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Tag: alicia keys

  • Verizon Commits $10 Million to Help One Million Small Businesses

    Verizon Commits $10 Million to Help One Million Small Businesses

    Verizon has announced it is committing $10 million to help up to one million small business through grants.

    Small businesses have born the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Without the deep pockets and resilience of large companies, many small businesses have had to shut their doors. This is especially true of brick-and-mortar businesses that have been heavily impacted by stay-at-home orders.

    Verizon is working to help offset the challenges small businesses are facing, committing $10 million in grants through LISC, a national nonprofit organization.

    “For small business owners today, we know that opening a digital front door is as important as a physical one,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “This multi-year effort underscores the role financial assistance, technology and training will play in rebuilding small businesses for both short-term and long-term economic recovery.”

    The company is using Super Bowl LV as its kick-off event, with The Big Concert for Small Business after the game. The event will be hosted by Tiffany Haddish, and feature Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Christina Aguilera, Eric Church, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Luke Bryan and Miley Cyrus. The concert will be live-streamed on Twitch, Yahoo, YouTube, as well as broadcast on several networks.

    “Small businesses are so important and we need to do whatever we can to keep them alive; our communities can’t recover without them,” said Alicia Keys. “I’m excited to be partnering with Verizon and the rest of these amazing artists to not only be able to take the stage and bring that good music and light but to do it for such a meaningful cause.”

  • Alicia Keys: Why She Sent House Speaker Paul Ryan a Sexy Valentine

    Alicia Keys sent House Speaker Paul Ryan a Valentine’s Day video. In it she explains she’ll be his Valentine if he will vote on criminal justice reform.

    “I recently saw a picture of you working out, and I was like, ‘Mmmmm,’” she says in the video. “I never saw the Speaker of the House working out before. He must be cool.”

    Next she asks Ryan to show her exactly “how cool” he is by bringing up the criminal justice reform issue to President Barack Obama before he leaves office.

    “In fact you can even maybe be my valentine if you help me spread some love,” Alicia Keys continues. “Help bring justice reform to a vote so we can keep families together…Can you do that Paul? I know you can.”

    In addition to sending Paul Ryan a Valentine, Alicia Keys goes on to ask everyone to write him a note, urging him to do as she suggested, via her social justice group’s website.

    “You’re welcome in advance for the thousands of love notes that are coming your way,” she says in a rather flirty manner.

    Alicia Keys even seals the Valentine with a kiss.

    Alicia Keys’ We Are Here Movement website states “We only have a few months left to pass criminal justice reform under President Obama, and Speaker Paul Ryan is one of the few people who can help make it happen. Join Alicia and fill out the form on the right to send Speaker Ryan a real-life Valentine asking him to let Congress vote on reform.”

    What’s your take on the Valentine Alicia Keys sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan? You have to give her credit for using her creativity as a means of achieving social justice.

    Kudos to Alicia Keys for working so hard to change lives. She sets a fine example for other celebrities who could use their notoriety to do the same.

  • Alicia Keys Sends Love Note To House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wants To Be His Valentine

    Alicia Keys is pulling out all the stops in order to get House Speaker Paul Ryan to bring the criminal justice and reform bill to a vote. Instead of starting a rally or writing a song about the issue, the 35-year-old R&B singer-songwriter is using her feminine charms to invite Ryan to join her advocacy.

    In a YouTube video that was uploaded on Wednesday, Alicia Keys is seen writing Paul a note on a Valentine card while admiring a photo of him lifting weights.

    Alicia Keys Asks Paul Ryan to be Her Valentine

    “Can I call you Paul?” she says in her trademark sultry tone. “I never saw the Speaker of the House working out before. He must be cool,” adds Keys before addressing him directly through the camera.

    “Are you cool, Paul? Show me how cool you are.”

    She even went as far as to ask him to be her Valentine if he “helps her spread some love” by supporting her cause.

    The minute-and-seventeen-second video was recorded by Alicia Keys on behalf of her advocacy group called We Are Here. The campaign aims to gather various individuals to reach out to Ryan and urge him to push the bill to the floor for debate.

    “Help bring justice reform to a vote so we can keep families together and reunite those that have been torn apart by excessive incarceration instead of just getting the help they needed,” appealed Keys to Ryan.

    Alicia Keys Advocates Criminal Justice Reform

    On Thursday, the Speaker pledged that Republican member of the House will allot time to vote on a number of criminal justice bills that were passed by the Judiciary Committee. While no specific timeline has been set, Ryan told Fox News that the bill is “well on its way here in the House.”

