the help of singer R. Kelly. The album, 'Age Ain't nothing but a number' was released in 1994 and received heavy praise. Aaliyah came under attack shortly after when reports suggested she was married to R. Kelly. At the time, she was 15, he was 27. The marriage was apparently annulled. In 1995, she began to work on her 2nd album, alongside Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, slick Rick and Missy Elliott.The album, titled ' One In A Million' was released on August 27th 1996. In 1998 she released the single, 'Are you that somebody?' from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack, it was produced by her friends Timbaland.

Later that year she released the single 'Journey to the past', off the Anastasia soundtrack. In 2000, she made her film acting debut and starred as Trish O'Day in the smash hit, hip-hop, kung fu film, 'Romeo Must Die' alongside Jet Li. The producer was so impressed by her performance she got parts in 'The Matrix 2' and 3.

She made numerous records for the soundtrack and released 'Try Again', for which she was nominated with 'Best female video' and 'Best Video in a film' with MTV. In 2001 she was nominated with 2 awards for MTV, the 'Breakthrough female' and 'best performing female'. In July 2001 she released her third album, the self-titled, 'Aaliyah'. In early August of the same year she filmed the video for the single 'More Than a woman', taken offthe album and on the 23rd August she started filming for ' Rock The Boat', on Abaco Island, in the Bahamas.

On 25th August, filming was completed and her and eight of her crew members including her hair stylist and bodyguard boarded a small plane. Shortly after take off, the plane crashed and exploded, Aaliyah and all on board, perished. Aaliyah's funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life.

Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released from her third album. In 2002, the film 'Queen Of The Damned' by Anne Rice was released in which Aaliyah played the lead, Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV movie awards 2002.

Looking back at her biography, its no wonder her name means 'Highest, most exhalted one; the best', she had achieved so much in her short life of 22 years.

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 was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, New York to Michael and Diane Haughton, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Her name means "Highest, Most Exalted, The Best" in Arabic language. Aaliyah was brought up as a Catholic with her older brother Rashad Haughton. Her grandmother, Mintis L. Hicks Hankerson, was of African American and Native American descent. Diane Haughton, Aaliyah's mother, also a vocalist, encouraged her daughter's career.

She appeared on the TV talent show Star Search at age ten, singing her mother's favorite song, "My Funny Valentine". Although she did not win, Aaliyah worked with an agent in New York and began to attend auditions for TV shows, including "Family Matters".

In 1995, it surfaced that 15-year-old Aaliyah and 27-year-old R. Kelly had secretly married on August 31, 1994. Both artists' camps initially denied the wedding had taken place, but Vibe magazine published a copy of their marriage license, which showed that Aaliyah's age had been falsely listed as 18. The marriage was annulled a few months later.

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'tNothing 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."

Aaliyah had a hit in 1998 with "Are You that Somebody" (#4 airplay U.S. and #1 R&B airplay for eight weeks), the main single from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack. Its video was the third most-played on MTV that year, and the song's success helped make Aaliyah a household name and crowned Her as Queen of Urban Pop.

In 2000, she co-starred with Jet Li in the martial arts film Romeo Must Die, which debuted at number one at the box office. Aaliyah and Timbaland executive produced the film's soundtrack album and Aaliyah contributed four songs: "Are You Feelin' Me?," "I Don't Wanna", "Come Back in One Piece," a duet with DMX, and the international number one hit "Try Again." Aaliyah made history once more when "Try Again" became the first song to ever reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on the strength of its radio airplay, without any single sales factored in. After the huge success of "Try Again" at radio, a 12" maxi single was released for consumer purchase. The radio-only single, "I Don't Wanna", (which was also featured on the soundtracks for the films Next Friday andRomeo Must Die) peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

In 2001, Aaliyah went to Australia to co-star with Stuart Townsend in the film Queen of the Damned, an adaptation of the Anne Rice novel of the same name. Aaliyah also recorded most of her third studio album, Aaliyah, during this time.

In 2001, Missy Elliott released her video for "Take Away". The video contained words and images about Aaliyah. The single also featured Ginuwine and was the debut of Elliott's recent protégé, Tweet.

Aaliyah and former Beatle George Harrison made UK Chart history in January 2002 when they scored the first, and to this date only, back-to-back posthumous number one hits (aside from the Elvis Presley re-releases in 2005). Aaliyah's "More than a Woman", released on January 7 and topped the chart on January 13, was followed by Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", re-released on January 14 and topped the chart on January 20. Aaliyah was voted one of "The Top 40 Woman of the Video Era" in VH1's The Greatest, also ranked #36 on their list of the 100 Sexiest Artist. Aaliyah also made E!'s list on the 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment, Juciest Hollywood Hookups, and Best Kept Hollywood Secrets. Aaliyah recently ranked at #18 on BET's "Top 25 Dancers of All Time" and ranked at #4 on BET's "Top 25 Sexiest Women of all Time". In 2005, former Co-Star Jet-Li as reported from CNN stated the memory of Aaliyah had haunted him in Vancouver, where he and the late songstress shot the filmRomeo Must Die.

Another way Aaliyah's legacy will live on, is through The Aaliyah Memorial Fund. The money donated goes to charities Aaliyah supported. Aaliyah's Cancer Awareness Angels participate in a Revlon Run Walk in which Aaliyah herself once participated.