Aaliyah Biography- Childhood, Career, Awards and Achievements, etc...

Aaliyah Biography- Alia was an American singer, best known for her debut album Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, which sold three million copies in the United States. She had inherited her singing talent from her singing mother and was interested in music from an early age. Recording artist Gladys Maria Knight was her close relative and played a major role in introducing young Aaliyah to show business. (Aaliyah Bio)

She often traveled with Gladys and began auditioning for commercials and television shows. His debut album, which was recorded at the age of just 14, proved to be a sensational hit. And it is said to have defined R&B in the 1990s. A successful singing career followed and she soon ventured into films, making her debut as an actress in ‘Romeo Must Die’, starring alongside martial artist Jet Li. He also served as the executive producer of the film’s soundtrack, where he contributed four songs. The rising star came to an abrupt end when he died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22. (Aaliyah Biography)

Table of Contents

Childhood And Early Life

Alia Dana Houghton was born on 16 January 1979 in Brooklyn, New York to Diane and Michael Houghton. She had a brother with whom she was very close. She was very family-oriented and had close ties with her parents and grandmother. She was of African-American descent. (Aaliyah Biography)
Her mother was a singer and young Aaliyah began singing when she was a child, performing for weddings, charity events, and the church choir. Her uncle Barry Hankerson was married to recording artist Gladys Knight, who played a major role in introducing Aaliyah to show business.
With Gladys’ support, Alia auditioned for commercials and television shows, and also for several record labels. She began appearing in concerts with Gladys at the age of 11. (Aaliyah Bio)

Career

Alia signed with Jive Records and her Uncle Barry Hankerson’s Blackground Records when she was just 12 years old. His debut album ‘Edge Ain’t Nothing But A Number’, which was recorded at the age of just 14 years of the singer, was released in 1994. (Aaliyah Biography)
In its first week, the album sold approximately 74,000 copies. Soon, it peaked from number 24 to number 18 on the Billboard 200, eventually selling over 3 million copies in the United States, where it was certified double platinum by the RIAA. (Aaliyah Bio)
The tremendous success of the album propelled Alia to international stardom. During this time, rumors of her illicit marriage to her mentor and recording artist and producer R Kelly began to spread.
To quell the rumours, Alia left Jive Records and signed a contract with Atlantic Records under which she released her second album One in a Million in 1996. This album was also a huge success. It peaked at number 18 on the ‘Billboard 200’, and sold over 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. It was certified double platinum by the ‘RIAA’. (Aaliyah Biography)
After graduation, he started his acting career with the television series ‘New York Undercover’.
In 1997, she contributed to the soundtrack of the animated feature ‘Anastasia’, performing a cover version of ‘Journey to the Past’. Song ‘Are You That Somebody?’ To ‘Dr. Dolittle’ soundtrack and earned Alia her first ‘Grammy Award’ nomination. (Aaliyah Bio)

In 1999, he was selected to play his first film role in the action film ‘Romeo Must Die’, where he starred alongside martial arts star Jet Li. Released in 2000, the film was a huge commercial hit. Along with acting, he also served as the executive producer of the film’s soundtrack and performed the hit single ‘Try Again’ among others.
His third album Aaliyah, which was released in July 2001, reached number 2 on the Billboard album chart. The album sold over 190,000 copies in its first week alone. Within five weeks it was certified gold and later double platinum by the RIAA. (Aaliyah Biography)
Her singles ‘More Than a Woman’ and ‘I Care 4 U’ were posthumously released and reached the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Major Works

Alia’s debut album Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number spawned the hit singles, ‘Back and Fourth’ and ‘At Your Best (You’re Love)’, both of which were certified Gold by the ‘RIAA’. To sell over six million copies worldwide.

