Aaliyah Dana Haughton

1. Aaliyah Dana Haughton “Everything is worth it. The hard work, the times when you`re tired, the times where you`re a bit sad . . In the end, it`s all worth it because it really makes me happy. There`s nothing better than loving what you do.”

2. Biography Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah (pronounced ), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah was signed to Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He 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 two 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 Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.

3. Aaliyah’s Early Life Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Born of African American and Native American descent, she was the second and youngest child of Diane and Michael Haughton. At a young age, Aaliyah was enrolled for voice lessons by her mother. 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, where she received a part in the stage play Annie in first grade; from then on, she was determined to be an entertainer. Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who was previously 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.

4. Influences • As an artist, Aaliyah often voiced that she was inspired by a number of performers. These include Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sade, En Vogue, Korn, Prince, and Janet Jackson. • Aaliyah expressed that Michael Jackson's Thriller was her "favorite album" and that "nothing will ever top Thriller. • She stated that she admired Sade because "she stays true to her style no matter what she's an amazing artist, an amazing performer and I absolutely love her.” • Aaliyah expressed she had always desired to work with Janet Jackson, whom she had drawn frequent comparison to over the course of her career, stating "I admire her a great deal. She's a total performer... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson.” • Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah's affections, commenting "I've loved her from the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically." Jackson also stated she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah. • When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice to cover her left eye, much like Veronica Lake.

5. Legacy & Successes • In July, Aaliyah released her third album -- the self-titled "Aaliyah" -- which debuted in the top five on the Billboard magazine album chart. • The disc was recorded while the entertainer was filming the big-screen adaptation of Anne Rice's "Queen of the Damned." She made her film debut in last year's drama, "Romeo Must Die." Good reviews for that performance led to roles in the upcoming sequels to "The Matrix" with Keanu Reeves. • Born in Brooklyn, New York, Aaliyah grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She released her first album, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number," at the age of 14. • Her hit single "Try Again" from the "Romeo Must Die" soundtrack was nominated for R&B Song of the Year. • Aaliyah won Best Female Video and Video from a Film for "Try Again" in the 2000 MTV awards.

6. Aaliyah’s Albums pt. 1 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, who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album, which was recorded when she was 14. Released in June 1994, the album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over two 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.

7. Aaliyah’s Albums pt. 2 Age Ain't Nothing But a Number: With the release of Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, rumors began to circulate of a relationship between Aaliyah and Kelly. Shortly after, rumors of a secret marriage began 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 allegedly 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 reportedly annulled in February 1995 by her parents. The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.

8. Aaliyah’s Albums pt. 1 1996?1999: One in a Million"If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996) In her second album, Aaliyah was noted for having "smoother, more seductive, and stronger" singing. In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed to Atlantic Records. She worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album, One in a Million. The album yielded the single "If Your Girl Only Knew", which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks. It also generated the singles "Hot like Fire" and "4 Page Letter". The following year, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo's debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie". One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200, selling over two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide.

9. Aaliyah’s Albums pt. 2 1996?1999: One in a Million"If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996) Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997 with a 4.0 grade point average. Aaliyah began her acting career that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover. She then released "The Thing I Like" from the soundtrack of A Low Down Dirty Shame; it peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Aaliyah appeared on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a cover version of "Journey to the Past" which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to perform at the ceremony.

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14. Music Videos More Than A Woman: Are You That Somebody: One In A Million: If Your Girl Only Knew: Try Again: Rock The Boat:

15. Timeline pt. 1 • 1979: Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born, on January 16th. • 1986: Made her stage debut at age seven as an orphan in the Gesu Catholic School production of "Annie." Rehearsals were three hours a day, four days a week and sometimes on weekends and holidays. Audiences were so large, they eventually had to be moved to Marygrove College. Aaliyah also appeared in their production of "Hello Dolly," and was a big attraction. • 1989: At age nine, Aaliyah appeared on television's Star Search, where she sang My Funny Valentine, dedicated to her mom. • 1991: Gladys Knight, then married to Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson (founder of Blackground Records), invited Aaliyah to perform with her in Las Vegas during a five-night stint. She was then 11. • 1992: Aaliyah was introduced to producer/singer R. Kelly. • 1994: At age 15, Aaliyah went gold with her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, a collaboration highly influenced by Kelly.

16. Timeline pt. 2 • 1996: After several collaborations (with Kris Kross, among others) and recording Are You Ready? for the Sunset Park soundtrack, Aaliyah released her second album, One In A Million. • 1997: Aaliyah recorded singles for the Anastasia and Dr. Doolittle (1998) soundtracks. • 1998: Aaliyah performed Journey to the Past from Anastasia at the Academy Awards telecast, making her one of the youngest to ever perform an Oscar-nominated song in the production's history. • 1999: She was nominated for a Grammy Award for the song "Are You That Somebody." • 2000: Aaliyah starred in the film Romeo Must Die, alongside martial arts legend Jet-Li. Again, she was nominated for a Grammy, this time for the song "Try Again" off the movie's soundtrack, for which she was executive producer. She won the role as Zee in The Matrix, sequels and filmed vampire flick Queen of the Damned, based on the Anne Rice novel. • 2001: Aaliyah released her third, eponymous album on July 17th, which debuted at Number Two on the Billboard charts.

