For Alicia Keys, writing hits comes from the heart
Photo credit: AP | Recording artist Alicia Keys is photographed in Manhattan on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009.
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After struggling with her last album, Alicia Keys said she has finally developed a creative process that works for her, one she used for her forthcoming album "The Element of Freedom."
Keys launched NYU's "Lecture and Performance Series" Wednesday night, in connection with the CMJ Music Marathon taking place this week.
PHOTOS: Alicia Keys in concert and around the world.
"I'm from New York so I know how to lace up my boots . . . There's no getting around putting in the work," Keys said. "But there's more creativity to be found in balance."
In addition to talking about the business and personal changes she made before recording the new album, ("I had to find some snakes in the grass," she said) Keys also unveiled some new material in her 35-minute performance.
>>VIDEO: Click here for full access on the set of her photo shoot for the new album
The "super-duper new" "Trying to Sleep with a Broken Heart" shows Keys in more of a pop setting, with a tinge of Euro-influenced synths, while the current single "Doesn't Mean Anything" is a straight-up pop anthem.
Some of her musical changes have affected her older material as well, with her breakthrough "Fallin' " getting a more rock-oriented treatment, even with a bit of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" in it.
Prompted by a student's question, Keys explained how she approaches "writing hits."
"It's not necessarily being the most clever," she said. "It's about what you feel. I try not to get into the 'hit' thing too much. Go for the heart."
PHOTOS: Alicia Keys in concert and around the world.
