Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the
mononym Aaliyah (
/əˈliːə/), was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in
Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show
Star Search and performed in concert alongside
Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with
Jive Records and her uncle
Barry Hankerson's
Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to
R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album,
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with R.Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with
Atlantic Records.
Aaliyah worked with record producers
Timbaland and
Missy Elliott for her second album,
One in a Million; it sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film,
Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "
Try Again". The song topped the
Billboard Hot 100 solely on
airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in
Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a
Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.
After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in
Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album,
Aaliyah, in July 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in
The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "
Rock the Boat". The
pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of
cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a
wrongful death lawsuit against
Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases. Aaliyah recorded several number one
R&B hits and five top ten
Billboard Hot 100 singles. She has been credited for helping redefine
R&B and
hip hop, earning her the
nicknames "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop". She is listed by Billboard as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and 27th most successful R&B artist overall.
Early life
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in
Brooklyn, New York.Born of predominantly African American descent, with Native American heritage from her grandmother,she was the second and younger child of Diane and Michael Haughton.At a young age, Aaliyah was enrolled in voice lessons by her mother,and she would perform at weddings,
church choir and charity events. When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad. She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where she received a part in the stage play
Annie in
first grade. From then on, she was determined to become an entertainer.Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle,
Barry Hankerson, was an
entertainment lawyer who had been married to
Gladys Knight. As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs, including
Family Matters; she went on to appear on
Star Search at the age of nine.She then auditioned for several record labels and appeared in concerts alongside Knight at age 11.
Career
1991–95: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with
Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his
Blackground Records label at the age of 12.Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer
R. Kelly,
[10] who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album, which was recorded when she was 14.
[2][12][13] Released in June 1994, the album peaked at number 18 on the
Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States. Aaliyah's debut single, "
Back & Forth", topped the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and was certified
Gold by the
RIAA.The second single, a
cover of
The Isley Brothers' "
At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA. The title track, "
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number", peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100.Additionally, she released "
The Thing I Like" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film
A Low Down Dirty Shame1996–99: One in a Million
In 2000, Aaliyah landed her first major movie role in
Romeo Must Die. A loose adaptation of
William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist
Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office. In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the
film soundtrack, where she contributed four songs. "
Try Again" was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the
Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on
airplay; this led the song to be released in a
12" vinyl and
7" single.
[1][32] The music video won the
Best Female Video and
Best Video from a Film awards at the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a
Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States.
After completing
Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah began to work on her second film,
Queen of the Damned. She played the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being".She was scheduled to film for the sequels of
The Matrix as the character
Zee.Aaliyah went on to release her eponymous album,
Aaliyah, in July 2001. Produced by
Timbaland,the album debuted at number two on the
Billboard 200, selling 187,000 copies in its first week. The first single from the album, "
We Need a Resolution", peaked at number 59 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
With the release of
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated of a relationship between Aaliyah and
R. Kelly. Shortly after, there was speculation about a secret marriage with the release of "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" and the adult content that Kelly had written for Aaliyah.
Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in
Rosemont, Illinois.Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate; the illegal marriage was annulled in February 1995 by her parents. The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married. Aaliyah was engaged to co-founder of
Roc-A-Fella Records Damon Dash at the time of her death and had plans to marry him after the premiere of
The MatrixDeath, funeral and wrongful death lawsuit
On August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm (
EST), Aaliyah and various members of the record company boarded a twin-engine
Cessna 402B (
registration N8097W) at
Marsh Harbour,
Abaco Islands, The Bahamas, to travel to the
airport in
Opa-locka, Florida, after they completed filming the music video for the single
"Rock the Boat" They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States and made the decision to leave immediately. The designated airplane was smaller than the
Cessna 404 in which they had originally flown. Nevertheless, the whole party and all of the equipment were accommodated on board.As a result, when the aircraft attempted to depart, it was over its maximum takeoff weight by 700 pounds (320 kg) and was carrying one more passenger than it was certified to. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway. Aaliyah and the eight others on board, pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, video producer Douglas Kratz, stylist Christopher Maldonado, and
Blackground Records employees Keith Wallace and Gina Smith, were all killed.
Aaliyah's funeral was held on August 31, 2001, at the Saint Ignatius Loyola Church in New York. Her body was set in a silver
casket, which was carried in a glass
hearse and was drawn by horse.An estimated 800 mourners were in attendance of the procession. Among those in attendance to the private ceremony were
Missy Elliott,
Timbaland,
Gladys Knight,
Lil' Kim and
Sean Combs.After the service, 22 white
doves were released to symbolize each year of Aaliyah's life. She was interred in a crypt in a private room in the Rosewood Mausoleum at the
Ferncliff Cemetery.
Veteran R&B group Boyz II Men recently spoke out about meeting Justin Bieber before he became a megastar and also his impression when meeting the group. 
