At the age of 11, Aaliyah appeared on the talent show "Star Search" where she sang the song "My Funny Valentine". She finished as a runner up, but this didn't hold back the young star. During this time, Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson, was married to the soul singing legend Gladys Knight. Aaliyah performed with the legend during several shows in Las Vegas at the tender age of 11, showing no signs of fear. Soon after, Aaliyah would become a star herself.

In 1993, her uncle Barry Hankerson, was manager of R&B superstar Robert Kelly AKA R Kelly and head of a record label called Blackground Enterprises. R Kelly was impressed with Aaliyah's vocals, who was just 13 years old. Aaliyah was signed up straight away to Blackground Enterprises and R Kelly went straight to work on her debut album. R Kelly wrote and produced all of the songs on her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" and it quickly became a smash. The air of mystery that surrounded Aaliyah surfaced. The unique look arrived, with the dark shades and aura of mystery. The album was a multi platinum smash, with massive hits such as "Back & Forth", "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number", "At Your Best" and "The Thing I Like". Aaliyah had arrived on the scene and nothing could stop her, until some controversial rumours surfaced.

It was claimed that R Kelly and Aaliyah, who just 15 years old had been married in secret. The vibe magazine even went as far as showing a marriage certificate. This was a shock to many and sales of Aaliyah's debut album were affected. Aaliyah denied ever marrying R Kelly, while to this day R Kelly has never discussed the matter. While for some, rumours such as this would have destroyed careers; Aaliyah took her time and came back on her second album with a completely new look and a revolutionary new sound.

In 1996, Aaliyah resurfaced with the album "One In A Million". This time there was no R Kelly, who was completely absent from the album and so it would remain for the rest of her career. In came underground producers Missy Elliot and Tim "Timbaland" Mosely. Gone was the teen star that had the baggy jeans, and in came the sexy and cool woman who had even more mystery than before. The first single "If Your Girl Only Knew" was a smash hit going to number one on the charts. The sound on this album was completely different. Timbaland and Missy Elliot gave us the distinctive drum beats and hooks that were to become their trademark. The lyrics were powerful, oozing sophistication and style never seen before. Soon, hit after hit followed with classics such as "One In A Million", "The One I Gave My Heart To", "Got To Give It Up", "4 Page Letter", and the sexy "Hot Like Fire". Aaliyah was a true superstar, humble and gracious at her amazing success despite being so young.

In the following years, Aaliyah had some massive hits taken from the soundtracks to Hollywood blockbusters. "Journey To The Past" was an Academy Award nominated song, which she performed, for the soundtrack of "Anastasia". Later in the year she received a Grammy nomination for her hit song "Are You That Somebody?" taken from the movie "Dr Doolittle". This helped her break further into the mainstream both in America and in Europe. After this, Aaliyah then began to delve into the world of movies by signing up for "Romeo Must Die" in 1999. In the summer she filmed for 4 months in Vancouver, Canada. Romeo Must Die was an action movie based on the Shakespeare play "Romeo & Juliet", starring the martial arts legend Jet Li, who was making his first foray into Hollywood. At the same time, Aaliyah was negotiating a deal to star in the vampire movie "Queen Of The Damned", the sequel to "Interview With A Vampire". Before beginning work on Queen Of The Damned, Aaliyah was busy on the movie and soundtrack for Romeo Must Die. She was also the executive producer of the soundtrack album, which featured 4 new songs by her. The song "Try Again" from the soundtrack was a worldwide success and gave her massive success in the mainstream earning her another deserved Grammy nomination. She was number 1 all over the world. Without doubt this was her biggest hit to date and allowed her to showcase her talents to everybody. The movie itself was a box office smash taking over $55 million worldwide. The soundtrack album was also a success selling more than 2 million copies worldwide.

Joel Silver, the producer on Romeo Must Die was so impressed by Aaliyah he personally signed her up for the two sequels to the movie "The Matrix". Aaliyah was making her mark as an actress and success was achieved by hard work and dedication. After Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah went to work on Queen of The Damned in Australia, while at the same time recording her long awaited third album. While Aaliyah had not released an album for five years, she was still very much on the scene because of her music from the soundtracks to several hit movies. The first single from her self-titled third album "We Need A Resolution" was a top 40 hit but didn't receive the attention Aaliyah was expecting. On July 17th 2001, Aaliyah released her third album and it quickly became a hit. Aaliyah was back again to show that she had not forgotten her fans. The music was amazing, with production by Timbaland, Missy Elliot and Static. Overall, it was a stunning album by Aaliyah and one that received critical acclaim. Soon the songs "Rock The Boat" and "More Than A Woman" were being played on the radio many times and so it was decided that these would be released as singles one after the other. Firstly, Aaliyah decided to film the video for "More Than A Woman" and then shoot the video for "Rock The Boat". After filming "More Than A Woman", Aaliyah travelled to Barbados to film the video for "Rock The Boat". Little did anyone know that this would be Aaliyah's last video and the last days of her life.

On August 25th 2001, Aaliyah and her entourage decided to head back home early so that she could be home with her family. The group of 8 all boarded the Cessna 402 plane which was ready to depart from Mash Harbour airport to arrive in Florida. The plane took off but crashed shortly after, approximately 200 feet away from the runway. Six people were killed instantly, while three others died later. The following people who died were:

Aaliyah Dana Haughton
Keith Wallace
Gina Smith
Douglas Kratz
Scot Gallin
Eric Forman
Anthony Dodd
Christopher Maldonado
Luis Antonio Morales

It was a devastating loss for all the families involved and was a tragic end to such a promising career of a beautiful and talented young woman. It was said that the plane had been substantially overloaded and that the pilot had not had a liscense to fly the plane. This was a tragic accident that could have been avoided.

Her funeral was held on August 31st 2001 in New York. Aaliyah's mother released 22 white doves into the air to symbolise each year of Aaliyah's life. Many of her fans were there to pay tribute and her music and videos were continuously played in memory of her. More than a thousand fans paid tribute to her and gave their respects to an amazing person who was an angel to everyone.

In February 2002, Aaliyah's movie "Queen Of The Damned" became the number 1 movie in America and grossed $15 million in its first week. It is such a tragedy that she is not here to witness this success. To her fans and friends, she was a perfect role model to follow. She was humble and gracious of her success and was always real to her fans. To me personally she was an amazing person who had the talent and ability to do whatever she wanted to do. She was never fully appreciated in the UK and it was only a matter of time before she would reach her full potential. Her single "More Than A Woman" reached number 1 in the UK in January 2002 and proved that she was just about to embark on another chapter in her successfull career. We will never forget her and we will all miss her greatly.

Rest In Peace Aaliyah, You were more than a woman, more than a legend, that will live forever...