Born January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, Aaliyah (Haughton) now makes Detroit her home. Aaliyah began her performing at the young age of 11 when she sang on-stage with Gladys Knight's troupe in Las Vegas. Nicknamed, "Liyah," Aaliyah just graduated from the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts (June, '97). With 2 hit LPs by the time she was 18 years old, Aaliyah has already established herself as an up-and-coming R&B force. After a childhood of intermittent performances including Star Search and TV pilots, Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson (Gladys Knight's ex-husband) introduced Aaliyah to a performer he was managing, R. Kelly. The meeting resulted in Kelly producing (and writing most songs on) Aaliyah's debut LP, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.
Entertainment Weekly said of Aaliyah: "...imagine En Voguepacked into one teenage body and backed by hip-hop svengali R. Kelly and you have Aaliyah..." As Aaliyah's star began to rise, rumors surfaced about a possible marriage between 15 year-old Aaliyah and 25+ Kelly. The rumor was never confirmed or denied. The single "Back And Forth" was certified gold.
Aaliyah hit the Top 40 with "Back And Forth." Aaliyah topped the Billboard R&B Singles chart for 3 weeks and the R&B Singles Sales chart for 5 weeks with "Back And Forth."
Aaliyah could be heard on the soundtrack for Sunset Park with "Are You Ready."
Aaliyah's alliance with Kelly was not present on her 2nd LP released - One In A Million. The LP gave Aaliyah another Top 10 pop hit with "If Your Girl Only Knew" as well as the hits "One In A Million" and "4 Page Letter." Another track on the LP was a remake of Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up." Aaliyah extended her reputation for sultry, street-wise sounds and videos. The Source proclaimed: "...Aaliyah is ready to showcase her mature side..."
Aaliyah hit the Top 40 with "If Your Girl Only Knew." Aaliyah topped the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart for 2 weeks and the Hot R&B Singles Sales chart for a week with "If Your Girl Only Knew."
A good start with getting into movies came with Aaliyah's contribution to the Anastasia soundtrack with the track "Journey To The Past." Aaliyah hit the Top 40 with "The One I Gave My Heart To." The single "The One I Gave My Heart To" was certified gold.
Aaliyah could be heard on the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack with the Top 5 hit "Are You That Somebody?" (and seen in the film with a cameo appearance).
As for her next LP, Aaliyah told MTV: "I haven't really started anything just yet... I do have some ideas... I'm gonna keep them a secret... but definitely I will be working with my family (including Missy Elliott and Ginuwine)... but as far as other ideas, I haven't really decided a lot of things just yet." Aaliyah was nominated for a Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female ("One In A Million").
New material by Aaliyah could be found on the soundtrack for Romeo Must Die including a track with DMX, "Come Back In One Piece" and the tracks "Try Again" and "Are You Feelin' Me?" Aaliyah also starred in the film. She also talked with MTV about the movie and her next LP: "I had to stop the album to do the movie and then stop it again to do the soundtrack."
Aaliyah hit the Top 10 with "Try Again" which also hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week (the first song without a commercial single release to ever do so).
Aaliyah was nominated for 2 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for Best R&B/Soul Single - Solo and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video ("Try Again").
Aaliyah released Aaliyah. Aaliyah said of her new LP to Billboard: "There is always a bit of pressure to do a good album... to do good work, period. I really put a lot of pressure on myself, more so than other people. But I try not to let that overwhelm me to the point where I can't even do good work. I just put it aside and do the best that I know I can." Aaliyah hit the Top 40 with "We Need A Resolution."
Tragedy struck on August 25th, when Aaliyah and 8 others were killed when their plane crashed in the Bahamas shortly after take off on route toward Miami. Aaliyah had just finished shooting a new music video for the single "Rock The Boat" and was returning to Florida. Reports about the plane crash cause vary from engine failure to the plane being overloaded with baggage. Aaliyah had been set to start filming her role in the sequel to The Matrix. Aaliyah did finish her work with the film Queen Of The Damned which was released in 2002. Aaliyah had also planned to work on a remake of the film Sparkle which was to be produced by Whitney Houston. Aaliyah was certified platinum. Aaliyah was nominated for a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year ("Try Again").
Remembrances: Gladys Knight: "...Her star had just begun to shine so brightly. Though she was ours for only a short time, what a time it was. I love Aaliyah, and I will miss her for the rest of my life." "Quincy Jones: "She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world." Timbaland: "She was like blood, and I lost blood." DMX: "(she was a)... down-to-earth sister with enough energy to put anyone on a cloud." Puff Daddy: "She was one of those individuals that would light up a room. She always greeted you with a smile."
Aaliyah, topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart for a week - selling over 300,000 copies in the US during the week after her death. "Rock The Boat" hit the Top 40.
Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, helped with the finished product of Aaliyah's film Queen Of The Damned by adding dialogue touch-ups. Critics in Rolling Stone voted Aaliyah as Best R&B Artist of the Year.
Aaliyah was awarded 2 American Music Awardsfor Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. Aaliyah topped the UK Singles chart for a week with "More Than A Woman."
Aaliyah hit the Top 40 with "More Than A Woman." Aaliyah won a Soul Train Award for Female R&B/Soul Single ("Rock The Boat").
Aaliyah's parents filed a lawsuit against Virgin Records and Blackhawk International Airways accusing them of negligence and contributing to the death of their daughter.
Reports serviced that cocaine and alcohol were found in the system of the pilot flying that plane that crashed with Aaliyah. The pilot had also been sentenced to probation for 3 years for possession of crack cocaine only 2 weeks before the flight.
I Care 4 U was released. The LP included 6 new tracks Aaliyah had been working on before her death along with some previously released hits. I Care 4 U topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 7 weeks.
"Miss You" hit the Top 40. Aaliyah topped the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart for 3 weeks and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for 3 weeks with "Miss You." I Care 4 U was certified platinum.
"Miss You" topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart. Aaliyah topped the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks with "Miss You."
Aaliyah topped the Billboard Year-End Charts as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist - Female (singles & albums), Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Artist - Female, and Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artist - Female.
September 16: Aaliyah could be heard on the Chris Brown LP X on the track "Don't Think They Know."
Note: Song title and position links lead you to the song's ARC Weekly Top 40 chart run and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often including track listings and sound samples).
January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001
# 15 Singles Artist of the Year 
# 86 Singles Artist of the Year
# 20 Singles Artist of the Year
# 36 Singles Artist of the Year
# 34 Singles Artist of the Year
# 110 Singles Artist of the Year
# 47 Singles Artist of the Year
# 45 Singles Artist of the Year
