Here’s To You Aaliyah!
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), better known as Aaliyah (which means the highest, exalted one), was an American singer, dancer, and actress. She would have turned 30 years old this month. I wanted to post something in honor of Aaliyah’s musical legacy. I have been an Aaliyah fan since the start of her music career. When every one else was caught up on Brandy and Monica (though I am a fan of theirs as well), I always thought that Aaliyah would emerge as the next big thing. I was impressed that she was so young and talented. She made me feel that if she could live her dream, then so could I.
My all time favorite song of hers is “At Your Best (You Are Love),” a cover of The Isley Brothers‘ 1976 song, from her debut album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.” I am still amazed that at the age of 15 she was able to capture the emotion of the song’s lyrics and that her voice sounds so crystal clear. A close second is “Rock The Boat” and “I Care For You” from the “Aaliyah” album and the posthumous album“I Care For You.”
I remember listening to a radio interview with Aaliyah and hearing her discuss upcoming plans for a tour. Later that day I made plans with my friends to buy tickets. However, that day never came. Aaliyah died in a plane crash at the age of 22 on August 25, 2001. I still can recall the absolute shock and disbelief I felt when I heard that she had died in a plane crash. “Aaliyah,” the album, had been on constant repeat in my car’s cd player since its release date. I was taking a shower when I heard about her death on the radio. I cried for a second and after my shower I listened to her cd again.
Aaliyah’s official Myspace music page has received 18,262,062 plays and 10,437,315 views as of December 4, 2008. As of 2008 Aaliyah holds the record for best selling R&B album by a female in 2000s decade with 12 million physical copies of her album “Aaliyah” sold plus 1 million downloads for a total of 13 million copies in sales.
In 2009, a biopic of Aaliyah will be released this year. Keshia Chanté will be playing Aaliyah in the highly, anticipated untitled biopic. Bill Condon (Chicago, the movie) will be directing the film & the biopic will be produced by Warner Brothers. The movie will go deep into Aaliyah’s life and career.
For more information on Aaliyah, click here.
Aaliyah, At Your Best (You Are Love)
I love her voice in this song. Classic.
Aaliyah, I Care For You
I love that she sings, “Hey, sexy baby…” I sing that line when I answer my phone to certain people who I know are Aaliyah fans. They just get it.
Aaliyah, Rock the Boat
Grown and sexy!
Aaliyah, I Miss You
Another favorite.
Do you have a favorite Aaliyah song or video? Have you ever seen her perform live?
Celebrity Biographies said,
February 10, 2011 at 5:59 am
Nice tribute to Aaliyah! I too have been a fan since day one. To be honest, I had the biggest crush on her. She was just so beautiful but humble. RIP Aaliyah.