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“My 15 minutes started an hour ago,” raps Drake on “Fireworks,” the opening number featuring Alicia Keys on his debut album. True, Drake’s fame—both as a rapper and an actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation—precedes this long-awaited release. Working with hip-hop heavyweights like Jay-Z and Kanye West, the Toronto-born artist shows off his lyrical skills on tracks like “Light Up” and “Show Me a Good Time.” But on the deeply romantic “Find Your Love” Drake also proves himself a most promising crooner.

She has the hooks and the looks—and depth and diversity too. Barely out of her teens, Alicia Keys may be the most sophisticated new artist working in pop music today, the anti-Britney that critics and many discerning listeners have longed for. But is she the real deal? Is she more talent than hype? And can the classically trained singer-pianist possibly live up to the daunting comparisons with her legendary, soulful predecessors? Already, Keys is off to a damn good start. Her debut album, much of which she wrote, arranged and co-produced herself, has sold more than seven million copies and won her a raft of awards, including an astonishing five Grammys. Songs in A Minor features an ambitious...

Her last album was called Girl on Fire and Alicia is still red hot. This summer, the 15-time Grammy winner made headlines by choosing not to wear makeup at an awards show. On her sixth studio album, Keys continues to boldly speak out, tackling topics from the human condition to global politics on tough hip-hop tracks and spare acoustic ballads alike. She’s also released a companion short film titled The Gospel that deals with police brutality. That outspokenness is the backbone of confessional numbers like the dancehall-flavored “Girl Can’t Be Herself,” which focuses on issues of self-image, and “Blended Family (What You Do For Love),” a song inspired by her own experience as a mother of two...

The girl really is on fire. Since releasing her 2009 album, The Element of Freedom, Keys became a wife, a mother, began co-managing her career, produced her first Broadway play, directed her first short film, executive-produced a TV movie, designed her own shoe line and launched a storytelling app for children. If that wasn’t enough, the “Empire State of Mind” singer, who has sold over 35 million albums and won 14 Grammy Awards, completed a new CD, her most personal to date. “This is me stepping into my complete womanhood,” says Keys, “my journey to becoming fearless.” Girl on Fire is indeed fearless. Featuring deeply autobiographical songs like “Brand New Me” and the title track, which incl...