In a cover story for Billboard, Alicia Keys ignited excitement within her fans when she referenced her upcoming album. The project, titled A.L.I.C.I.A., served as “the best therapy I ever had,” she said, alongside working on her spring 2020 memoir More Myself: A Journey.
“I ended up being able to see the moments that things shifted,” she said. “When you’re living it, you’re not really reflecting on it.” A.L.I.C.I.A. will be the New Yorker’s seventh studio album, slated for release next year. Her previous soundscape, Here, was released in 2016, landing at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 during its debut week.
In January, Keys will host the Grammys for the second time in a row, a moment she’s eager for viewers to witness. Since the November announcement of 2020’s nominees, artists who believed they were snubbed expressed their confusion while others stated they don’t need a gramophone to validate their talent. For Keys, the long-running showcase still holds weight within the industry for a simple reason.
“You are awarded by your peers—people who have been through the same experience that you have. So to receive one is the ultimate validation from people that you admire,” she said. “That’s the point, and the reason why it has to maintain that level of integrity. And it has to expand now because music is not what it was 10 years ago. It’s about making sure that it’s representing the music that’s happening at the rate that it’s happening, as well. If we’re not all growing and evolving, then pack it up, because what’s the point?”
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will take place on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles. Read Keys’ full profile here.