Alicia Keys thinks ‘Fallin’ ”defied all genres” of music.
The 36-year-old singer released the hit record in 2001, but the star was apprehensive about the track because she didn’t think it would ”have a place” on the radio.
Speaking about her career in a documentary named ‘Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives’, which is based on the 85-year-old record producer, she said: ”People really liked ‘Fallin.’ But it defied all genres. It didn’t have a place at radio.”
And the brunette beauty – who has sons Egypt, six, and Genesis, two, with her husband Swizz Beatz – has revealed when she first signed to Columbia Records people did not ”understand” her style of music, and she was forced to find the support elsewhere if she wanted to pursue a career in the industry.
She explained: ”And at 16, I was signed by Columbia Records. The people at Columbia really didn’t understand what I was doing. My manager at the time, he was like, ‘If they don’t get you, then let’s find somebody that does.”’
The ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ hitmaker has revealed the music mogul soon came to her aid and helped her to make her big break, which she will ”never forget”.
She explained: ”I’ll never forget meeting Clive. I remember him being really appreciative and celebratory of the fact that I was my own artist. And I remember feeling so inspired.”
Alicia – who has received 15 Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music gongs and seven BET honours during her career – has praised Clive for believing in her and her talent, and helping her to become an established artist.
Speaking about the businessman, she said: ”[Davis] knew that if people could lay their eyes on me, if they could see what he saw, then they would see what he saw.”
The ‘Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives’ will be available on iTunes on Friday (13.10.17).
