View source for Aaliyah

{{Short description|American singer (1979–2001)}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{distinguish|text=[[Aliyah]], the immigration of Jewish diaspora}}
{{about||}}
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{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Aaliyah
| image         = Aaliyah-02.jpg
| caption       = Aaliyah in 2000
| birth_name    = Aaliyah Dana Haughton
| other_names   = Baby Girl
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1979|1|16}}
| birth_place   = New York City,<!--No boroughs/neighborhoods, just cities per format.--> US<!-- Per [[MOS:U.S.]], "the use or non-use of periods (full stops) should also be consistent with other country abbreviations in the same article (thus 'the US, UK, and USSR', not 'the U.S., UK, and USSR')." -->
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2001|8|25|1979|1|16}}
| death_place   = [[Marsh Harbour]], Abaco Islands, Bahamas
| death_cause   = [[2001 Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash|Airplane crash]]
| burial_place  = [[Ferncliff Cemetery]],<br />[[Hartsdale, New York]], US
| occupation    = {{flatlist|
* Singer
* actress
* dancer
* model
}}
| years_active  = 1989–2001
| relatives     = {{ubl|[[Rashad Haughton]] (brother)|[[Barry Hankerson]] (uncle)|[[Tek (rapper)|Tek]] (cousin)<ref>{{cite web|author=[[DJ Vlad]]|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=tGdJp9zbmRs|title=Buckshot on Working with Eminem, Eminem Almost Signing to Duck Down|via=YouTube|date=June 25, 2017|access-date=November 16, 2021|archive-date=November 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116200444/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdJp9zbmRs|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| awards        = [[List of awards and nominations received by Aaliyah|Full list]]
| signature     = AaliyahSignature.svg
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[R. Kelly]]|August 31, 1994|February 1995|reason={{abbr|ann.|annulled}}}}
| module        = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed           = yes
| origin          = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], US
| genre           = {{flatlist|
* [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]
* [[pop music|pop]]
* [[hip-hop]]
* [[funk]]
* [[Soul music|soul]]
* [[dance-pop]]
}}
| instruments     = Vocals
| label           = {{flatlist|
* [[Blackground Records|Blackground]]
* [[Jive Records|Jive]]
* [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
* [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
* [[Universal Records]]}}

| website         = {{Official URL}}
}}
}}

'''Aaliyah Dana Haughton''' ({{IPAc-en|ɑ:|ˈ|l|iː|ə|audio=En-usAaliyah.ogg}} {{respell|ah|LEE|ə}}; January 16, 1979&nbsp;– August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|Princess of R&B]]" and "Queen of Urban Pop," she is credited with helping to redefine [[contemporary R&B]], [[pop music|pop]], and [[hip hop music|hip hop]].<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine|first=Brittany|last=Spanos|date=November 17, 2014|title=10 Craziest Things We Learned From the Aaliyah Lifetime Movie|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/10-craziest-things-we-learned-from-the-aaliyah-lifetime-movie-20141117|access-date=December 14, 2015|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212044859/http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/10-craziest-things-we-learned-from-the-aaliyah-lifetime-movie-20141117}}</ref> [[List of awards and nominations received by Aaliyah|Aaliyah's accolades]] include three [[American Music Awards]] and two [[MTV VMAs]], along with five [[Grammy Award]] nominations.

Born in [[Brooklyn]] and raised in Detroit, she first gained recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show ''[[Star Search]]'' and performed in concert alongside [[Gladys Knight]]. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with [[Jive Records]] and her uncle [[Barry Hankerson]]'s [[Blackground Records]]. Hankerson introduced her to [[R. Kelly]], who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, ''[[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]'' (1994). The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA). After allegations of an [[illegal marriage]] with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with [[Atlantic Records]].

Aaliyah worked with record producers [[Timbaland]] and [[Missy Elliott]] for her second album, ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]'' (1996), which sold three million copies in the United States and more than eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the action film ''[[Romeo Must Die]]'', alongside [[Jet Li]]. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which was supported by her single "[[Try Again (Aaliyah song)|Try Again.]]" The song topped the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard''  Hot 100]] solely through [[airplay]], becoming the first in the chart's history to do so. After completing the film, Aaliyah subsequently filmed her starring role in ''[[Queen of the Damned]]'' (which was released posthumously), and released her third album, [[Aaliyah (album)|''Aaliyah'']] (2001), which topped the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. The album spawned the singles "[[We Need a Resolution]]," "[[Rock the Boat (Aaliyah song)|Rock the Boat]]," and "[[More Than a Woman (Aaliyah song)|More Than a Woman]]."

