Aaliyah One of The Most Successful Female R&B Artists in History

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Photo Source: Instagram.com/Aaliyah via idntimes.com

FEMUSINDO.com - Aaliyah Dana Haughton, popularly known as Aaliyah, was born in New York City, US., on January 16, 1979.

Aaliyah, an American singer, actress, dancer, and model who is considered to have helped redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop, earning her the nicknames "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop".

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Detroit, she first became known at the age of 10 when she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert with Gladys Knight.

Signing a Recording Contract

At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed a contract with her uncle Barry Hankerson's Jive Records and Blackground Records.

Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as the primary songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994).

The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Aaliyah teamed with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million (1996), which sold three million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide.

Film Acting Debut

In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the film Romeo Must Die, opposite Jet Li. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which was supported by her single "Try Again".

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 through airplay alone, becoming the first in the chart's history to do so.

After completing the film, Aaliyah went on to film her lead role in Queen of the Damned, which was released posthumously.

In July 2001, she released her third album of the same name, which topped the Billboard 200 chart. The album spawned the singles "We Need a Resolution", "Rock the Boat", and "More Than a Woman".

Plane Crash and Posthumous Releases

On August 25, 2001, at the age of 22, Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas along with eight other people on board.

According to sources, the plane crashed due to overloading and crashed shortly after takeoff.

In the decades following her death, Aaliyah's music continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases.

She has sold 8.1 million albums in the US and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. Billboard ranks her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and the 27th most successful in history.

Her awards include three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs, along with five Grammy Award nominations. (*)