Alicia Keys is surely used to winning awards by now, but in 2002 the “You Don’t Know My Name” hitmaker was embarrassed to take home a whopping five Grammy Awards.
In a new interview with Billboard , Keys explained how strange the experience felt to her.
“I remember being embarrassed that my name was called so many times,” she told the publication.
“It was strange because here is my biggest dream, and I was like, ‘I’m from Hell’s Kitchen [New York]. I can’t even speak right. What am I doing here?’ And then this unbelievably magical night culminated in validation,” Alicia continued.
“You know that foggy, sick, head-cold feeling? That, mixed with the exhilaration. The entire year, I was hanging on for dear life. I was the epitome of ‘fake it till you make it.’”
At the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, the “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart” songstress took home Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song for “Fallin’,” and Best R&B Album for Songs in A Minor .
To date, the singer has won a total of 15 Grammys, having been nominated 29 times. Keys’ most recent win was for Best R&B Album for Girl On Fire at the 56th ceremony.
Earlier this year, Alicia hosted the awards show for the first time. She explained that the ceremony was looking for a new host, and that she was asked to do it at the last minute.
In January 2020, Keys will serve as Grammys host again, during a ceremony slated to take place the day after her 39th birthday.
She told Billboard that she wants to make the big event one huge “lovefest” after admitting that she has felt left out and uncomfortable in the audience before.
“I wanted to create this lovefest, where we could celebrate each other’s greatness and just have fun,” the “If I Ain’t Got You” chart-topper said.
Aside from the Grammys, Keys revealed that she will be releasing her seventh studio album, A.L.I.C.I.A. , next year. Her autobiography, More Myself: A Journey , is set to come out in spring.
In October, Alicia released a collaboration with Miguel titled “Show Me Love.” To date, the video has been watched over 8 million times on her official YouTube channel.
The 2020 Grammy Awards will take place on January 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Lizzo leads this year’s pack with eight nominations, while Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X have earned themselves six each.