    Alicia Keys started the We Are Here movement in 2014 to channel her music and fans to social justice causes like gender equality, stricter gun laws, and criminal justice reform.

  • Alicia Keys Remembers That Time John Mayer Showed Her Love At the Grammys

    Alicia Keys has certainly had her fair share of amazing Grammy memories considering the 15 Grammys she has won thus far, but she says one particular memory involving John Mayer sticks with her.

    In 2002, the 34-year-old songstress picked up five Grammy Awards for her debut album Songs in A Minor. Even though that was certainly a memorable year, she says her favorite Grammy memory involves John Mayer from 2005.

    “John Mayer was up for Daughters and I was up for If I Ain’t Got You, and John Mayer won,” the singer told CBS This Morning about the show in 2005, when both stars were nominated for Song of the Year.

    “I loved that song Daughters, and I remember he got up on stage and he said … either onstage or backstage, but the point was that he felt that I should’ve won that award,” said Keys.

    Mayer went so far in his conviction that she should share the award that took apart his Grammy award and gave Keys the top half, keeping only the bottom half with his name on it.

    “So as far as I’m concerned, I won that!” Keys told CBS of the award that now sits on her shelf at home along with her other Grammy Awards.

    On Monday, Keys announced the top four categories on CBS This Morning for 2016’s show. Taylor Swift garnered seven nominations, while Kendrick Lamar picked up 11 nominations.

    On Friday, Keys joined Ciara, Martina McBride, Paul Rudd, Hillary Scott, Jussie Smollett and Hailee Steinfeld to present Billboard’s 2015 Women in Music awards at a gala in New York City.

  • Kelly Rowland Signs On to Season Two of ‘Empire’ as Lucious Lyon’s Mother

    Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child fame has signed on to play the role of Lucious Lyon’s mother in the upcoming second season of Empire. She will appear in flashbacks experienced by Lyon–who is played by Terrance Howard.

    This isn’t the only new cast member to join Empire’s second season. In addition to Kelly Rowland, the show will soon star Chris Rock, Marisa Tomei, Alicia Keys, and Lenny Kravitz, too.

    Kelly Rowland’s new character hasn’t been officially named, but the writers are referring to her as “Mama Lyon.”

    Since Destiny’s Child split back in 2002, Kelly Rowland has enjoyed both a singing and an acting career. She served as a judge on The X Factor US. She is married to her manager Tim Weatherspoon, and the two welcomed a son last November.

    Are you an Empire fan? Do you see Kelly Rowland fitting into the mix?

    Flashbacks can either make or break a show. In which category do you foresee the flashbacks experienced by Terrance Howard’s character falling?

    Do you expect Kelly Rowland will be given a specific cast name in Empire? Or will she forever be known as Mama Lyon instead?

  • Alicia Keys Shares Pic Of Adorable New Baby Boy

    Alicia Keys has finally given the world a glimpse of her new baby boy.

    In an adorable Instagram pic, Alicia Keys sits amongst a slew of handsome boys and her hubby, Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean.

    Alicia Keys looks so content and proud of her family.

    Her baby son, named Genesis Ali Dean, joins Alicia Keys and Dean’s older son, Egypt Daoud Dean, as well as her stepson, Kasseem, Jr., from Dean’s marriage to Mashonda Tifrere.

    Dean also has son Prince Nasir Dean from his relationship with Nicole Levy, and a daughter, Nicole, from a previous relationship with Zhanna “Jah’Na Sebastian” Andrianova.

    Blessings and love!! #GenesisAliDean

    A photo posted by Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) on

    What a sweet family, and such dapper young men!

    Alicia Keys announced her second pregnancy last July, also via Instagram, in a sweet anniversary message to her husband.

    Baby love from Uncle B Maybe the baby will be our Christmas gift… we'll let u know

    A photo posted by Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) on

    Alicia Keys definitely has a lot to smile about. Her career is amazing, she obviously adores her husband, and together they make beautiful babies.

    How could life possibly get any better for Alicia Keys?

    What do you think of Alicia Keys’ sweet family pic?

  • Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood Rock Baby Bumps at Global Citizen Festival

    Alicia Keys and Carrie Underwood both rocked their baby bumps of varying sizes at the Global Citizen Festival in New York on Saturday. Alicia Keys is expecting her second baby with husband Swizz Beatz. She announced her pregnancy back in late July. Their baby is due in December. Carrie Underwood is expecting her first baby with hubby Mike Fisher. She announced that she was pregnant on September 1st.

    Alicia Keys took the stage ahead of Carrie Underwood in Central Park on Saturday. In fact, Keys opened the show with a beautiful rendition of ‘We Are Here.’ As part of her ‘We Are Here’ peace movement, she was accompanied during her opening act by singers from both Israel and Palestine.

    Carrie Underwood took the stage a bit later in the show doing an awe-inspiring cover of R.E.M.’s song, ‘Everybody Hurts.’

    It was abundantly clear that Alicia Keys is pregnant. She wore a white button-down shirt with white tank underneath and white pants for her Global Citizen Festival performance. Her baby bump is more than evident, however from behind one would never guess she is expecting.

    Carrie Underwood camouflaged her tummy with a black minidress. It no doubt warmed the hearts of all her fans to know that under that dress, her tiny baby bump is growing.

    Did you catch either Alicia Keys or Carrie Underwood’s performances at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday? The concert streamed live and then was broadcast with some of it pre-recorded for airing on NBC on Saturday evening. Tamron Hall served as host.

    If you did see the show, which act impressed you the most? Or were you more drawn in by the stories of those who are working to raise awareness for the Global Citizen movement?

  • Alicia Keys Talks New Perfume Fragrance

    Alicia Keys Talks New Perfume Fragrance

    Alicia Keys is the new face of Givenchy’s most recent fragrance, Dahlia Divin. Keys recently talked about the fragrance and even admitted that she had a little trouble pronouncing the name of it.

    “Dahlia Davin … Divine … Davin,” she said in a recent interview for Harper’s Bazaar.

    “Any one of the above is good. As long as you get the Dahlia part fine, and then you know that it’s basically that you’re divine and you’re a beautiful, divine soul,” she added.

    Keys said that she was excited to be the face of the new fragrance and to have the opportunity to work with such a great brand. She also said that the fragrance is special to her for many reasons.

    “Certain scents evoke comfort and familiarity. My grandmother’s scent was gardenia and my mother’s was white musk. Even now, they fill me with love and good memories because both my mother and my grandmother are tremendous inspirations to me. As you grow up, those scents tend to come back to you in different ways,” she said.

    Keys is married to Swizz Beatz and has a three-year-old son named Egypt.

    She said that in spite of being busy with her family and work, Keys still likes to take some time for herself.

    “I wear perfume often – it’s part of getting ready. As a working mother, sometimes I’m too busy to remember to take time for myself, but perfume can be a wonderful reminder to take a minute, breath and face the day,” she said.

  • Alicia Keys Coming With New Album

    Alicia Keys Coming With New Album

    After two years of keeping her fans waiting, Alicia Keys is swinging back with a new studio album.

    “With this album, I find I have much more I want to talk about. This album is more about the concept, the thought I’m trying to get across, where in the past it’s been more about the melody. This time it’s more about what we’re going through as human being,” Keys told Women’s Wear Daily.

    Alicia Keys says the material on her new album will have something that everyone can relate to, but it particularly carries themes of independence and breaking expectations that others have of us. As a mother, these themes are closer to her heart than ever.

    “We all experience similar things. I find that the world puts us in these boxes where we’re only allowed to be one way — like, ‘to succeed as a career woman, you need to do it this way,’ or ‘to be a gay man, you have to be this way.’ First of all, we’re so much more complex than that. It’s about breaking down those boundaries. The songs concentrate on concepts like that. As human beings, we like to identify with something, and as for me, I love people with a strong point of view,” she explained.

    Keys herself puts her money where her mouth is when it comes to seeing people for more than others would expect. She is the co-Founder of Keep a Child Alive, a group that provides medicine to children and families in Africa with HIV and AIDS.

    She also has developed her own sneaker line with Reebok.

    The songwriting process is something Alicia Keys is fascinated by. Sometimes things start one way but end up someplace entirely differently than you expected.

    “You come into it with a thought, with an idea, with a melody,” she said. “But you don’t know what you’re going to get, which is the mystery of it. That’s how it becomes something.”

    Keys’ new album is as yet untitled and is slated for a 2015 release.

    Image via YouTube

  • Alicia Keys Talks New Album Slated For Early 2015 Release

    Alicia Keys is back in the studio!

