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Soul classics and stepmother celebrations: Alicia Keys’ 20 best songs – ranked!

The Guardian Culture Thursday 18 June 2026, 13:15 UTC By Alexis Petridis 1 min read
Key Points

Twenty-five years after she released her debut album, we pick the best of an artist pairing Chopin-inspired piano with pop, soul and powerful emotionTwo different takes on the same album – one traditional, the other more beat-heavy – packaged together, Keys was an experiment that didn’t quite work, but Skydive, co-written with Raphael Saadiq, is a fine song: both versions are great but Mike WiLL Made-It’s bumping rework wins by a fraction.

Twenty-five years after she released her debut album, we pick the best of an artist pairing Chopin-inspired piano with pop, soul and powerful emotion

Two different takes on the same album – one traditional, the other more beat-heavy – packaged together, Keys was an experiment that didn’t quite work, but Skydive, co-written with Raphael Saadiq, is a fine song: both versions are great but Mike WiLL Made-It’s bumping rework wins by a fraction.

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Alicia Keys (PERSON) Chopin (PERSON) Skydive (LOCATION) Raphael Saadiq (PERSON) Mike (PERSON)
Originally published by The Guardian Culture Read original →

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