Awards and Achievements

At the ‘American Music Awards’ in 2002, Alia won two posthumous awards: ‘Favorite Female R&B Artist’ and ‘Favorite R&B/Soul Album.’ (Aaliyah Bio)
In 2003, she was named as one of the ‘Top 40 Women of the Video Era’ in VH1’s series ‘The Greatest’.
Alia was ranked 70th in ‘Billboard’ magazine’s ‘Top Artists of the Decade’, while her eponymous album claimed the 181st spot in the magazine’s ‘Top 200 Albums of the Decade’ in December 2009.
Billboard’ listed Alia as the 10th most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years and the 27th most successful R&B artist overall. (Aaliyah Biography)

Personal life and Legacy

It was once rumored that Aaliya had an illicit marriage to R Kelly which was later annulled. However, the pair denied the rumours. She was dating ‘Rock-a-Fella Records’ co-founder Damon Dash at the time of her death.
Alia, along with her crew, flew to the Bahamas on August 25, 2001, to shoot the music video for the song ‘Rock the Boat’. After completing the shooting early, the crew decided to return to Florida rather than wait for the next one. day as per schedule. For their return, they boarded a small private airplane. (Aaliyah Biography)
The plane was smaller than the plane the crew came in. However, the entire party and equipment were accommodated on board, overloading the aircraft with a surplus of 320 kg and an extra passenger. The plane crashed soon after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

Alia’s funeral services were held on August 31, 2001 by ‘Frank E. Campbell Funerals were held at Chapel’ and ‘St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan. (Aaliyah Bio)
Credited with redefining R&B and hip hop in the 1990s, Alia was paid tribute at the 2001 ‘MTV Video Music Awards’. (Aaliyah Biography)

Death

August 25, 2001 at 6:50 pm. (EDT), Alia and some employees of her record company boarded a twin-engine Cessna 402 light aircraft at Marsh Harbor Airport in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, to travel to Opa-Loca Airport in Florida, when He completed the filming of the musical. Video for “Rock the Boat”. (Aaliyah Biography)

They had a flight scheduled for the next day, but with filming quickly ending, Alia and her crew returned to the U.S. Eager to return and decided to leave immediately. The specified airplane was smaller than the Cessna 404 on which they had originally come, but the entire party and all equipment were kept on board. The aircraft crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the end of the runway. (Aaliyah Bio)

Alia and eight others on board—pilot Louis Morales III, hairstylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, family friend Keith Wallace, makeup stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Douglas Kretz and Gina Smith—were all. (Aaliyah Biography)

Passengers were impatient as the Cessna was supposed to arrive at 4:30 pm. EDT, but didn’t arrive until 6:15 p.m. EDT. Charter pilot Lewis Key claimed to have heard passengers argue with pilot Louis Morales III before takeoff, and said that Morales had warned him that it was too heavy for “safe flight”. Key continued: “They tried to convince them that the plane was overloaded, but they insisted that they had rented the plane and that they had to be in Miami on Saturday night.” Key indicated that Morales had passed on the passengers and had trouble starting one of the engines. (Aaliyah Bio)

According to the findings of an investigation conducted by the coroner’s office in the Bahamas, Alia had suffered “severe burns and a head injury” in addition to a severe stroke and a weak heart. The coroner speculated that she was in a state of shock that even if she had survived the accident, it would have been nearly impossible for her to recover, given the severity of her injuries. The bodies were taken to the morgue of Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, where they were kept to help identify relatives. Some bodies were badly burnt in the accident.

As subsequent investigations determined, the aircraft had a 700 lb (320 kg) overweight when it attempted to take off, and was carrying one more passenger than it was certified for. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that “the aircraft was observed to be lifted off the runway, and then nose down, impacted in a swamp south of the departure end of runway 27.” (Aaliyah Biography)

The report indicated that the pilot was not approved to fly the aircraft. Morales falsely obtained his FAA license by pretending he never flew hundreds of hours, and he may have also falsified the number of hours he flew to get a job with his employer Blackhawk International Airways. Additionally , Toxicology tests conducted on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. (Aaliyah Biography)

for more details

Read More