One of modern R&B's greatest talents turns 38 today! Born Alicia Augello Cook, the classically trained pianist was born in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on January 25, 1981.

The singer who would become one of the most popular and distinct voices of her generation was raised in the rough streets of Hell's Kitchen, but it was through her mother's love for jazz music that Keys would cultivate her budding talent, by pre-school she performed in her school's productions of Cats and The Wizard of Oz, where she played the main role of Dorothy Gale.

Gaining a love for the piano by age 6, Keys was gifted an old piano where she practiced and by age 7, she was receiving classical piano training where she would practice up to six hours a day playing music by famous composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. With her mother's encouragement, Keys pursued various interests including music, dance, gymnastics and theater. At age 12 Keys wrote her first song in honor of her late grandfather. Enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School, Keys and a friend formed their first group at a young age, one of several groups that helped her cultivate her singing, writing and performance skills through her high school years. By the time she was 18, she had chosen to pursue music.

After a struggling work relationship with Columbia Records, a young Alicia Keys built her own studio where she worked on her material on her terms before signing with Arista Records thanks to legendary industry veteran Clive Davis, responsible for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston.

Fast forward to 2001, Alicia Keys signs with Clive Davis' J Records where a promo single "Girlfriend" was released early on in the year. It wasn't until "Fallin'" reached MTV, landed her a performance on The Tonight Show and even The Oprah Winfrey Show that Keys had found her moment. "Fallin'" went on to spend six consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, establishing Keys as one of 2001's biggest superstars. Her debut album Songs In A Minor debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 236,000 copies in its first week alone.

["Girlfriend" has only been performed 12 times, the last being in 2011.]

["Fallin'" is her number one performed song to date.]

Alicia Keys' sophomore release proved to be a triumphant success as The Diary of Alica Keys opening week sales more than doubled her debuts, moving 618,000 copies in its first week and spawning the hits "You Don't Know My Name," ""If I Ain't Got You," "Diary" and "Karma."

[All four of those songs rank in her top 7 most performed songs to date.]

2007 saw the release of her third studio album, As I Am, which produced the mega-hit "No One" and became Keys' third consecutive album to open at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, even topping her previous record with sales for the album hitting 742,000 copies in the first week alone!

["No One" is her third most performed song to date.]

2009's The Element of Freedom served as Keys' fourth studio album and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with sales of 417,000 copies in its opening week. 2012's Girl On Fire placed Keys back on top with a No. 1 opening week on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, featuring her massive hit of the same title, a remix of the title track was later released featuring rap superstar Nicki Minaj. 2016's Here marked Keys' sixth studio album and opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

["Girl On Fire" is a setlist staple, ranked at her 11th most performed song to date.]

The 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter has proven time and time again why she has become a defining voice of her generation. Not only conquering music, Keys is an accomplished actress and a New York Times best-selling author. Add her impact to the philanthropy world and her presence in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and it's no wonder this birthday girl is "on fire"! Alicia Keys is one to be celebrated everyday, but especially on her birthday.

Where can you catch Alicia Keys next? Watch her host the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 10th at 5PM PST/8PM PST, only on CBS.