Concert preview
Alicia Keys
With Miguel. 7:30 p.m. March 29. $59.50-$125. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
During a run of a couple of weeks in February, it seemed that you couldn’t turn on a major sporting event without seeing Alicia Keys.
Super Bowl national anthem? Check. And with a complicated, jazzy arrangement, no less.
Halftime at the NBA All-Star game? Yep, there she was sitting at her piano for “Empire State of Mind,” then ripping through a medley of hits including “No One” and “Girl on Fire,” the title track of her fifth studio album, released last fall.
And while burying herself in these high-prep, high-stress appearances, Keys was also planning a major international arena tour that launched earlier this month and continues through July.
Keys is only 32, but her career has been filled with so many accolades — 14 Grammy Awards; a distinction as the top-selling R&B artist in 2001, the year her 12-million-selling debut, “Songs in A Minor,” arrived; a jewel in the large box of artists collected by record executive Clive Davis, who immediately sensed her unique style.
Now she’s also a wife (to rapper/producer Swizz Beatz) and mother (to son Egypt, 2 1/2) and understandably a little frazzled at the idea of touring for the first time with these new responsibilities.
She’ll head to Philips Arena on March 29 in a show that spans almost two hours and 23 songs. But before the genial Keys took off for her five-month musical journey, she had time for a quick chat.
She was calling from Los Angeles, but had an adamant response when asked if she’s bicoastal now.
“Nooooo! New York, baby!” she responded with a throaty laugh.
Here’s what else the always-and-forever East Coast-er had to say:
Q: You haven’t done a major arena tour in a few years, so what are the challenges of bringing your very intimate music into these large venues?
A: Over the years, I've discovered how to fit into the smallness of it, and I find that even in these big spaces, when it gets to be the simple moment, it's still poignant.
Q: What type of production elements will be in play?
A: I feel like it's a nice balance. It's always based in the music and on my baby, which is the piano — that centers the whole thing. But I want to enhance the story around it. What I really wanted to do was create an experience that goes beyond the emotional experience you can get musically and also get a visual-emotional experience.
Q: Growing up in New York, did you get to (Madison Square) Garden for a lot for concerts? Was there ever anything or anyone that you saw as a kid and thought, I want to do that one day?
A: Seeing Prince at the Garden — that was ridiculously crazy! And being really little and seeing Michael Jackson, though that might have been Nassau Coliseum. Then I remember some of my favorite boy bands, New Edition or New Kids on the Block — that was amazing. I'll never forget this one time I saw Wu Tang (Clan). They came on stage and got the whole audience to sing "Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang," and I thought, that's gonna be me one of these days.
Q: This is your first tour as a mom. Are you worried about how you’ll balance things?
A: I can't lie. I've been having some moments. Sometimes in life, with working mothers and working people, there are moments where you have a good flow, and then there are moments when you can't see the end of the day. That's kinda where I am right now. Literally, in the morning when (my son) wakes up, I'll have 30 minutes with him. I might see him before he goes to bed, and it does get to you. Fortunately, my mother and (my husband's) dad's mom are out with him now. But it's going to be an adventure. I have no idea how it's going to turn out.
Q: So you have your own chapter in the Clive Davis book (“The Soundtrack of My Life”). Have you read it yet?
A: I've read the majority of it. I am so honored. I'm looking at this book and I'm like, how did I get in this book? It's kind of a trip out. But Clive is an incredible, special human being in my life, and he has such a special place for me. He's a legend. The things he's done in this business are unbelievable.
Q: Do you feel like taking a gamble with Clive and going to J Records was the most pivotal moment of your early career?
A: I know for a fact that was everything. It was such a hard time for me before that — things that don't work out, just the nature of the beast. At that moment, it was a super-tough choice, but I remember standing on 53rd Street (in New York) debating that move and I'm so glad — I couldn't be more glad — that we did it.
Q: Looking back on your Super Bowl performance, what was your reason for wanting to jazz up the national anthem?
A: I just felt like that was such a classic song. People have done it in different styles, and the ones that were done uniquely to a person's style like Marvin Gaye or obviously Whitney (Houston) were the ones that stood out the most, and I was like man, I need to create something that honors my style. I spent a lot of time creating it with the chord changes. I was so excited and nervous, but it was so great to do it.
