First Lady Michelle Obama, Grammy-winner Alicia Keys, Academy Award-winner Halle Berry and legendary entertainer Tina Turner are among Ebony magazine’s new list of 25 women who have the “It” factor.

In the exclusive, four-cover summer issue, the publication shines a spotlight on 25 black women who each have that one unique thing that puts them in a league of their own.

The list also includes famed rapper Lil’ Kim, activist Angela Davis, model Naomi Campbell and singer Grace Jones.

Alicia Keys will be receiving the Humanitarian Award at this years BET Awards. The BET Awards air Sunday, June 28 at 8PM ET.

Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, France’s First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and many more will come together July 18 in New York to honor former South African President Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday.

The Mandela Day concert celebration will take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden and include more than two-dozen musicians who find the humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize winner an inspiration.

The confirmed artists include Dave Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Jesse McCartney, TLC and The Soweto Gospel Choir, as well as several African musicians such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chris Chameleon, Freshlyground, Emmanuel Jal, Loyiso, Sipho Mabuse, Vusi Mahlasela, Thandiswa Mazwai and Suzanna Owiyo. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are available now via Ticketmaster.

Yahoo! En Espanol today announced its most popular Searches on Yahoo! Pop for the month of April (http://espanol.pop.yahoo.com/pop/04-2009/). Yahoo! Pop allows users to access the site and stay in touch with what’s hot and use it as a resource to search for and spot trends. Alicia landed at number 2 for the most popular searches in the month of April.

This year’s Jazz Fest has received a boost with the confirmation of international R&B superstar and nine-time Grammy award winner, Alicia Keys, as the headlining performer. Tourism Minister Charles Clifford announced today (Monday 11 May) that Keys will be performing her extremely popular signature style of singing and jazz piano on 5 December, the final night of the 3-day festival. Additional performers at the sixth annual Cayman Jazz Fest, to be held December 3-5, include two-time Oscar and Grammy award winner Peabo Bryson, jazz saxophonist and singer Kirk Whalum and popular R&B and soul singer Keith Sweat.

Minister Clifford said, “The signing of Ms. Keys, who is at the top of her game and launching a new album this year, along with the other seasoned international performers, takes Cayman jazz fest to the next level and should prove to be a big draw for visitors and local residents. This, coupled with the fact that we are only just in May and our travel packages are already in place, will enable us to get an early start on promoting the festival in order to maximise visitation. Local artists will also be confirmed in June giving them greater time to prepare their performances for what is shaping up as Cayman’s best jazz fest ever. I can assure everyone that jazz fest this year will be an amazing event.”

Keep a Child Alive will be on American Idol May 13th.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has recognized aliciainafrica.com as an Official Honoree alongside this year’s Nominees and Winners at the 13th Webby Awards. The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 15% of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement.

With nearly 10,000 entries received from all 50 states and over 60 countries, this is considered an outstanding accomplishment for Keep a Child Alive The Webby Awards are hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. The 13th Annual Webby Awards Gala will be held in New York City on June 8 at Cipriani Wall Street.

The Top 5 most performed songs of 2008 (in alpha order) were:

--  "Apologize," written by Ryan Tedder

--  "Bleeding Love," written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder

--  "Love Song," written by Sara Bareilles

--  "Low," written by Flo-Rida

--  “No One,” written by Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, DJ Dirty Harry and
    Alicia Keys

Alicia will be on the season finale of American Idol. Stay tuned for the exact date. 

Alicia Keys made an appearance during pre-prom photos for some very surprised Skyline High School students in Longmont. Students until earlier yesterday didn’t know if they would get to have a prom because of the spring storm that had blasted snow through much of the front range, and they were posting stressful updates on their Facebook pages earlier in the week. But, those worries were eased when the school posted this update to the school website: “YES!! Prom is ON for April 18, 2009!”

But, the excitement didn’t stop there. Some students attending prom got an even bigger present to put a smile on their faces during pre-prom photos at the Callahan House in Longmont…when a surprise guest appeared.
Grammy Award winning singer (and one of my personal favorites) Alicia Keys (who apparently is related to a student attending prom) very graciously showed up to take photos!