Aaliyah

It was once rumored that Aaliyah had wed R. Kelly in an illegal marriage that was later annulled. The pair, however, denied marriage allegations. She was dating Damon Dash, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, at the time of her death.

Aaliyah, along with her crew, flew to Bahamas on August 25, 2001, to shoot the music video for the song, ‘Rock the Boat’. Completing the shoot early, the crew, eager to return to Florida instead of waiting for the next day as per schedule, boarded a small private airplane.

The designated plane was smaller than the one the crew had arrived in, but the whole party and all of the equipment were accommodated on board, overloading the plane with a surplus of 320 kg and one excess passenger. The plane crashed soon after take-off, killing everyone on board.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane and Michael Haughton. She had one brother who she was very close to. She was very family oriented, and had close relations with her parents and grandmother also.

Her mother was a vocalist and young Aaliyah began singing when she was a little child, performing at weddings, church choir and charity events. Her uncle Barry Hankerson was married to recording artist Gladys Knight who played a major role in introducing Aaliyah to the show business.

With support from Gladys, Aaliyah auditioned for commercials and television programs, and also for several record labels. She started appearing in concerts alongside Gladys when she was 11.

Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records when she was just 12. Her debut album, ‘Age Ain't Nothing but a Number’, recorded when the singer was just 14, was released in 1994.

In its very first week, the album sold almost 74, 000 copies. Soon it reached from the 24th to the 18th position in Billboard 200, eventually selling over three million copies in the United States, where it was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

The tremendous success of the album catapulted Aaliyah to international stardom. During this time, rumors of her illegal marriage to her mentor and recording artist and producer R. Kelly began circulating.

In order to silence the rumors, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed a contract with Atlantic Records, under which she released her second album ‘One in a Million’ in 1996. This album was also a major success. It peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200, and sold over 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. It too, was certified double platinum by the RIAA.

During this time she also attended the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997. Following her graduation she began her acting career with the television series ‘New York Undercover’.

Aaliyah’s debut album ‘Age Ain't Nothing but a Number’ spawned the hit singles ‘Back & Forth’ and ‘At Your Best (You Are Love)’, both of which were certified Gold by the RIAA. The album went on to sell over six million copies worldwide.