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Aaliyah Dana Haughton, simply known as Aaliyah, was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in Detroit, Michigan. It was her mother who encouraged her to pursue a career even at an early age. Her other relatives are part of the music industry, including her uncle Barry Hankerson. Aaliyah first appeared on the talent show Star Search and sang the song “My Funny Valentine”. She didn’t win the contest but was able to get herself an agent. She graduated at the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts with a 4.0 GPA.

Aaliyah first signed under her uncle’s recording label Blackground Records when she was 14. A year later she released her debut album entitled Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, which was produced by R. Kelly. It went platinum and featured hit singles such as Back and Forth, At Your Best, Down with the Clique, and the carrier single Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.

At the age of 17, Aaliyah came up with her second album, One in a Million, which was written and produced by Missy Elliot and Timbaland. One in a Million not only became a commercial success but also garnered critical acclaim, making Aaliyah a major R&B singer. The album reached double-platinum within a year, with international hits including If Your Girl Only Knew, One In A Million, Hot Like Fire, and The One I Gave My Heart To.

In July of 2001, Aaliyah released her self-titled album, which features the single We Need A Resolution, which already hit the airwaves three months earlier. The album presented a mellow, yet dark side of Aaliyah, yet it maintained her artistic style and innovation as she was in her past albums. “Aaliyah” went gold in the span of four weeks after its release.

Aaliyah not only pursued a career as a singer, but as an actress as well. She starred opposite Jet Li in the martial arts movie Romeo Must Die in 2001, where she took part of the movie’s soundtrack with the songs Try Again and Come Back in One Piece (with DMX). In the same year she went to Australia to shoot the film adaptation of the Anne Rice bestseller, Queen of the Damned.

Aaliyah, and eight others were killed in a plane crash after filming the video for her song Rock the Boat, on August 25 2001, in the Bahamas. Rock the Boat became a posthumous hit, as well as the last single released under her third album, I Care 4 U. A lot of artists from the entertainment industry paid tribute to Aaliyah’s memory through shows, concerts and charity work, including the likes of Missy Elliot and Boyz II Men.