The Element of Freedom is the fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist Alicia Keys, released December 11, 2009, on J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at The Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was handled by Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Swizz Beatz, Noah "40" Shebib, Toby Gad and Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. Departing from the classicist soul music of Keys' previous albums, The Element of Freedom has a mid-tempo, low-key sound and features mostly ballads.
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. It became Keys' first non-number one album in the United States and her first number one album in the United Kingdom. The Element of Freedom was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America within its first month of release and produced five singles that attained moderate chart success. Despite mixed criticism towards its low-key style and Keys' songwriting, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics. It has sold 1,391,300 copies in the United States and four million copies worldwide. Keys supported album with a world tour, The Freedom Tour.The Element of Freedom is the fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist Alicia Keys, released December 11, 2009, on J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at The Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was handled by Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Swizz Beatz, Noah "40" Shebib, Toby Gad and Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. Departing from the classicist soul music of Keys' previous albums, The Element of Freedom has a mid-tempo, low-key sound and features mostly ballads.
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. It became Keys' first non-number one album in the United States and her first number one album in the United Kingdom. The Element of Freedom was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America within its first month of release and produced five singles that attained moderate chart success. Despite mixed criticism towards its low-key style and Keys' songwriting, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics. It has sold 1,391,300 copies in the United States and four million copies worldwide. Keys supported album with a world tour, The Freedom Tour.false2022-10-22 12:37:37The Element of Freedom920092009-11-272009-11-2753Contemporary R&BHip HopNeo SoulR&B1125182118966bad8e2e6-4398-4089-8883-07c678cf009e8ef1df30-ae4f-4dbd-9351-1a32b208a01eff3f4515-0c8d-4779-9217-e5c11eadce13/media/data/media5/Music/Alicia Keys/The Element of Freedom (2009)/folder.jpgAlicia KeysAlbumArtist/config/metadata/People/A/Alicia Keys/folder.jpgAlicia KeysArtist/config/metadata/People/A/Alicia Keys/folder.jpgAlicia KeysAlicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs when she was the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at the age of 15. After disputes with the label, she signed with J Records to release her debut studio album, Songs in A Minor (2001). Met with critical acclaim and commercial success, the album sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won five awards at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. It contained the Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Fallin'." Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) was met with continued success, selling eight million units worldwide and spawning the singles "You Don't Know My Name", "If I Ain't Got You", and "Diary" (featuring Tony! Toni! Toné!). Its release earned an additional four Grammy Awards.
Her 2004 duet with Usher, "My Boo", became her second number-one single. Alicia's first live album, Unplugged (2005), spawned the single "Unbreakable" and made her the first female artist to have an MTV Unplugged project debut atop the Billboard 200. Her third album, As I Am (2007), sold seven million units worldwide and yielded her third Billboard Hot 100-number one single. "No One." In 2007, Keys made her film debut in the action-thriller Smokin' Aces, and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace with her single "Another Way to Die" (with Jack White) the following year. Her fourth album, The Element of Freedom (2009), peaked the UK Albums Chart, sold four million copies worldwide, and was supported by the singles "Doesn't Mean Anything", "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", and "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)." That same year, her 2009 single "Empire State of Mind" (with Jay-Z) became her fourth number-one in the United States. Her fifth album, Girl on Fire (2012), became her fourth non-consecutive album to peak the Billboard 200 and was supported by its lead single of the same name; her sixth album, Here (2016), peaked at number two on the chart. Her seventh and eighth studio albums, Alicia (2020) and Keys (2021), spawned the singles "Show Me Love" (featuring Miguel), "Underdog", "Lala" and "Best of Me". Her first independent release, Santa Baby (2022), was a holiday album. In 2023, she wrote, composed and co-produced her first Broadway musical, Hell's Kitchen.
Keys has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She was named by Billboard as the Top Artist of the 2000s in the R&B/Hip-Hop category, and placed tenth on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years. She has received numerous accolades in her career, including 16 Grammy Awards, 17 NAACP Image Awards, 12 ASCAP Awards, and an award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and National Music Publishers Association. VH1 included her on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and 100 Greatest Women in Music lists, while Time has named her in their 100 list of most influential people in 2005 and 2017. Keys is also acclaimed for her humanitarian work, philanthropy, and activism. She co-founded the nonprofit HIV/AIDS-fighting organization Keep a Child Alive in 2003, for which she serves as Global Ambassador.