Requiem for an angel
November 7, 2001 | 12:00am
Aeliyatt (Aaliyah) Dana Haughton was a beautiful, talented 22-year-old rising star of song and screen, until fate intervened.
It happened on Saturday, August 25, 2001. The world was suddenly grieving for a young girl who touched millions of lives with her music and with her positive messages. It was in the Bahamas that Aaliyah, seven of her colleagues, and their pilot perished, when a private plane they were on, a twin-engine Cessna 402B, crashed shortly after it took to the air. She had been in the Bahamas working on a music video for the song "Rock the Boat," from her new, self-titled album.
The other casualties included Aaliyah’s security guard Scott Gallin, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, Virgin Records director of video production, and makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, both of Hollywood, California; Gina Smith, 29, Blackground Records executive, of New Jersey; Christopher Maldonado, 32. Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles, was rushed to a Nassau hospital but died Sunday morning. The plane's pilot, was identified as Luis Morales Blanes, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 16, 1979 and raised in Detroit, Michigan. It seemed almost predestined for her to enter the entertainment industry, as her mother was a singer and her uncle, an entertainment manager, who was once married to Gladys Knight. She made her onstage debut at six, in a teeny role in a production of Annie. She played a very little orphan, with only one speaking line, and sang as part of the chorus. She loved every bit of it, and decided she wanted to sing forever.
In her preteens, Aaliyah joined the youth vocal competition on Star Search, and lost. But this little girl was not to be defeated. She was not about to let one disappointment deter her from her dreams. She honed her skills, and at the age of 11, with her uncle’s Gladys Knight connection, she landed a gig singing back up for Miss Knight in a string of Las Vegas shows.
By the age of 15, in 1994, Aaliyah teamed up with R&B superstar R. Kelly (known for songs such as "I Believe I can Fly" from the soundtrack of the film Space Jam and his latest release Fiesta). And their product, her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number, went platinum. But it was her next release, 1996’s One in a Million, where she partnered with producer/rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, that skyrocketed her star in the R&B and urban music scene. Carried by her hit "If You Girl Only Knew," her second effort went double platinum.
In the years that followed Aaliyah hit several milestones in her career. Her song "Journey to the Past," from the soundtrack of the animated film Anastasia, was nominated for an Academy award. Another song, "Are You that Somebody," from the soundtrack of the movie, Dr. Doolittle, was her first major chart topper, reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot100.
It was in the year 2000 that Aaliyah struck hard. She made her feature acting debut in last year's box office blockbuster Romeo Must Die, costarring Asian superstar Jet Li. Her single "Try Again," from the movie soundtrack, proved to be her biggest hit yet and earned her a Grammy nomination this year for best female R&B vocalist. She also produced the Romeo Must Die soundtrack, which is now at multi-platinum status, after spending weeks at No.1. She signed on to appear in two sequels to the high-tech thriller The Matrix and another movie, Sparkle, a Whitney-Houston-produced flick. Unfortunately, these movies were never finished.
Before she passed away, Aaliyah completed a few projects, which will soon be released. These include two music videos for the songs "More than a Woman," and "Rock the Boat," from her latest album, Aaliyah, which debuted at No.2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart a little over a month ago, and has now jumped back onto the charts at No.1. She also finished a movie based on Anne Rice’s book three of the Vampire Chronicles, The Queen of the Damned.
Aaliyah was an inspiration to our generation. She exuded greatness in all of the works she turned out. She was an excellent role model for the youth of today. While many artists sell their looks and/or use sex to sell their work, Aaliyah used her talent, kept a clean-cut image and dished out lyrics that were positive and uplifting. Millions of fans, including myself, will miss her greatly. I only hope that her examples of strength and positivity will influence many more in the years ahead.
"The most enjoyable part is to touch people all over he world. To be able to go to all those places, and have people know your name, and know all of your songs, and for them to be so touched by you, that some may cry; there’s not words that can express how great that feels, and it makes all the hard stuff, it makes it worth it."
