*Alicia Keys is getting back into the music, but will she still have those millions of fans? This past essay explains why I’m not so sure I can be on-board….*

More detested than a declined credit card. Able to massacre marriages and destroy households in a single bound. Wives don’t want to see her, and no lady sets out to be her. You know what she’s called, but let’s keep it clean here (somewhat) and refer to her as The Other Woman.

Whether she’s fresh out of college or about to retire from that Fortune 500 company, the M.O.’s may differ from woman to woman, but her objective is the same: to create a wifey-type relationship with an already-married man, prior vows, innocent spouses and children be damned.

It could be about her falling in love, succumbing to lust or just becoming ensnared in his web of lies (“my wife doesn’t understand me anymore/we haven’t had sex for years/ I’ll file for divorce as soon as the baby graduates from high school”). Or about the sheer challenge of it all. No matter what the motivation is, one woman is scorned and another tarnishes her rep—well, unless you’re Angelina Jolie.

It’s a time-honored, sexist tradition: with the exception of politicians or men of the cloth, husbands don’t lose the same amount of personal or professional clout as a wife would if she went creepin.’ Is it fair? Of course not, but that’s not a reality that many of us have to worry about.

What happens, however, if you’re a multi-million-selling, Grammy-Award-winning singer, songwriter and philanthropist on the verge of dropping new music? And if your single bombs, is it because of the alleged dirt you’re doing, people calling you out about it via gossip blogs, or it because the song just ain’t right? Should people look beyond the image you present, accept your imperfections and cop your music anyway, even if some of the songs feel just a bit facetious now? Case in point, Alicia Keys.

For those who don’t know, AK is indisputably one of the most successful artists of her generation, with over 30 million CDs sold, multiple Grammy Awards and even a few movie roles under her belt (Smokin’ Aces, The Nanny Diaries, The Secret Life of Bees) . With hits like “Fallin’,” “You Don’t Know My Name,” “No One” and “Superwoman,” Ms. Keys’ sweet vocals are edged with just enough swagger and soul to be played in the streets and for interludes between the sheets (having handsome rappers as love interests in most of her videos doesn’t hurt either). Her winning streak seemed, well, “Unbreakable” until recently, because her once-positive and empowered image is wavering thanks to her illicit-relationship-turned-marriage with Kasseem Dean, better known as rapper and producer Swizz Beatz.

Except for an Essence interview, Ms. Keys remained mostly silent about the union, but Mashonda, Swizz’s estranged wife, publicized the letter she sent to Ms. Keys asking for an explanation to her unsavory behavior (which was pointedly ignored, of course, and another blog published photos of the two kissing long before the Mr. and Mrs. Filed for divorce). The jury’s still out as to whether or not Mrs. Beatz did the right thing by airing the dirty laundry for all to see, but the damage may have already been done. Ms. Keys’ fourth studio release, which dropped in the heat of the scandal, The Element of Freedom, saw its first single flop first one, “Doesn’t Mean Anything,” And then there was an ironically-titled second single, “Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart.”

As one can imagine, Anonymous AK character assassins had a field day with this….

“….Like most b***hes, they’re always right to do what they do and everyone else is wrong. Sad thing is, her career will decline. Like most folks on this post, I want nothing to do with homewreckers singing about broken hearts.” “Don’t know Alicia, never met her, but through her music, I thought she was a woman of integrity. She showed her true colors that were hiding behind those strong lyrics. (J Records President) Clive Davis did a helluva job creating an illusion…”

“My problem with Alicia is that she built a career on female empowerment. Swizz took the vows and was wrong, but…she put herself in the role of “superwoman” and a self-proclaimed positive influence for young girls. So while Swizz screwed over 1 woman, Alicia screwed millions.”

“Try ‘Sleeping With a Broken Marriage.’”

As a professional music critic, I’d be the first to admit that I enjoy the music of a lot of flawed individuals (who doesn’t?), and as a woman, I’m also quick to confess that none of us reading this right now can lodge a lot of stones without shattering glass and dodging other rocks that could be hurled in our direction as well. But does it matter more when one portrays themselves as virtuous and all about loving their fellow sister? Or at the end of the day, is it all about the quality of the music, her extra-curricular activities be damned?

My opinion is this: we all fall short of perfection on the daily, and what one sees isn’t always what is. But if you find yourself constantly falling short of the image you’re portraying, perhaps its time to change it up. Yes, Ms. Keys is talented and yes, she seems to be a good mother to the son that now has with Mr. Dean. But as for her public persona….well…..you can’t sell what you no longer own. And karma is always just around the corner waiting for a chance at the get-back.

OPEN LETTER TO AK….

http://www.dallassouthnews.org/2009/11/16/the-quandry-of-alicia-keys-art-vs-image/