by
CNN
—
Alicia Keys offers you holiday classics in a different way.
The 15-time Grammy winner spoke to CNN about the importance of recording her first holiday album “Santa Baby” and releasing it on her own label. After spending more than two decades with the company, Keys parted ways with Sony Music last year and joined a growing list of artists who are gaining more ownership and creative control over their music.
“The album I just released for the holidays, the first in my series, sounds really exciting. I also feel very committed and focused not only on how I want to continue being my own woman who creates the right job and who is truly my own boss and creates the opportunities I want, but also how I think about it. other artists, other women,” Keys told CNN in a recent interview.
“I’m really happy with Alicia Keys Records. It’s a big statement to be an artist with the talent and perseverance of longevity,” Keys added.
“Santa Baby” only debuted on Apple Music and climbed to #1 on the platform. While Mariah Carey is considered by many to be the “Queen of Christmas” with her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Keys said she’s not trying to compete and would love to collaborate with Carey.
“I’m my own queen and she’s her own queen and I totally elevate her,” Keys said. “I think he’s incredible. I would love it for us… I can’t believe we didn’t make music together. We should, we have a lot in common. He is an incredible writer and producer.”
“I want to do nothing but honor her,” Keys added of Carey. “He got his lane, and I got my lane and ours there. If something happens, we can come together and do something new!”
Keys also has a holiday sports series with Athleta, which she says fills a much-needed void in the fashion industry.
“It’s all about body diversity. Goes up to three X sizes. There is no person, shape, style or body that does not belong in this collection. And I adore it. I think many times you feel left out. If you don’t look a certain way, you feel like you’re not beautiful. If you don’t have a certain size, you feel rejected and that’s not true.”
In some ways, Keys is just getting started, more than two decades after hitting the scene with her hit album “Songs in A Minor.”
“The business can get the most out of you and take everything away from you. So that I can be here after 20 years, to be more fit than I’ve ever been, to control my life more than I’ve ever been, to learn a lot and be ready. really being the business woman I’ve always been and [now] take it to the next level.”