    It’s been two years since the singer-songwriter, pianist released her last album, Girl On Fire. Now, she’s making preparations for her upcoming album tentatively scheduled to be released sometime in early 2015.

    The “New Day” singer recently spoke with Women’s Wear Daily about her plans for the new project. She shared her excitement about returning to the studio and her expectations of the new album.

    “With this album, I find I have much more I want to talk about. This album is more about the concept, the thought I’m trying to get across, where in the past it’s been more about the melody. This time it’s more about what we’re going through as human being,” Keys said.

    She also shared glints of what fans can expect with her upcoming album. The 33-year-old singer wants to create music with lyrical quality that all listeners can relate to on multiple levels.

    “We all experience similar things. I find that the world puts us in these boxes where we’re only allowed to be one way — like, ‘to succeed as a career woman, you need to do it this way,’ or ‘to be a gay man, you have to be this way.’ First of all, we’re so much more complex than that. It’s about breaking down those boundaries. The songs concentrate on concepts like that. As human beings, we like to identify with something, and as for me, I love people with a strong point of view,” she explained.

    She went on to share her perspective of the creative process of album production, and how she works to bring concepts and ideas to fruition, musically.

    “You come into it with a thought, with an idea, with a melody,” she said. “But you don’t know what you’re going to get, which is the mystery of it. That’s how it becomes something.”

    Alicia Keys’ upcoming album is currently untitled. No further details have been released as of yet.

    Image via Alicia Keys, Facebook

  • Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry Tie the Knot

    Actress Sara Gilbert and musician Linda Perry are officially married, after a three-year courtship. The couple got engaged after Perry proposed a year ago, and tied the knot Sunday.

    Details regarding the ceremony have yet to be revealed, though Gilbert’s The Talk co-hosts are expected to divulge on the particulars on the show, according to a representative from CBS. Gilbert took a week off for the honeymoon.

    Gilbert, 39, is best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, as well as for her recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory . Aside from being a co-host of the daytime talk show The Talk, Gilbert also created the series. Sara is the little sister of Melissa Gilbert, best known as Laura Ingalls on NBC’s iconic Western series Little House on the Prairie.

    Actress Juliette Lewis took to Twitter, vaguely describing the ceremony:

    Linda Perry, 48, is best known as the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, which saw mainstream success in the 1990’s. Since then Perry has gone on to become a hugely successful songwriter and record producer. Perry has composed hit songs for artists including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani, James Blunt, Alicia Keys and Adam Lambert.

    4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up:

    Last April, Gilbert described Perry’s proposal during a broadcast of The Talk – “It’s like the most amazing proposal ever. I’m sitting there listening and I’m kind of daydreaming and I’m thinking like, ‘If I ever proposed to her this would be an amazing way to do it. The people picnicking next to us pull out string instruments from under the blanket, walk over and they start playing (The Cure’s) ‘Lovesong.’”

    Image via YouTube

  • Alicia Keys Out as BlackBerry Creative Director

    At the end of January 2013, BlackBerry officially revealed its BlackBerry 10 OS and smartphones. The reveal was BlackBerry’s last-ditch effort for relevancy in the consumer smartphone market that had abandoned it in favor of iPhones and Androids.

    We know now that BlackBerry 10 was a failure. BlackBerry ended up selling more BlackBerry 7 phones that BlackBerry 10 phones during its third quarter, in which it lost an impressive total of $4.4 billion, much of it a write-down of BlackBerry hardware.

    Before everything came crashing down, though, BlackBerry was throwing its dwindling cash reserves at celebrities to help improve its brand recognition. To this end, the company declared at its BlackBerry 10 launch event that singer Alicia Keys would be its “Global Creative Director.”

    That gig is now coming to an end, as the CBC has reported that Keys will leave her creative director position at BlackBerry on January 30 – one year to the day that she accepted the position. According to the report, Keys’ position at the company is no longer compatible with BlackBerry’s new focus on its mobile enterprise services.

    Though the details of Keys’ position were a bit fuzzy, Keys was announced to have been in charge of the “Keep Moving Project,” which enlisted director Robert Rodriguez and author Neil Gaiman for some crowd-sourced projects. Gaiman’s project culminated in the odd “A Calendar of Tales” website, while Rodriguez eventually released the hilariously bad Two Scoops short film.

