Alicia Keys to set arena on fire

Photo provided to China Daily

"We've made sufficient marketing research and found AK's songs well loved in China," Yaoxing Media says in e-mail correspondence with China Daily. "From Fallin' to Empire State of Mind to her latest duet with Nicki Minaj Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys has many hit songs to light up audiences and set the arena on fire. We believe Alicia will give a wonderful show in Shanghai, and the box office has turned out very well."

Keys' Chinese online fans group on Baidu.com has more than 80,000 members.

Keys was originally named Alicia Augello Cook. Her mother, of European descent, and her African-American father, separated when she was 2. Keys' mother raised her single-handedly. From her, Keys learned about the challenges and infinite potential in women. "Fallin' was a song I wrote for my mom," she says. And her new song Girl on Fire is meant to "encourage women to take control of their own life".

An accomplished pianist, Keys produces her own albums and incorporates piano into many of her songs, and she is often seen playing piano in her live concerts and music videos.

Keys is married to Swizz Beatz, a hip-hop musician from New York, and their son Egypt is 3 years old.

The family of three attended a charity ball on AIDS medication for Africa, which she co-founded, on Nov 8, a week before Keys headed to Asia for her concert tour, starting in Dubai, on Nov 15.

After the Shanghai gig, Keys will have another two China shows in Macao on Nov 22 and 23.