Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys is ready to set the road on “Fire.” The multiplatinum singer is prepping a world tour in support of her latest album, “Girl On Fire,” which will launch on March 7 in Seattle, she announced on Thursday. The 24-city trek winds down April 18 in Chicago before Keys is expected to continue on the road in Europe. The singer will play at Staples Center in Los Angeles on March 12. In an interview with The Times, Keys spoke candidly about the newfound confidence she showcases on "Girl On Fire," and said that despite being a decade into a career that boasts more than 35 million records sold and 14 Grammys, she had finally found herself on the album.

UPN, riding high with its new Chris Rock sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris," is working with Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys to develop a drama loosely based on her childhood, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The coming-of-age story will follow a girl from a biracial family. Keys, 24, was born to a white mother and a black father, who split up when she was 2.

Alicia Keys certainly loves challenges. After staying behind the piano and playing relatively intimate settings early in her singer-songwriter career, the young New Yorker surprised her fans last year by blossoming as a performer on an arena tour with Beyonce and Missy Elliott. The move seemed a major gamble, because who knew if Keys could compete with those flashy artists on such a high-energy, spectacle level? Yet she not only held her own but stole the show, according to some critics.

Within the first few moments of Alicia Keys' new album, "Girl on Fire," it's clear that this artist once labeled the new queen of Soul is now emulating the confidence needed to fulfill that role. "It's been a while, I'm not who I was before / You looked surprised, your words don't burn me anymore," she sings in "Brand New Me" over her trademark R&B piano playing. "Been meaning to tell you, but I guess it's clear to see / Don't be mad, it's just the brand new kind of me. " "There is no mystery … it's severely honest.

Alicia Keys and Radiohead swap places at the top of this week's U.S. album chart, but it's the soundtrack to indie-film-that-could "Juno" that's making the biggest waves on the tally. The soundtrack album jumps from its No. 8 post last week to No. 3, thanks to a 78% increase in sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It moved a total of 68,000 copies this week, bringing it to 143,000 copies sold so far. Radiohead's "In Rainbows" slips to No. 2 with sales of 69,000 copies.

When Alicia Keys talked to The Times about her latest album, "Girl on Fire," the singer was candid about the newfound confidence she showcases on the disc. A decade into a career that boasts 14 Grammys and more than 35 million albums sold, Keys says she has finally found herself -- and people are listening. According to Nielsen SoundScan, “Girl on Fire” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart after logging 159,000 copies sold.  It's the fifth time Keys has bowed at the top spot, having seen her first four releases, including 2005's live “Unplugged” set, hit No. 1. RELATED: A brand new Alicia Keys on 'Girl on Fire' "[The album]

The holiday season has arrived for the music industry, as a dozen albums on the U.S. pop chart this week sold more than 100,000 copies, a rare feat in a year when albums reached the No. 1 spot eight times with sales of less than six figures. Last week's sales were fueled by a host of hits compilations, including a new collection from Led Zeppelin, and a pair of divas. R&B singer Alicia Keys leads the charge of four new arrivals in the Top 10. Her "As I Am" lands at No.

Alicia Keys holds down the top spot on the U.S. album sales chart, securing the position with one of the lowest sales totals for a No. 1 album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. Her "As I Am" sold 61,000 copies in a slow release week. Only the soundtrack to "Dreamgirls" has sold less in the pole position, posting sales of 60,000 copies early last year. There are some newcomers to this week's chart. Neo-soul artist Raheem DeVaughn enters at No. 5 after selling 45,000 copies.

* * * ALICIA KEYS "Songs in A Minor" J If this debut arrived as a demo on a label president's desk, chances are there'd be so much excitement that the label head would send the entire A&R team in search of the person responsible for the music. But they'd be wasting their time. Clive Davis, the sharp-eared industry legend whose discoveries include Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston, has beaten them to Keys, a singer-songwriter-pianist of immense potential.

IT might not rank with JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" as a phrase for the ages, but when Alicia Keys looked out from the stage at the crowd of striking Writers Guild members at their Hollywood Boulevard rally and declared, "I'm a writer too," it sounded like a ringing plea for legitimacy that a star of her stature rarely has occasion to make.