Aaliyah’s story was just beginning before it left her hands.
But even though January 16th would have been her 47th birthday had she not died in a plane crash at the age of 22, there is still much to be learned about her influence on pop culture.
“Sometimes, when it’s just my mom and I going through it, I say, ‘I’m 22 years old and I’ve accomplished a lot,'” she told E! News a few months before her death on August 25, 2001. “I know I have to appreciate every moment.”
Aaliyah’s debut studio album, 1994’s Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, sold over six million copies worldwide and was certified double platinum, supported by the top 10 singles “Back and Forth” and “At Your Best (You Are Love).”
The Brooklyn-born, Detroit-raised teen was already a show business veteran, singing at weddings at the age of eight, appearing on Star Search with Gladys Knight (who was briefly married to Aaliyah’s uncle, record producer Barry Hankerson, in the 1970s) at the age of 10, and hitting the stage in Las Vegas at the age of 11.
“I’m still in high school,” Aaliyah said in an interview with New York’s Morning Show to promote her first performance at the legendary Apollo Theater, beaming about her all-A report card.
