It's not enough that Alicia Keys rocked the music world with a fantastic debut album or walked away with five awards at this year's Grammys.

She had to come to England and unsettle the establishment as well.

It all happened in March when she sang at the House of Commons. Parliament's youngest MP David Lammy hit upon the idea of having Keys perform in the Atlee Suite for a group of inner-city youths.

This provoked the ire of some MPs who felt it was a cheap publicity stunt that tarnished Parliament. But for the youths, the chance to see one of their favourites up close was just "wicked".

Now, the 21 year old is back in the UK but, this time, she's performing at more appropriate venues such as Wembley Arena and the Brighton Centre.

Alicia Keys took the music industry by storm in 2001 when her album Songs In A Minor debuted at number one.

Her first hit, Fallin', was defined by a sensitivity and musical deftness that placed her head and shoulders above a group of brilliant R'n'B singers such as Jill Scott, India Arie and Eve who were all riding high on the charts.

Despite her tender years, Alicia Keys is far from an overnight success. She was spotted by Arista Records boss Clive Davis in 1998 and, when he left to head his own company, J Records, she went with him.

Davis was patient and trusting enough to give his young protege creative control over her work and the rest is history.

The classically-trained musician has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with music and names Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder as her main influences.

"I've had a deep love for music since I was four," says Keys. "Music came before everything. It just meant more than anything ever meant. I would risk everything for it."

One of the risks Keys took was quitting Columbia University to pursue her career. Certainly, five Grammy awards and a multi-platinum album were more than enough to compensate. However, she doesn't seem to measure her success by those plaudits.

"Material awards are very nice and they are a good way of showing people relate to what you do. It's never been a big thing to me whether I got them or not."

Alicia Keys' Brighton Centre gig is sold out.

Review by Franka Philip, franka.philip@theargus.co.uk