Alicia Keys rebounds (from all of that success)

"I kind of came face to face with having to identify what kind of woman I wanted to be," she said at breakfast. "There's a point where you're a girl, and then you're a woman. So what are you going to do? Are you going to constantly be the girl that kind of follows and does all of this or are you going be the woman that states what you want for yourself?"

Not as easy as it looks

Growing up in public might have been part of the deal for Keys, who was barely out of her teens when she debuted in 2001 with the sponsorship of veteran music executive Clive Davis -- the business' ultimate letter of introduction. She quickly established herself as not only a compelling entertainer but also a gifted songwriter with a firm vision of her sound and direction. She sold more than 10 million copies of her first two albums, and her extended absence hasn't slowed things down -- "As I Am" has added 1.5 million to that total since its release in mid-November.

The New Yorker's wide-ranging but tradition-rooted R&B has also earned her nine Grammys and more critical recognition than most mainstream favorites enjoy, and her nascent acting career just took a big step when she won the starring role in a biographical film about entertainer Lena Horne that's being produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Along the way, Keys has taken every step with seemingly effortless ease and managed to pretty much stay out of the tabloids in the bargain. In short, it looks like a charmed life.

Sitting in the cafe of her hotel in Beverly Hills, the 27-year-old singer shot down that notion with a scoffing snort.

"Life has not been 'charmed' for me, that's for sure," she said. "But God does carry me. . . . There are certain things that I have said, 'Wow, why not me?' I've seen a massive amount of my friends fall victim to all kinds of situations, and I've been right there with them in so many ways doing the same things that they did, so why not me? . . .

"It makes you think. I realized that yes, there's a certain destiny that I'm meant to fulfill and there's a certain protection that I do have around me, so I think maybe that's what people see. But my life hasn't been like, 'Oh, my God, it's the easiest thing ever.'

"Hopefully I'm graceful enough to not let every single part of my life be everyone's business. . . . But everybody goes through many, many transitions and pains, there's no escaping that."

Overworked and under stress