Rap-Up.com || Michael Jackson Inspires Alicia Keys to Do Her Best

You never forget your first concert, especially when that first show happens to be Michael Jackson. Alicia Keys recalls attending one of the King of Pop’s legendary tours in the ’80s and the lasting impression it left on her as an artist.

“The first concert I ever attended was Michael Jackson,” Keys tells Rap-Up.com, “and I think it was like the reunion tour or something because he had all his brothers with him, and it was like a big, huge deal.”

The Grammy-winning songbird was barely old enough to realize that she was witnessing history in the making. “There were all these ambulances everywhere and I was like, ‘Mommy, who’s sick?’” she asked. “I didn’t understand the fact that in just a few hours grown men would be fainting at this concert. It was just incredible to see that level of performance so young. That was a great first concert to go to.”

The pop icon inspired Keys’ latest “Freedom” tour, which ends its North American run this weekend in Oakland, Calif. “I think Michael Jackson has influenced every performer on the face of the earth. What he really inspired me to do and influenced me to do is my best, and I feel like what he represented is quality and craftsmanship with his performance,” she says. “He was one of the best performers of all time and it was because he put in work, he put in time, he was creative, and he wanted to be the best. When I go up [on stage] and when I arrange my shows, that’s exactly the mind state that I have.”

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46 Comments

lilo
April 9th, 2010 at 5:48 am
i’m so sick of this MJ crap

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Ghetto Fab
April 9th, 2010 at 5:50 am
That’s lovely he’s inspired just about every pop star on this planet. Now if only she could perform even a fourth as good as him. Not throwing shade, just stating the truth. She’s got to work on her performances. And it has nothing to do with dancing. She just has no presence. She could do well learning some voice and tone control. Sometimes I feel like she oversings her songs. * waits for all the A.Keys fans to come slay me lol

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Mariann
April 9th, 2010 at 6:01 am
MJ was the best performer of all time. Period. Thank you Alicia for these kind words about my favorite artist of all time.

May he rest in peace (finally)!!!

Lilo…keep your ugly negativity to yourself. If you were not compelled to comment. Idiot.

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sweetangel
April 9th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Lilo is just a disrespectful, negative person, he doesnt apprecaite true talent, probarly because he has not talent himself! MJ is was amazing, So is Alicia :)

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dan
April 9th, 2010 at 6:45 am
not another michael jackson story…
guess it was the first concert of every pop star now, wasnt it?

and at the lilo haters…i can understand him/her

no disrespect to michael, he was a genius, a great performer, a great artist, a great vocalist and the brick of those kind of concerts we know these days

but before his death nearly no one, except a few, talked about him, honestly, he was the middle of a lot of jokes.
and now everyone acts like none of this ever happened…and that is really crap
his songs werent played much on the radio and then he became all over the place

its just too much that everyone has to say “oh i was at a michael concert, thriller was my first cd, blah blah blah”
if you did not say that before you dont have to do it now

with that being said….rest in peace michael

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Terry-Andre
April 9th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Totally agree with Dan and Lilo. Plus I think she lyin anyway. lol

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dan
April 9th, 2010 at 6:48 am
@ghetto fab

you’re right and i wonder what happened to her voice?
she had a great voice and could sing great live

and now she screams and scratches herself through a song…the hope for haiti performance was horrible…

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Terry-Andre
April 9th, 2010 at 7:03 am
@ Dan and fab

Screams and speads her legs apart and rock back & forth. Boring ass.

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Natasha
April 9th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Damn why are yall hating on michael. Alicia keys has always been a fan, why would she lie. Michael inspired alot of people there is nothing wrong with other artist mentioning him. If you don’t want to hear about it the DON’T READ ABOUT IT. it’s that simple.

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Juicy
April 9th, 2010 at 8:08 am
I wish i could have gone to an MJ concert. Keep doing you alicia :)

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Regulata
April 9th, 2010 at 8:49 am
All you fake azz, hat’in marks need to get a grip. Through all the media initiated trials and tribulations MJ had to face, the WORLD still loved him. Then fact the press chose to defame his character and turn people against him don’t mean sh*t now, cauz they failed.You don’t have to join the so called bandwagon, but you don’t have to hate either. Michael Jackson was, is and forever will be the GOAT. Deal wit it —marks.

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Truthbetold
April 9th, 2010 at 9:18 am
The media tried its best to marginalize and ridicule MJ but his real fans who are millions around the world never forgot him. Proof?

Show my any artist today that could sell out 50 concerts in less than 24 hour?

