Born Aaliyah Haughton in Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 16, 1979, Aaliyah grew up in Detroit, where her family moved when she was 5 years old. Recognizing her daughter's talent at an early age, Aaliyah's mother secured the services of a voice teacher even before Aaliyah was enrolled in school. Aaliyah's pre-teen years were divided between singing in school plays and auditioning for various TV projects, and at age 9, she performed on TV's Star Search (where she sang "My Funny Valentine" as an homage to her mother). Two years later, her burgeoning talents garnered her a five-night stint singing with Gladys Knight's troupe in Las Vegas.
Thanks to these early successes and some well-placed advocates (her uncle, Barry Hankerson, is a longtime music industry fixture and the CEO of the artist management company Blackground Enterprises), Aaliyah was introduced to R&B artist R. Kelly in 1992. The well-established Kelly and his young protégé immediately went into the studio and set about working on songs (all but one penned by Kelly) for Aaliyah's debut CD. Released in June 1994, the aptly titled Age Ain't Nothing but a Number sported the chart-topping single "Back and Forth," as well as a remake of the Isley Brothers hit "At Your Best (You Are Love)" that reached the top five. The alliance with Kelly also sparked dark rumors that he and then-15-year-old Aaliyah had wed, an allegation that both parties eventually denied.
Following a whirlwind tour that included stints in Japan, Europe, and South Africa, as well as in the United States, Aaliyah returned home to continue her studies at the Detroit High School for Performing Arts, where she majored in dance. She also kept busy with a number of collaborative projects — including working with Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Kriss Kross, appearing in The Notorious B.I.G's video for "One More Chance," and recording the sultry "Are You Ready?" for the Sunset Park soundtrack. When she returned to the studio in 1995 to begin work on her second album, R. Kelly was conspicuously absent from the proceedings. In his place, Aaliyah enlisted a team of high-profile artists and up-and-comers (most notably Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, and Slick Rick) to help fashion a worthy follow-up to her debut.
Released Aug. 27, 1996, One in a Million erased any notion that Aaliyah was a mere flash in the pan. The first single, the seductive "If Your Girl Only Knew," reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 R&B singles chart, and several months later, the double-sided "The One I Gave My Heart To"/"Hot Like Fire" fared nearly as well. Ten months after its release, One in a Million was certified double platinum (2 million in sales), making Aaliyah a bona fide superstar. Not surprisingly, publications such as Elle, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan began clamoring for interviews, most of which presented Aaliyah not just as a talented artist but also as a paragon of fashion for young urban women.
As the clamor surrounding One in a Million subsided, Aaliyah turned her sights toward Hollywood, and in 1998, she contributed performances to the soundtracks for both Dr. Dolittle and Anastasia. Although "Are You That Somebody?" (from Dr. Dolittle) reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, it was Anastasia's "Journey to the Past" that brought Aaliyah to the attention of the movie industry elite. Wearing a simple black dress purchased at the local mall, the 18-year-old appeared at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremonies and became one of the youngest artists ever to sing an Oscar-nominated song. As it turned out, the appearance was a mere warm-up to a more substantial Hollywood endeavor.
In early 2000, Aaliyah made her movie debut in the major motion picture Romeo Must Die. Described by CosmoGIRL! as a "hip-hop, kung-fu version of Romeo and Juliet," the film cast Aaliyah as the love interest of Hong Kong action star Jet Li (best known to American audiences for his role in Lethal Weapon 4) and starred rapper DMX as well. According to Marquee Magazine, Aaliyah took the role partly because it had "very little romance, much less any sex scenes" and because "her character, Trish O'Day, seemed to be a glove-tight fit." The film debuted at No. 2, though it met with mixed reviews.
The producer was so impressed with Aaliyah's acting skills that he got her a part on the "Matrix 2" movie, the sequel to the highly successful Matrix 1. Aaliyah was to prepared to take on the movie and give it her all.
In July 2001, Aaliyah released her third self titled solo album, after releasing her first hit "We need a resolution" off the Aaliyah album. It was only two weeks before her death that Aaliyah completed filming the video of one of the tracks off her album, "More Than A Woman" and she was also scheduled to be a presenter at the 2001 MTV awards on Thursday, September 6th in New York City. Aaliyah had already completed the initial shooting for the Matrix II in Los Angeles last month and was scheduled to fly to Australia after the New Year to finish up principal photography for The Matrix II & III.
Aaliyah went to the Bahama's to film her "Rock the Boat" video which was completed on Saturday 23rd August, and on that Saturday, Aaliyah left the Bahama's with 8 other people and boarded The Cessna 402 departing from the Marsh Harbour airport bound for Opa-locka, Florida. It crashed shortly after takeoff at approximately 6:50pm, police say. The plane is said to have crashed approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway killing six people instantly. Three others died later due to their injuries. The plane was said to have crashed because there was too much baggage.
The other's who were killed on this unfortunate flight were:
L. Marael, pilot (age unknown)
Aeliyatt (Aaliyah) Haughton, 22, White Plains, New York
Anthony Dodd, 34, Los Angeles, California
Eric Foreman, 29, Hollywood, California
Scott Gallin, 41, Pompano Beach, Florida
Keith Wallace, 49, Los Angeles, California
Gina Smith, 29, New Jersey
Douglas Kratz, 28, Hollywood, California (Virgin Records representative)
Christopher Maldonada, 32, New York
A public memorial service in honor of Aaliyah was held on Friday, August 31st in New York City. A continuous loop of Aaliyah's videos, performances and music ran throughout the day. Fans attended, & paid tribute to Aaliyah's life and career and mourned this great loss.
