R&B Artist Bio: Aaliyah

Full name: Aaliyah Dana Haughton.
Born: Jan. 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, NY.
Died: Aug. 25, 2001, The Bahamas.

Aaliyah was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, but raised in Detroit, Michigan from the age of 5 on. Her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, enrolled her in voice lessons as a kid, and she showed an aptitude for performing at a young age. After performing locally for years, she first hit the national scene in 1989, when she was still only 10, appearing on the U.S. TV show "Star Search" as part of its junior vocalist talent contest. Two years later, she signed her first record deal, with Blackground Records, which was run by her uncle, record producer Barry Hankerson.

Despite having a voice that sounded far mature beyond her years, Aaliyah was still a young girl who was new to the music industry when she signed with Blackground, so while recording her first album, Aaliyah's uncle and label head Barry Hankerson paired her up with singer-songwriter R. Kelly. Kelly wrote and produced much of her debut material and also served as a mentor to the young singer. The resulting album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, was released in June 1994, when Aaliyah was just 15. The album was a huge success, selling over three million copies in the U.S. alone, and generated a handful of hit singles.

Controversy followed the release of her debut album after rumors surfaced in 1995 that R. Kelly was being more than just a mentor to Aaliyah and that the two were not only romantically involved, but had gotten married. At the time, he was 28 and could have faced jail time if any of the allegations were proven, since she was still under the legal age of consent. Eventually, urban music magazine Vibe revealed a marriage certificate that stated the couple married on Aug. 31, 1994, in Rosemont, Illinois. Aaliyah was 15 at the time, but her age was listed as 18 on the certificate.

Eventually, the illegal marriage to R. Kelly was annulled by Aaliyah's parents, and in 1996, the singer left her original label and signed with Atlantic Records. She was again paired with a hitmaking writer and producer, this time Tim "Timbaland" Mosley. Timbaland and Missy Elliot oversaw Aaliyah's sophomore album, One in a Million, which became an even bigger hit than her debut, thanks to songs like "Hot Like Fire," "If Your Girl Only Knew," and the title track. One in a Million eventually sold about four million copies in the U.S. and eight million internationally.

While she was still a huge R&B and urban music star, Aaliyah began branching out into modeling and acting. She had starring roles in two films, "Romeo Must Die," which also starred martial arts master Jet Li and was released in 2000, and the horror movie "Queen of the Damned," which wrapped filming months before her death in 2001. At the same time, Aaliyah continued her music career; her self-titled third album hit music stores in July 2001 and featured the singles "We Need a Resolution" and "Rock the Boat." It was after filming a video for "Rock the Boat" in the Bahamas that Aaliyah died in a plane crash.

At 6:45 pm on Aug. 25, 2001, Aaliyah and staff from her record label were in a twin-engine plane scheduled to fly from the Bahamas to Florida when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff. It was later revealed that the plane was carrying more than 700 pounds over it's maximum takeoff weight and had more passengers than it was designed to hold. An investigation also revealed that the pilot wasn't authorized to fly the type of plane he was in, and had cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. Aaliyah's parents later sued the company making the video and settled out of court.

2002: I Care 4 U (best-of compilation).
2001: Aaliyah.
1996: One in a Million.
1994: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number.