17. Aaliyah’s Love Life pt .1 Aaliyah and Damon Dash’s relationship was abruptly cut short when the singer died in a plane crash after shooting her “Rock The Boat” video in the Bahamas. The couple met through his accountant in 2000 and were friends first before becoming an inseparable couple in front of the camera. Dash opened up to Billboard about their relationship and her passing: “My heart was broken. Nothing prepares you for that.’ “She was intelligent and she caught me. I’m the kind of guy who says things sometimes just to make myself laugh, but she would just catch me making jokes for me. I couldn’t get anything past her. She had a very quick mind and a very kind heart.” “She was always working and shooting movies. She was always gone for like four months at a time, then come back and be gone for another month. She had to rehearse and I was doing my own thing, so it was really hard for us to get long stretches of time together. When you’re with someone like that you buy into a life of being separate, but again, I couldn’t help my feelings.”

18. Aaliyah’s Love Life pt. 2 “The energy we created together for people to observe was kind of crazy. We’d be in a room full of people talking to each other and it felt like everyone was listening but it would be just us. It would be like we were the only ones in the room. It was like something was going down in history every time I was with her. Every time I was around her I felt it was the place to be.” “Our time together meant so much that when we got more time, we felt like that [engagement] would be next. She was one of the best people I ever met. Even with the pain I felt, I would do it all over again.”

19. Aaliyah’s Death pt. 1 About a month after the album's release, Aaliyah traveled to the Bahamas to film a video for its second single, "Rock the Boat." On August 25, she and several members of the crew boarded a small twin-engine Cessna plane returning to the mainland. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, exploding on impact; Aaliyah and seven other passengers were killed instantly, and the ninth later died at a Nassau hospital. Investigations into the crash showed that the plane had been loaded far past its weight capacity, and that pilot Luis Morales had recently been arrested for crack cocaine possession (traces of which, along with alcohol, were found in his system); furthermore, the charter company, Blackhawk International Airways, had not authorized him to pilot the craft in question. Naturally, the R&B community reacted with an outpouring of shock and sorrow, and Aaliyah became the singer's only chart-topping album, eventually going double platinum. "Rock the Boat" and "More Than a Woman" were both posthumous Top Ten hits on the R&B chart, and Queen of the Damned was a commercial success upon its release in early 2002, topping the box office in its first week. As details continued to emerge from the plane crash investigation, Aaliyah's parents filed suit against Blackhawk Airways, Virgin Records, and several other companies. At the end of 2002, the posthumous album I Care 4 U entered the charts at number three; it mixed some of the singer's biggest hits with a selection of unreleased material. The title track was a Top 20 pop hit, and "Miss You" topped the R&B charts early the next year.

20. Aaliyah’s Death pt. 2 Luis Morales III, the pilot of the fatal plane crash that killed singer and actress Aaliyah and eight others including himself, was reportedly not authorized for the fatal flight. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesperson Kathleen Bergen told ABC News that Blackhawk International Airways, which owned the Cessna 402 aircraft that crashed, had been cited four times in the past four years, one of the four was for a safety violation. Bergen also explained that the plane was authorized to fly under an air-taxi certificate that authorizes charter flights by one pilot, but the pilot listed wasn't Morales. As the ongoing investigation promises to turn up more facts about the tragic incident, many of the recording industry biggest stars have publicly expressed their grief. Recently LAUNCH spoke with rapper Ludacris about Aaliyah's untimely demise. "Man, I'm one of those people where I heard it, and I'm still hearing it, and reality still has not set into me that she's gone, man," he said. "I just seen her like a week before she passed and I mean it was devastating to me. I just know she's such a good person. I mean who deserves something like that? Nobody deserves anything like that, but it really just makes you think about your life and like I was saying sometimes you just gotta live life like every day might be your last one 'cause you never know when you gonna go."

21. Aaliyah’s Aftermath pt. 1 The week after Aaliyah's death, her third studio album, Aaliyah rose from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200.” Rock the Boat" was released as a posthumous single. The music video premiered on BET’s Granted Access; it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show.The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Hot R&B Hip Hop Songs chart. It was also included on the Now That’s What I call Music! 8 compilation series; a portion of the album's profits was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund.Promotional posters for Aaliyah that had been put up in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles became makeshift memorials for grieving fans. “More Than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U" were released as posthumous singles and peaked within the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified double Platinum by the RIAA and sold 2.95 million copies in the United States"More than a Woman" reached number one in the UK singles chart making Aaliyah the first deceased artist to reach number one in the UK single chart."More than a Woman" was replaced by George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" which is the only time in the UK singles chart history where a dead artist has replaced another dead artist at number one.

22. Aaliyah’s Aftermath pt. 2 She won two posthumous awards at the American Awards of 2000; Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for Aaliyah.Her second and final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed some of her lines during post-production.It grossed US$15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office. On the first anniversary of Aaliyah's death, a candlelight vigil was held in Times Square; millions of fans observed a moment of silence; and throughout the United States, radio stations played her music in remembrance. In December 2002, a collection of previously unreleased material was released as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, I Care 4 U.

23. In Loving Memory Of It is rare that people can truly identify with celebrities but the connection fans had to Aaliyah is an example of the priceless bond that can be achieved between everyday people and their idols. Fans loved Aaliyah and Aaliyah loved them. With such visibility and promise, it was quite unsettling as CNN's Headlines announced the young singer's death. The numerous vigils and tributes already in the works show that she will be missed and mourned by her family, her friends, the entertainment industry and, of course, her fans. Aaliyah was blessed with beauty, talent, and a star quality that forced all to watch her every move, she was so humble and grounded with her success and fame.