Alicia Keys On Her New Album, Soulcare and Female Empowerment | Exclusive
Multi-Grammy-award winner and soul queen Alicia Keys is set to perform “One Night Only” tonight at Maraya in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. In an exclusive interview with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, the American singer-songwriter discusses her upcoming album KEYS, her beauty brand and her special experiences connecting with likeminded female visionaries – creating not only history, but “herstory”, in the region.
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA): How excited are you for your upcoming concert, One Night Only in AlUla, on Feb 11? How long has this been in the making?
Alicia Keys (AK): I am so excited for this really special one night only in AlUla. I’ve been doing these One Night Only’s as part of my new album KEYS and because the music has so much focus around the piano and this idea of magic meets theater meets music, I’ve been looking for special places to perform around the world. So far, we’ve done Miami, LA, NY, Dubai, and now, AlUla.
AlUla is a secret gem that I just recently discovered in the last year. My husband has been doing some incredible work with his company Good Intentions in the region and so I visited along with him and my kids on a family trip to really be able to see Hegra and Elephant Rock and just get all of that ancient knowledge that I am always searching for. When we were there, we saw the Maraya before it was completed. It is such a stunningly special place and such a unique venue in a unique time. It’s the right time, and I am so excited.
HBA: What can we expect from the evening?
AK: What you can expect from the evening is complete magic. You can expect to be transported, to feel what you have never felt before. You can expect to hear some of your favorite songs, and some new songs that are going to become your favorite songs. You can expect to have this mixture of a bit theatrical, a bit magical, and a lot musical.
HBA: Do you know which songs you’ll be including in your set list?
AK: The songs are a very good mix of my classic songs and also my favorite songs from KEYS, a great taste of awesome new music from my latest album.
HBA: Will there be any other artists performing that night?
There will be an amazing local female artist who plays piano named Rowaida Raffa to open the show. I know she will add a beautiful energy to the night.
HBA: On February 12, you will be hosting a townhall-like event with Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, honoring women in fashion, tech, medicine, music, art and healthcare. Why is it important for you to spearhead this event?
AK: I’m so excited for the dialogue that we will be having on February 12, called ‘Women to Women.’ When I visited previously, what I loved was connecting with likeminded women, women that were business owners like me, entrepreneurs like me, visionaries like me, artists like me. I went to the beautiful art school in the old town district. I loved being able to see these techniques being learned and shared with these young women. To be able to see their process, their pattern and their excitement of learning their art was inspiring. Their love and passion for art really reminded me of myself and that powerful feeling you get when you’re able to have access to something that you love. It really turns you around. It sparks something, it lights you up.
During my last visit, I couldn’t help myself but to sit down and play the piano that day. I felt such a deep connection to those women, and being able to say you are incredible and everything you dream is within your reach. This is the whole theme of the KEYS album concept: No limits and celebrating our absolute greatness and potential! So, it feels natural to do this event and connect with the women, like my dear friend Princess Reema and many others that are part of building, growing and progressing.
HBA: Will you be hosting more of these events in the future in KSA?
AK: As a business owner, entrepreneur, artist, and designer myself, how amazing it will be to connect with these women just like me and talk about our visions, our plans for ourselves, our plans for the world, what we are working on, what we are creating, and how we get there. It’s a way to start a deeper dialogue and to create a deeper connection in all of the ways that we are already so similar. I definitely see this being something that can happen in multiple ways and in multiple places throughout the world, this mixture of music and motivation, connection and exploration of possibilities.
HBA: You are a businesswoman as well as an artist. Last year, you launched your own brand, KEYS Soulcare. Why did you want to do this, and what did you want to achieve?
AK: I recently launched KEYS Soulcare, which is a lifestyle beauty brand that is really about ritual and wellness. It started with skincare, because I’ve actually always had a bit of a challenge with my skin and I dreamed of creating something that would work with skin like mine. We are at a place where we are often looking for something, looking for our wholeness, for validation, for confidence. We are looking to be appreciated, looking to be loved and looking to find our tribe. This idea of KEYS Soulcare is really about turning routine into ritual. Taking an everyday thing like washing your face and making a ritual out of it. Each offering (I don’t call them products, I call them offerings) is an offering to open up this dialogue about how we want to be more in tune with ourselves, how we want to really create a positive perspective for ourselves.
Each bottle has an affirmation. There is an Aura Mist with the mantra “You are as free as the air” and the Be Luminous Exfoliator that says “You are complex, layered, and divine”. The pieces are there to remind you to think about who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to create. That’s why it’s so important to me for everybody to have it, to love it, and to get into it because it’s more than just skincare. We recently moved into body care, and it’s really important to me to share this energy that we deserve to take care of ourselves. We deserve to be good to ourselves and we can be guilt free about it.
HBA: You recently released your eighth album ‘KEYS’. How did you come up with the idea of having two sides/versions (originals & unlocked), and why did you name it KEYS?
AK: KEYS is my latest album! It’s the idea of exploring two sides of myself with two versions of the album. It’s a double album, with one side called Originals and the other called Unlocked. KEYS is a homecoming for me. Everybody knows I play piano and when I sit down at the piano, it’s as if I’m home. The whole album is based around the piano so I call it a homecoming because of that. I wanted to purely honor this dark, bluesy, moody, jazzy piano driven rawness that really lives inside of me. And as a true New Yorker, I wanted to sample and reimagine the songs. Like finding an old vintage record and creating a new song from it. So I did that to myself, to my own music as if I was discovering it on a vinyl and sampling it and creating a whole other version and a whole other listening experience so that people would have multiple ways to enjoy the music. That’s where the concept of Original and Unlocked came from. You’re gonna love this music – It’s my best yet!
Images supplied.
Interview by Laura Kell. Edited by Andrea Jacobsen.