MJ was da King and he continues to rule even after death. No one can come even closely to Michael Jackson. It will take a very long time before we see someone of his calliber.

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Elizabeth
April 9th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Michael was the best performer of all time. Those were nice words. He is my hero & I will love him till the end of time & hope this is not the end. I hope he sees all the love he has. I hope to see him in heaven. He is the most wonderful fantastic amazing man. HE has more talent then all the stars in the world. I am truly amazed by him as a man & as a performer. He definitely was the king. I am 47 & grew up with him. He is part of my family & in my heart. He truly was wonderful. I cant say enough about my hero. He handled a lot of things better then I would have & had class. I will always love him. HE is so spectacular that there are no words that can describe him. Thank you Michael

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Girl from Asia
April 9th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Michael Jackson is the greatest and the most successful entertainer of all time. More importantly, he is the finest human being who genuinely cared about the humanity, especially the children of the world. He is my hero and I am a better person because of him. There will never be another Michael Jackson. Thank you Michael and love you for eternity.

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Paula
April 9th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Dan, How mistaken you are about how people felt about Michael Jackson before his death. What you are speaking of is the fact that the media refused to report the truth about how people felt about Michael and continued to degrade and belittle him in the public eye.

I guess you don’t know about one million tickets being sold in less than an hour for his concerts with over 200,000 more people waiting to buy tickets to see his 02 concert and that was only in London. Oh, by-the-way, that was before his death. Maybe now you know how people truly felt about him.

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Donovin
April 9th, 2010 at 10:26 am
We’ve all heard it before, but I’ll just say it again…Michael Joseph Jackson was the GREATEST performer of all time. He inspires me in my work, and I’m not even in the music industry. His inspiration is to always try to perfect your craft. That is his legacy. We’ll never see another like him, trust. RIP MJ

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headphones
April 9th, 2010 at 10:41 am
ummm to the people sayin alicia has no stage presence… i don’t what shows YOU’VE seen but home girl is amazing, i’ve seen her 4 or 5 times live and have never been disappointed.. all this hate is really sickening *chuncks the dueces* SN: and shout out 2 MJ! lol

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zorka
April 9th, 2010 at 10:57 am
MICHAEL WE LOVE YOU!!! YOU ,ONLY YOU MAKE US BETTER! MJ WE PRAY FOR UR SOUL.

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Anonymous
April 9th, 2010 at 11:05 am
[...] esattamente questo il mio stato mentale quando sono sul palco e metto su uno spettacolo". Fonte: Rap-Up.com || Michael Jackson Inspires Alicia Keys to Do Her Best "All he wanted was the mountain high Colour the clouds, paint the sky Beyond these [...]
Tony Gun 47
April 9th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I agree and feel the same as Donovin.

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Rosebud
April 9th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
To all of you that feel it necessary to leave negative comments: “Why are you reading them?” You opened the site ~ so, quit complaining and spreading your negative attitude. Are you trying to look for something to help you hang on to your negative view of life in general? MJ has more fans than haters anyday.

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Kanye
April 9th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Yo Lilo, imma let you finish your lamentations… but Michael Jackson is the greastet performer of all time. Of ALL TIME.

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R
April 9th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
MJ HATERS GO TO HELL :)
MJ WE LOVE U! LOVE PREVAILS…NONE OF THE MJ HATERS COULD NEITHER DO A FRACTION OF WHAT MIKE DID IN HIS LIFE, NOR ENDURE A FRACTION OF WHAT HE FACED THROUGHOUT HIS LIFETIME. B4 U TALK GARBAGE, MAKE SURE YOU’RE AN EQUIVALENT OR MORE, IN WHICH CASE NO ONE IS. SO STOP WASTING YOU’RE TIME HATING HIM, AND JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT WE LOVE MJ NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS.
GOB BLESS YOU MICHAEL, WE LOVE U :)

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bread
April 9th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
homewrecka on skates

thats all i have to say about that

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bread
April 9th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
homewrecka on knees

thats all i have to say about that

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alli13941
April 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
People who hate MJ deep down inside can’t resist him!

They see a headline that has his name in it and they rush to read it. That is so phenomenal!! Talk about impact. Michael Jackson is a wonderful human being and 100s of millions around the world have always loved him and will continue to do so.

Sorry haters:(

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Bling
April 9th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
To the millions of people who have been up until now the silent majority – count me in! Michael Jackson was the best entertainer the world has ever seen…it’s no wonder there are people who are obsessed with him. They act like they hate him, but the truth is – they can’t get enough of him. They will continue to seek anything written about him out too.

