clairejaygreen: Alicia Keys: I Was 'Built' To Be A Mommy

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Alicia Keys: I Was 'Built' To Be A Mommy

'I feel like I'm definitely more creative,' singer says of her music and motherhood.
By Rebecca Thomas

Alicia Keys
Photo: Akshay Bhansali/MTV News

If Alicia Keys was a little tired this week, it would be understandable. The wife of Swizz Beatz and new mommy to 8-month-old Egypt has been on a non-stop promo run to celebrate the 10th-anniversary re-release of her seminal, multi-Grammy-Award-winning debut, Songs in A Minor, that includes a transatlantic mini-tour, a live performance at this Sunday's 2011 BET Awards and a spate of sit-downs with outlets like MTV News.

But are you even surprised that the woman who penned a song called "Superwoman" wasn't the least bit tired when MTV News caught up with her on Wednesday? In fact, the resplendent Keys (sporting some sun-kissed tan lines when we saw her) said she's feeling "amazing."

"I never was one to get a lot of sleep anyway, because of the nature of what I do and how much we fly and how much we work," Keys told us. "So honestly, I'll tell Egypt, 'That's all you got?! You only got waking up every three hours, that's it? C'mon!' " she joked about her unbreakable stamina.

"I guess in a way, I was built for it," she added of motherhood.

Because whereas new moms often lament the onset of "brain mush" brought about by relentless nighttime feedings and a dearth of zzz's, A.Keys said the changes in her life have only stirred up her creative juices.

"The past year has been incredible; just so many blessings, being able to be a mommy, being able to be a wife and just really finding my center and my place of comfort. ... Being a mom is like, spectacular. It's the most fun I've ever had, period. I feel like I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my whole life," she said. "I feel like I'm definitely more creative. I'm more thoughtful about my plans and the things that I do, so overall everything is like a hundred times better."

The Songs in A Minor 10th-anniversary edition is set to drop on June 28, and Keys' intimate, piano-only show hits New York's Beacon Theatre on June 30.

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