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001
It happened on Saturday, August 25, 2001. The world was suddenly grieving for a young girl who touched millions of lives with her music and with her positive messages. It was in the Bahamas that Aaliyah, seven of her colleagues, and their pilot perished, when a private plane they were on, a twin-engine Cessna 402B, crashed shortly after it took to the air. She had been in the Bahamas working on a music video for the song "Rock the Boat," from her new, self-titled album.
The other casualties included Aaliyah’s security guard Scott Gallin, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, Virgin Records director of video production, and makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, both of Hollywood, California; Gina Smith, 29, Blackground Records executive, of New Jersey; Christopher Maldonado, 32. Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles, was rushed to a Nassau hospital but died Sunday morning. The plane's pilot, was identified as Luis Morales Blanes, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 16, 1979 and raised in Detroit, Michigan. It seemed almost predestined for her to enter the entertainment industry, as her mother was a singer and her uncle, an entertainment manager, who was once married to Gladys Knight. She made her onstage debut at six, in a teeny role in a production of Annie. She played a very little orphan, with only one speaking line, and sang as part of the chorus. She loved every bit of it, and decided she wanted to sing forever.
In her preteens, Aaliyah joined the youth vocal competition on Star Search, and lost. But this little girl was not to be defeated. She was not about to let one disappointment deter her from her dreams. She honed her skills, and at the age of 11, with her uncle’s Gladys Knight connection, she landed a gig singing back up for Miss Knight in a string of Las Vegas shows.
By the age of 15, in 1994, Aaliyah teamed up with R&B superstar R. Kelly (known for songs such as "I Believe I can Fly" from the soundtrack of the film Space Jam and his latest release Fiesta). And their product, her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number, went platinum. But it was her next release, 1996’s One in a Million, where she partnered with producer/rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, that skyrocketed her star in the R&B and urban music scene. Carried by her hit "If You Girl Only Knew," her second effort went double platinum.
In the years that followed Aaliyah hit several milestones in her career. Her song "Journey to the Past," from the soundtrack of the animated film Anastasia, was nominated for an Academy award. Another song, "Are You that Somebody," from the soundtrack of the movie, Dr. Doolittle, was her first major chart topper, reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot100.
It was in the year 2000 that Aaliyah struck hard. She made her feature acting debut in last year's box office blockbuster Romeo Must Die, costarring Asian superstar Jet Li. Her single "Try Again," from the movie soundtrack, proved to be her biggest hit yet and earned her a Grammy nomination this year for best female R&B vocalist. She also produced the Romeo Must Die soundtrack, which is now at multi-platinum status, after spending weeks at No.1. She signed on to appear in two sequels to the high-tech thriller The Matrix and another movie, Sparkle, a Whitney-Houston-produced flick. Unfortunately, these movies were never finished.
Before she passed away, Aaliyah completed a few projects, which will soon be released. These include two music videos for the songs "More than a Woman," and "Rock the Boat," from her latest album, Aaliyah, which debuted at No.2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart a little over a month ago, and has now jumped back onto the charts at No.1. She also finished a movie based on Anne Rice’s book three of the Vampire Chronicles, The Queen of the Damned.
Aaliyah was an inspiration to our generation. She exuded greatness in all of the works she turned out. She was an excellent role model for the youth of today. While many artists sell their looks and/or use sex to sell their work, Aaliyah used her talent, kept a clean-cut image and dished out lyrics that were positive and uplifting. Millions of fans, including myself, will miss her greatly. I only hope that her examples of strength and positivity will influence many more in the years ahead.
"The most enjoyable part is to touch people all over he world. To be able to go to all those places, and have people know your name, and know all of your songs, and for them to be so touched by you, that some may cry; there’s not words that can express how great that feels, and it makes all the hard stuff, it makes it worth it."
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001
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