And I don’t have anything but nice things to say about Alicia Keys…sorry to ruin the hate party.

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Sonia
April 9th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
To all the MJ haters out there: You might as well get used to seeing his name and hearing his music for a long, long time, he may have passed, but he will never be forgotten. Get over it……..

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Ken
April 9th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
right now all my music is Michael songs coz I love all of his works.thanx alicia.

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Jamie
April 9th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
@Dan, Terry-Andre and Lilo…

Really?? Nobody talked about him?! Seriously? Do you know what you’re saying?? Stop being so ignorant and go look something up once in a while. MJ was the BUZZ 3-5 months before his death due to This is It, the concert series that sold over a million tickets within TWO hours…show me any other artist that can do that today?! That’s right, nobody! No one forgot about MJ, he was always there. And he will always be here…Rest in peace mike, we miss you =’(

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Natalie
April 10th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Michael Jackson is certainly one of the most talented and professional entertainers in this past century. He was awesome til the very end. The ‘This Is It’ documentary really gives us a peek into the behind-the-scenes of of this creative genius. I believe that is the legacy he is leaving behind. God bless Alicia and Michael’s fans.

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jules
April 10th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah what a shame lilo
You are missing out on the most amazing performer
that ever lived.
Oh well your loss.

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LShea
April 10th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
For the haters who say that Michael wasn’t so special even when he was alive – how do you figure that a documentary released about him AFTER his death is the highest grossing of all time? Really, haters? Really? Polish up your game. Some people just can’t stand for people to have ANY shine. How pathetic!

[Reply]
Lellow (;
April 11th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I must admit that Michael was really good in their performances. I love your sound. But anyway, I did not understand
such hatred of Alicia Keys. Frankly I think you, the fans of Michael Jackson should be proud of
a singer who can be inspired by the great voice of the King. Not only for Alicia, but also for other singers,
Michael is rather a source of inspiration. I, as a fan of Alicia Keys could not stop commenting, but of course
not like @Lilo disrespect Michael is not here = /
Alicia, I love you.

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dan
April 12th, 2010 at 2:10 am
my gosh…yall are crazy!

why is anyone calling me a hater? y’all stupid!
i did not disrespect michael in any kind of way…i admitted he was great, my point was that most of the stars didnt talk that much bout him before his death, so why are they doing it now? do get sympathy?

and yes, of course it has been talked about cause of the concerts. and how many said he couldnt do that?

didnt hate on alicia either…her cds are great and her performances were, too. but they were…i just asked what happened to her voice, cause she screams way too much these days…just saying…the hope for haiti performance was horrible!

but yeah, go on and call anyone a hater…thats how you get through life…

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Lellow (;
April 12th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Ok Dan, I understand. I also found that in the last concerts of Freedom Tour, Alicia had a few scratches, but I
I understand it, and what I think, is that fans of Michael should be proud of having a singer who represent you in
their shows. That is beautiful. But as not accompany Michael’s life very well, I can not speak ill of him,
I know that he, like Alicia for me, an idol. Anyway, I think respect is good, and we all enjoy (:

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leah
April 13th, 2010 at 9:13 am
lilo la merde c est vous soyez maudis à jamais

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Lellow (;
April 13th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Just a question. You guys read and understood the title? After that I’m ignorant ‘-’

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lenny
June 30th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
MJ i respect u and that is afact.u have bn my ispiration becoz u are the “KING”the gretest of all times.I may not call lilo a hater that his or her own opinion and evrebody is entetitled to one.

‘

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lenny
June 30th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
MJ i respect u and that is afact.u have bn my ispiration becoz u are the “KING”the greatest of all times.I may not call lilo a hater that his or her own opinion and everybody is entitle to one.

‘

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cherr
August 8th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
im sayin f**k the heater he is the best

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BeckyMJ
October 7th, 2010 at 5:12 am
OMG This is sooo Beautiful..Alicia Keys and Michael Jackson are the favorite singers to me!!!And know when i read this it just make me wanna cry..So beautiful words..Love them bouth!!! <3<3<3

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stori
March 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am
man mj was the king of pop and thats final. so them haters out there better step back. mj was a great artist in singing. he started singing when he was like 5 years old with his brothers.so he was probably the youngest singer in his group and other groups so i dont know what haters are saying.mj has a kind heart for kids and his sister janet they were like best friends. when i was looking on the internet i saw a home video with janet and mj they were playing water ballon fights and stuff. I love you mj rest in peace and let your life go on forever see you in hevean

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