Biography

	Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York.  At age five, her family transported from Brooklyn and settled in Detroit, Michigan, where Aaliyah spent most of her young and teenage years.
	Growing up, Miss Haughton did a lot of singing, thanks in part to her parents who introduce the young singer to the many different styles of music.  However, she did not realize her full potential until the age of six years old, when she auditioned for a role in her elementary school play of Annie.  Although Aaliyah only played a small role (she was a young orphan) this event did spark her interest in becoming a singer and set her on her road to stardom.
	But this road was tough, and like many other young artist starting out, Aaliyah had to first pay her dues.  She began auditioning and performing all over Detroit, hoping that someone would sign her and give her her first break.  At age ten, she got that break when she hit the famous Star Search stage performing her own rendition of Chaka Khan's My Funny Valentine.  Although Aaliyah did not win the competition, she would look back and remember it as a real learning experience.  Her next big show was at the age of 11, when young Aaliyah got an opportunity to sing with Gladys Knight's troupe on a Las Vegas stage, an experience that Aaliyah will always remember fondly of.
	Aaliyah's introduction to producer/singer R. Kelly marked a major turning point in her career (R. Kelly was introduced to Aaliyah via her uncle, Barry Hankerson, who was also R. Kelly's manager at the time).  From there, R. Kelly helped Aaliyah craft an impressive debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number.  An album that would transpose the young unknown from Detroit to an international star.  Age, which yield two gold singles and a platinum album, set record labels scrambling to find their versions of young, talented singers who could captivated audiences, in other words, another Aaliyah.
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