Jay arrived just before the show started to get loose before performing his smash duet, “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia. While Jay laughed and joked around backstage, Alicia gave us the scoop on how they came to create “New York’s Anthem” in “Empire State of Mind.”
While Alicia enjoys her time with Jay-Z, she also loves country crooner Tim McGraw! We also learned that Jay Z is no male diva. (The hip hop legend only requested bottled water for his dressing room and nothing else!)
Alicia on Tim McGraw, with whom she recently collaborated on the John Lennon classic “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” on ‘Oprah’:“Tim is really cool. He’s a super sweet southern gentleman. 100 percent cowboy hat and jeans on the whole time. You throw two people in a room and we worked it out. We have totally different styles but I didn’t feel out of place and I didn’t want him to, either. We found a place of comfort for us both and he is truly great and honest. Tim’s one request was don’t ask me to do any adlibs at the end! We had so much fun!”
Alicia on the real story behind her hit single with Jay Z, ‘Empire State of Mind’:
“Jay called me and said, ‘I have this record, it’s going to be an anthem for New York and it has piano. I can’t see anyone doing it but you. He said it’s perfect, it’s going to be a classic.’ We met in the studio and the minute that I heard it – the hook was already really strong. It wasn’t complete, but I immediately felt the way everybody feels when they hear it! “
“I loved it and knew it was going to be great, but I really could not have imagined how beyond New York it is. I was just in London and they were rocking it on the radio. It’s all about achieving and dream and possibilities. It’s a beautiful thing – New York is the one place where you can do anything. “
On her secret video with Beyonce:
Jay Z’s wife, Beyonce has also spent time in the studio with Alicia this year and the two sexy ladies filmed a home video. “I have a single with Beyonce called ‘Put it in a Love Song.’ It’s got a beat and the piano. We were both in the same room in the same studio and had a major party recording it. We laughed the whole time and took a crazy little video of us acting out the song – which no one will ever see!”
On her charity, Keep a Child Alive:“I’ve been to Africa twice and I’ve seen people who are beautiful and full of faith. I’ve witnessed people my age and younger who have watched their families torn apart. They’ve seen their mothers and fathers die from AIDS, a disease that is treatable. The kids handle their lives with grace through it all – they take care of their brothers and sisters. We’ve been able to build clinics, orphanages and hospital wings. There was once nothing there and now there is something there that can serve people. When I went to Africa it changed my life.”
On her new upcoming album, “The Element of Freedom”:
Alicia says through working on her new album, The Element of Freedom, she figured out how to take weekends off and relax a little. “I have finally found my own freedom. I’ve learned how to pace things better and to find a balance. You are trying to juggle your career, your dreams, your family – everything. Through this album I found how I could be creative and be a businesswoman and be sane without driving myself crazy.”
I would like to see the video, Alicia! lol
What do you think? Drop your comments below!
"Comet" is Jimmie Allen's first single off his debut album which is coming out in 2010. Jimmie is already working with names such as Mark Endert who is for example responsible for hits from Madonna, Maroon 5, Miley Circus and Anastacia!
