Inspiring Others

Alicia Keys has not only been a very successful singer but she has also influenced many lives with her wonderful, heart-aching piano-driven songs for almost a decade. Now that the 12-time Grammy winner Alicia, who is one of music's brightest stars, is ready to inspire others — without singing a tune.

Keys is launching AK Worldwide, a new company that will handle the singer's projects, especially those outside of music. "It really explores the ways I can affect the world in a positive way, even outside of music," Keys said in an interview. "It is really about finding ways to bring things into the world that will give inspiration to you and all the people that encounter them, and myself," she said.

The first project for the 28-year-old is The Barber's Daughters, a handcrafted jewellery line. They engrave messages of hope and wisdom into every piece of jewellery that people buy. "The words, when you read them, they really do resonate with you. They kind of inspire you to want to find that place in yourself," she said.

Keys will also launch a new Web site called iamasuperwoman.com soon. With that website she hopes to promote inspirational women and their causes. Keys said. "It really calls out to all those brilliant, amazing, fantastic women every day that are doing their thing and need kind of a community to support each other," she said.

Keys said the creativity required to be a businesswoman has spilled over to her music, and that it's reflected on her fourth studio CD, "The Element of Freedom." "We have the ability to be totally free, to be totally unstoppable, and there are no heights that you can't reach," Keys said. "So I totally love that and that's what the music feels like, and that's what everything that I'm doing sounds like."

Keys credits Oprah Winfrey and other business-minded people with turning on her entrepreneurial spirit.

"Why do I love Oprah? Because she's able to bring you things that will really change your life," Keys said. "They're part of your life in a meaningful way, and those are the things I want to be a part of."