Alicia Keys, fresh off her European tour, is now gearing up to do a trek in North America by tweaking her schedule and adding a couple dates.
The tour, which will feature Jordin Sparks, “American Idol” winner as the opener, will kick off in Hampton, VA on April 19. From there Keys will be visiting arenas across the US as well as a few in Canada until mid-June. The tour’s grand finale will take place June 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Shows that have been recently been added include Sacramento and Anaheim in California along with Memphis. In addition new dates have been given for gigs in Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Cleveland and Philadelphia. Performances previously announced for Cincinnati and Phoenix have been deleted from the tour’s schedule.
Keys tour is in support for “As I Am,” her third studio set. It was released in November and recently spent multiple non-consecutive weeks in the No. 1 Billboard 200 spot. The album has also gained triple-platinum status as well as spawned the hit singles “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” and “No One.” The songs have been making waves over several radio format types.
Keys’ album earned her two Grammy Awards this February. For “No One” she won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance as well as Best R&B Song. She then won four more awards from the NAACP Image Awards and was also recognized at the first ceremony for BET Honors from Black Entertainment Television.
Since “Songs in A Minor” debuted in 2001, Keys has sold over 20 million albums all over the world. She has also won 11 Grammy Awards.
Keys is currently pursuing an acting career in addition to her singing. She stars in “Fresh Takes,” an MTV micro series that had its premiere earlier this week. Dove, the skin care company, created the program. It follows the lives of three girlfriends juggling pressures of the 20s life. It will be airing during “The Hills,” an MTV show, in five separate three minute episodes.
Keys stated in her press release, I hope this series will inspire 20 somethings and give them a fresh take regarding pressures from theirs lives so they can start to enjoy the ride.
