Test your knowledge of Alicia Keys's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.
Scores are valid for 15 days.
She plays her own piano, so the intro is the giveaway: the four falling chords of 'Fallin'', the rolling figure under 'If I Ain't Got You'. Name the track before she sings a word.
The facts behind the hits settle the ties: how many Grammys she swept in one 2002 night, which classic she reworked from Prince, and how a looped piano riff turned 'Empire State of Mind' into an anthem.
Her songs climb from easy to expert. Start with the piano ballads everyone knows, move to the up-tempo hits where the keys hide, take on the big collaborations, and finish on the covers and album cuts.
Her signatures announce themselves from the keys: 'Fallin'', 'If I Ain't Got You', 'No One' and 'You Don't Know My Name'. The piano intro usually gives the title away, so these are the quickest points on any Alicia Keys quiz.
The trap is the material built on synths and beats instead of the keyboard. 'Girl on Fire', 'Teenage Love Affair' and 'Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart' lean on production, so you have to place them by her voice rather than the opening chords.
Some of her most-played songs are shared. 'Empire State of Mind' rides a looped piano riff behind Jay-Z, 'My Boo' is a duet with Usher, and she has traded verses across R&B and hip-hop. Knowing whose track it is can be as tricky as naming the song.
Longtime fans pull away on the deep material: the up-tempo 'Karma', the ballad 'Like You'll Never See Me Again', and her stripped cover of Prince's 'How Come You Don't Call Me'. Recognize these from a short clip and even her quietest recordings will not slip past you.
The piano hits everyone knows, 'Fallin'', 'If I Ain't Got You', 'No One', 'You Don't Know My Name' and 'Empire State of Mind', plus album cuts like 'Karma' and 'Like You'll Never See Me Again' that separate the superfans.
Her piano intros make the big ballads easy to place. It gets harder on the up-tempo and synth-led songs, where the keyboard steps back and you have to recognize her voice instead.
Often, yes. She plays her own piano, so the opening keys of 'Fallin'' or 'No One' usually give the song away before the first line.
Her real name is Alicia Augello Cook. She was born on January 25, 1981, in New York City, and trained as a classical pianist before going into soul and R&B.
Yes. The Alicia Keys quiz is free to play on Songtrivia, with no signup and no Spotify account needed. You can also guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz. Load a round and start playing.
Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.
Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.