The long awaited 8th album from Alicia Keys has just been released! Stream it below!

Among the list of things Alicia Keys is exceptionally good at: making a mint tea latte. It’s nearly 11 a.m. on a Monday morning and she’s busy preparing two dairy-free cups in her spacious kitchen. The singer is in full mom-mode: Pancakes and eggs are also being whipped up and kisses are planted on the forehead of her youngest son, Genesis, 6, who sits at the counter next to his grandma, Keys’ mother, Terria. The kids—Keys’ son Egypt is occupying himself elsewhere in the house—don’t have school due to a teacher development day, so everyone is easing into the morning. After taking a sip of the latte Keys made, it’s clear it punctuates the mood: Everything here feels sweet and mellow.

Keys had hoped to sit outside on the terrace of the California mansion where she and husband Swizz Beatz (real name Kasseem Dean) are raising their children; the cliffside architectural masterpiece features uninhibited views of the Pacific ocean. But it’s late October and a bit too chilly and windy for that. So, with mugs of tea in hand—Keys’ is white with a big black “A” on it—we walk down the curved staircase to the 4th floor. Along the way we pass the spacious, yet cozy home cinema where Egypt just hosted a crew of friends for a sleepover in celebration of his 11th birthday. Blankets and pillows are still strewn about. Evidence of a good time. Keys shakes her head as she recalls her surprise at the number of pals on her son’s guest list. “I was like, really, seven?!” she says with a laugh. But the kids had a blast, so giving the pre-teen turnup the green light was worth it.

In the mountains north of San Diego, a modernist mansion made of white concrete and glass rises from the cliffside. The property, nicknamed “Razor House” after the nearby Razor Point Trail, is now home to two famous inhabitants: singer Alicia Keys and her music producer husband Kasseem Dean, better known as Swizz Beatz, alongside their children Genesis and Egypt.

The duo have since given the residence their own name, “Dreamland,” filling it with artworks by Black artists, a fleet of Ferraris, an infinity pool and a recording studio tucked away in a space Dean calls “the grown up floor.” Boasting views over the Pacific Ocean, the home is said to have inspired Tony Stark’s mansion in the “Iron Man” franchise, according to Architectural Digest, which is dedicating the cover story of its December issue to the property.

Speaking to the magazine, Dean revealed that he set his heart on the home long before purchasing it. The nearly 11,000-square-foot mansion, a photo of which served as his phone wallpaper for eight years before the couple moved in, was “incredibly important to me,” he is quoted as saying.

On Tuesday, R&B icon Alicia Keys announced her new album Keys (out Dec. 10) that, as she describes in the captions of a TikTok, “will have two types of songs.” The “Original” version has “laidback piano vibes,” while the “Unlocked” version promises “upbeat, drums, level up vibes.”

“I describe it like a Saturday and a Sunday,” the Grammy-winning musician tells EW. “One [side], you rock Saturday, and one you rock on Sunday and it’s a beautiful thing. It’s an incredible experience.”

With fans finally getting the full picture of the concept behind Keys, with the release of both the “Original” and “Unlocked” versions of her single “Best of Me” out now, Keys shared more insight on the inspiration and logistics behind the upcoming double album she calls a “homecoming.”

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When and how did the idea for Keys come about? 

ALICIA KEYS: The pandemic hit, and a lot of people would ask me when it first started, “Are you feeling so creative? Are you stuck in the house just creating everything?” And I actually wasn’t. I didn’t feel creative at all. I had lost my center and didn’t really know how to find peace. It started to get quite uncomfortable and frustrating because how do we all return to some form of normalcy, right? Obviously, we couldn’t tour and do all the normal things that we could do. So I did get right back in and I knew that I wanted to do this album called Keys. I’ve known it for years. It’s been ready for five years, this concept, and this album really focusing on the piano and being about the songs and the rawness. And as I started to create it, I realized that it was a homecoming for me because it brought me back to that center that I was looking for but couldn’t quite find for a minute there. It’s so grounded in songwriting and raw expression. I didn’t worry about production. I didn’t worry about anything. It was all about the piano and creating songs that made you feel. And as we were creating, it did actually flow pretty effortlessly.

And as we were flowing through it, myself and my engineer Ann Mincieli — she’s been with me for a long time and is a super badass magician — we started conversating about this concept about these two worlds. There’s so many sides to all of us, and that’s a lot of what I’m always thinking about, and exploring in my own life and music. So we started talking about putting together a whole other side of the Keys universe, and she suggested I connect with [rap producer] Mike Will. And when I connected with Mike Will, it was instant vibes. So I had this whole body of work that we were calling Keys, and I wanted to see what would happen if I sampled myself. Like if you found a vintage Nina Simone record and you wanted to sample it and give it another energy, what would it sound like? That’s literally the concept of Keys. So Keys is the whole body of work. And then inside of Keys, there’s the “Originals,” which is all that music that was all about the piano and that rawness. And then there’s “Unlocked,” which is myself and Mike Will sampling myself, and coming up with this whole other sound. 

STUNNING! Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz attended The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibition. She wore a gorgeous timeless in a custom AZ Factory blouse with a matching tulle skirt

Although Keys’ classic look was beautiful, her simple crystal encrusted chignon was icing on an already perfectly constructed cake. Styled by TRESemmé stylist and entrepreneur Nai’vasha, she used a few products by the brand to create the seamless look.

Check out photos below.

Alicia Keys took the stage last night at the MTV VMAs, and let’s just say… she’s still got it. Rated as one of the best performances of the night by Pitchfork, she performed her new single “LALA” with Swae Lee. Many didn’t grasp the amazement of the performance where they kind of just played it cool on the stage, but when Alicia got in her zone on the piano, to play “Empire State of Mind” with the New York skyline as her backdrop on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, she stole the show! Watch it below.

She’s back and she has brought Swae Lee. Alicia has released a new song titled “LALA“. The song is a definite a vibe. Have a listen for yourself!

In other news, Alicia has been added to the VMA performers list for this years festivities! Can’t wait to see the first performance for this song.

Sunday night, the MTV European Music Awards aired, and Alicia in fact did make an appearance. We posted about her recording her performance last week. She performed her single, “Love Looks Better”. Check it out below

Alicia is the cover star of GLAMOUR UK’s Autumn/Winter 2020-2021 biannual print issue, which will hit newsstands on Thursday 5th November.

Alicia is the face of not just one, but THREE special edition covers showcasing three very different beauty looks. The covers, which show three different sides to the musical star, coincide with the messaging of her seventh studio album, the self-titled ALICIA, which is out now. Talking about the new music at the time of release, Alicia said: “I called this album ALICIA because it’s the most me I’ve ever felt while in the studio. I got comfortable with all my different sides while creating it.”

The covers also come as Alicia adds another title to her CV: beauty boss. Alicia is creating her beauty lifestyle brand, Keys Soulcare, which will encompass skincare, body care, and hair care, with E.l.f Beauty and is set for release in 2021. We personally cannot wait to see what Alicia comes up with after seeing her aptitude for trying many a different beauty look.

Alicia was spotted earlier today, recording her appearance/performance for the MTV EMAs this weekend.