Aaliyah: A Fallen Star

Story by: Lucilla Phoenix -Reporter

Plane crashes have taken so many of music’s best names including Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, John Denver, and Rick Nelson. Most recently, on August 25, 2001, it claimed the life of the reigning Queen of R&B music, Aaliyah. Aaliyah was so full of talent and life, and at the young age of 22 years old she was taken from us. But we shouldn’t mourn her death, we should celebrate her life.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn New York, to her proud parents Diane and Michael Haughton. Her parents were into names that had meaning, so they came across the Arabic name Aaliyah. From an early age Aaliyah showed a great talent and interest in music. She also had another great talent in acting.

In 1984, Aaliyah and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan. Aaliyah’s parents enrolled her in a Catholic school, which had a great drama program. Aaliyah won roles in such plays as “Annie” and “42nd Street.” She knew that’s what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Even though Aaliyah loved acting, she never gave up her love for singing. When Aalyiah was 10 years old, she auditioned for her favorite show, “Star Search.” Sure enough she won a spot on the popular show and she sang the song “My Funny Valentine.” It was her mother’s favorite song. Unfortunately Aaliyah lost, but she never gave up.

For a while, Aaliyah worked on her musical ability and in 1993, she caught the eye of famous singer R. Kelly, and he immediately wanted to make her a star. In 1994 they started working on Aaliyah’s first album titled “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” Aaliyah was only 15 years old. She became a huge hit with R&B fans, and her first album went Platinum. Then her stardom took an unexpected turn when rumors speculated that Aaliyah got married to R. Kelly who was 27 years old, and she was only 15 years old. But they both denied it.

In 1996 Aaliyah released her second album “One In A Million” which sold two million copies. For this album, Aaliyah worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliot. Even though Aaliyah was becoming a huge star, she still wanted to finish out high school, and she finished school with a 4.0 grade point average. She didn’t want fame and fortune to sink into her head and she continued to be the same wonderful person she had always been.

In 1998 she did a song for the “Dr. Dolittle” soundtrack, “Are You That Somebody” that won Aaliyah her first Grammy nomination. In the Spring of 1999, Aaliyah was in her first film, “Romeo Must Die.” She also sang the song “Try Again” for the movie’s soundtrack. Both the movie and the soundtrack became big hits. Then shortly after Aaliyah fell in love with Rockefellar Records co-founder Damon Dash.

At the 2000 MTV Music Awards Aaliyah won an award for Best Female Artist. In the fall of 2000 she began working on her next film “Queen of the Damned” and her third album. Her third album self-titled “Aaliyah” was released in the summer of 2001. She started working on music videos for the songs “More Than A Woman” and “We Need A Resolution.” Critics praised the new album and it was said to be one of the best R&B albums of 2001.

Aaliyah’s song “Rock the Boat” had began to get popular on the radio. So in August of 2001, Aaliyah went to the Bahamas to shoot the video that would be directed by Hype Williams. Sadly this would be Aaliyah’s last video and those days would be the last of Aaliyah’s life. They finished shooting the video a day early, so Aaliyah was eager to get home right away to see Damon and her family.

On the evening of August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and seven of her friends got on a plane and moments after take off the plane crashed into the marsh 200 feet away from the runway. Aaliyah died instantly.

At a Manhattan church on August 31, 2001 Aaliyah’s funeral took place as her family, friends, and fans paid final respect to their fallen star. The funeral was fit for a princess, with horses and a carriage carrying Aaliyah’s casket. At the end of the funeral Aaliyah’s mother let off 22 white doves into the sky, one for every year of Aaliyah’s life.

Aaliyah left behind a huge legacy and touched so many people’s lives, including mine. It is so sad thinking about what could have been and how much more she could have lived. Now watching “Rock the Boat” video is haunting to me, knowing that little did she know that those were her final days. Aaliyah was certainly a very beautiful and talented individual. Her music and her spirit will live for eternity. Her life might have been cut short, but she lived it to the fullest and now she lives with the angels in heaven.