    Though BlackBerry was criticized for giving Keys a corporate position for what many saw as an endorsement deal, BlackBerry had claimed that Keys actually served the company during her time as creative director. According to the CBC report, her accomplishments at BlackBerry include a scholarship program for women seeking to study science and technology.

  • Alicia Keys’ has a New Project: “Empowered”

    For the past 10 years, Alicia Keys has been working within her organization, Keep a Child Alive, to help those children in Africa that are suffering from HIV-AIDS. Now, she is turning her focus back to the United States and has joined with “Greater than AIDS” to start a new program called “Empowered”, a new informative campaign aimed at reaching and informing women in the United States about HIV-AIDS.

    According to the “Empowered” website, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, most commonly known as HIV, is the virus that, in it’s advanced stages, causes AIDS. This virus is spread when bodily fluids including, semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk, are transferred from a person infected with HIV enter another person’s body. There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States alone. One in every 4 of the infected people are women.

    This week, Keys sat down with ABC News’ David Muir for an interview about her new project and why it is so important to start bringing awareness back to the United States.

    “Talking about HIV-AIDS, you know, it’s critical and it is our generation’s issue and if we don’t talk about it now, it’s going to continue,” she said. “We tend to have a good international dialogue, like a good, healthy dialogue, but we’re not really discussing it in America. … We have to learn as much as we can and we have to share with as many people we can.”

    “When I became aware that women accounted for one in five new HIV infections occurring in the U.S. each year, it shook me to the core and I realized this is an issue we ALL need to pay attention to,” said Keys. “Whether HIV positive or negative, we all have the opportunity to educate ourselves and make a difference.”

    Image via Facebook, Greater than AIDS

  • Alicia Keys is BlackBerry’s New Global Creative Director

    Today’s announcement by BlackBerry (which included changing its name from RIM to BlackBerry) was expected to be a simple announcement of its new phones and a rundown of all the features of the new BlackBerry 10 OS. It was all of that, but CEO Thorsten Heins channeled Steve Jobs by saving one last big announcement for the end of the presentation.

    Heins announced that the position of “Global Createive Director” has been created at BlackBerry, and that singer/songwriter Alicia Keys will be filling the role. It seems that Keys and BlackBerry will be reaching out to creative people in an effort to brand BlackBerry 10 as more than a secure business platform.

    Judging from some of the new ads BlackBerry has uploaded to its YouTube account, Keys is effectively the new face of BlackBerry. Joining Heins on stage, she pitched for BlackBerry 10 and stated she will be working app designers and content creators.

    Keys will also be heading-up the “Keep Moving Project,” which is working with artists on “a series of unique projects.” The video below, which was shown during the BlackBerry presentation, shows that both director Robert Rodriguez and author Neil Gaiman are a part of the project. Rodriguez will be “collaborating with BlackBerry and people from all around the world on a very unique filmmaking project.” Gaiman states he will use his project to “connect people from all over the world and, together, to tell some amazing stories, and to make some fantastic art.”

  • Twitter to Cover Billboard Music Awards

    Twitter just announced on its blog that it will present a special cast of live-tweeters to cover the Billboard Music Awards, airing Sunday live on ABC at 8pm ET / 7pm CT (8pm PT).

    A BBMA Live Tweet has been set up here, and the live-tweeters include Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado and AFI bassist Hunter Burgan.

    Modern Family stars Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell are hosting the awards, and fans can check in on the BBMA Live Tweet throughout the day of the event.

    Julie Bowen
    @itsJulieBowen     http://t.co/ra9V5Izb getting ready for billboard awards with Ty and, of course, camera hog @DannyZuker. #bigeffinghair
    3 days ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    Ty Burrell
    @TheTyBurrell_     @SofiaVergara Hi Sofia!!!!! I got a twitter finally:) Follow me?
    452 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    Twitter adds that artists like @nadiaali, @preciousweapons, @tranquilmammoth, and @brokenanchor1 with be tweeting remotely, along with actors including @juliannehough and @TheRealMikeEpps, fashion guru @NinaGarcia, author Sloane Crosley (@askanyone) and comedian @TracyMcMillan.

    Incidentally, the video below for AFI’s “Morningstar” instantaneously reminds me of being relatively passed out under the little stage where the smaller bands played at the Vans Warp Tour in 2002, at the 2:29 mark:

    Rock on.

  • Youtube: Alicia Keys Sings Happy Birthday To MLK

    To celebrate MLK Day today, Alicia Keys took it to YouTube.