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R&B star Alicia Keys returns to Seoul for a concert at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium on Aug. 7.
/ Courtesy of SonyBMG
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
Grammy award-winning R&B superstar Alicia Keys is busy with a world concert tour and a budding acting career, but she still finds time to help children with AIDS in Africa.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Keys talked about her documentary ``Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland,'' her music and upcoming movie.
Keys, co-founder of the Keep a Child Alive foundation, recently released a documentary of her trip to South Africa, Uganda and Kenya. Directed by South African filmmaker Earle Sebastian, it shows inspiring stories of children and families affected by AIDS and Keep a Child Alive's projects such as providing anti-retroviral medicine for children with AIDS.
``It is a truly remarkably uplifting, inspiring and fantastic documentary, just really about the resilience and the beauty of life there. It's not something that makes you feel helpless and hopeless after you've seen it. Instead, it makes you feel totally motivated and excited,'' she said.
The documentary can be viewed or downloaded for free on www.aliciainafrica.com. Keys is very passionate about helping people with AIDS in Africa, and hopes people will be inspired by the documentary and make donations.
``We're so confident that people are going to be moved by what they see that they're going to want to donate right there. I think it's a really innovative way to get people involved in what's going on and not make them feel like they're forced to donate. It makes them feel inspired to become involved,'' she said.
Keys is still considered one of the best singer-songwriters around today. For her third album ``As I Am," the 27-year-old American artist confessed she was more experimental with her music.
``I learned so much about myself that I wanted to take away any kind of inhibitions. I just wanted to allow myself to explore music in a brand new way so, even with myself, the way that I worked and the process of working was just more full of abandonment. It was just experimental and I didn't put as many restrictions on myself. … I just allowed it to happen and I think that created some of the best music I've ever done,'' she said.
One of her favorites from the album is ``No One,'' which she describes as a very triumphant and strong song. Another favorite is ``Superwoman,'' which has an inspiring message for everyone.
``The beauty of Superwoman is that it's really not about being all-powerful and all perfect, because no one is. But it's about our perfection in our weakness and our perfection in our imperfections. And that we can still keep going and we can still learn and we can still remain strong and even when we're feeling weak, we can still be Superwoman and Supermen,'' Keys said
There are already plans for the next album, but Keys says she's still undecided. She's tossing around a couple of ideas, ranging from a simple but raw Carole King-style album to a totally different, conceptual album.
``You never know because music is music and it comes naturally. I definitely think there's thought that can be put into it to create different avenues, but I like it to just flow naturally,'' she said
Keys has also been busy with her acting career, having appeared in ``The Nanny Diaries'' and ``Smoking Aces.'' This fall, she will appear in ``The Secret Life of Bees,'' co-starring with Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson.
Keys will return to Seoul for a concert at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium on Aug. 7. She still remembers how passionate the Korean audience was during her last concert in 2004.
While other artists have a different persona on stage, Keys said she's very much herself when she's performing. ``Some people turn into another person on stage, and when they're off stage, they're totally different. But me, the things I say, the things that I do, the way that I speak, what I'm talking about or the message I'm trying to deliver is pretty consistent with who I am,'' she said.
Ticket prices for the concert range from 100,000 won to 200,000 won. For ticket inquiry and booking in English, call (02) 722-6505. Visit ticket.interpark.com.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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