On August 25, 2001, at the age of 22, Aaliyah was killed in a [[2001 Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash|plane crash]] along with eight other people on board, when the overloaded aircraft she was traveling in crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot was later found to have traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body and was not qualified to fly the aircraft designated for the flight. Aaliyah's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft's operator, which was settled out of court. After her death, Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases, including the compilation albums ''[[I Care 4 U]]'' (2002) and ''[[Ultimate Aaliyah]]'' (2005). She has sold 8.1&nbsp;million albums in the US and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide.

==Early life==
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in [[Brooklyn, New York City|Brooklyn, New York]],<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44722|title=Aaliyah Biography |last= Huey |first= Steve |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 8, 2008|archive-date=October 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013103026/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44722|url-status=live}}</ref> the younger child of Diane and Michael "Miguel" Haughton, a warehouse worker.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=1}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Aaliyah |last=Christian |first=Margena A. |title=Aaliyah (16 Jan. 1979–25 Aug. 2001), singer, actress, and model |date=February 24, 2022 |encyclopedia=American National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.013.20818 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |quote=Aaliyah (16 Jan. 1979–25 Aug. 2001), singer, actress, and model, was born Aaliyah Dana Haughton to Michael Haughton (1951-2012), a warehouse worker, and Diane Haughton in Brooklyn, New York.}}</ref> She was of African-American, Jamaican, and Native American descent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-20 |title=The Story Behind Aaliyah's 'Rock the Boat' Music Video |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/aaliyah-rock-the-boat-music-video-making-of-interview |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=W Magazine |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=1}}<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html |title=Vibe Magazine's Emil Wilbekin: Remembering Aaliyah |date=August 27, 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616164855/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html |archive-date= June 16, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="aali">{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Rasha |title=Aaliyah's 'Queen of the Damned' 15th Anniversary: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Vampire Thriller |url= https://www.thewrap.com/aaliyahs-queen-of-the-damned-15th-anniversary-10-things-you-didnt-know/ |website=The Wrap |access-date=March 13, 2019 |date=February 21, 2017 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200622202010/https://www.thewrap.com/aaliyahs-queen-of-the-damned-15th-anniversary-10-things-you-didnt-know/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Her name is the feminine form of the Arabic "[[Ali (name)|Ali]]," meaning "highest, most exalted one, the best."{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=2–4}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Farley|first=Christopher John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rwlBoSSahkYC&q=%22very+proud+of+it%22+aaliyah&pg=PA20|title=Aaliyah: More Than a Woman|date=January 26, 2002|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-7434-5566-4|language=en|access-date=December 6, 2020 |archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907050628/https://books.google.com/books?id=rwlBoSSahkYC&q=%22very+proud+of+it%22+aaliyah&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}</ref> Aaliyah was fond of her name, calling it "beautiful" and saying she was "very proud of it" and strove to live up to her name every day.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=2-4}} When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, [[Rashad Haughton|Rashad]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kenyatta|2002|p=3|Ref=Kenyatta}}</ref><ref name="AMG rock">{{cite book| last= Bogdanov |first= Vladimir |author2=Woodstra, Chris |author3=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|title=All Music Guide to Rock|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]] |year=2002|page=1|isbn=0-87930-653-X}}</ref> In Detroit, her father began working in the warehouse business, one of his brother-in-law [[Barry Hankerson]]'s widening interests. Her mother stayed home and raised her and her brother.<ref name=JenniferWarner>{{cite book |first= Jennifer |last= Warner |title=Aaliyah: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-H0SBAAAQBAJ&q=aaliyah+a+biography|year=2014|publisher=BookCap Study Guides |isbn= 978-1-62917-359-7 |access-date=October 14, 2020| archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907050718/https://books.google.com/books?id=-H0SBAAAQBAJ&q=aaliyah+a+biography|url-status=live}}</ref> Her mother enrolled her in voice lessons at an early age.<ref name="Allmusic" /> Eventually, she started performing at weddings, church choir, and charity events.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=9}} Aaliyah attended a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] school, Gesu Elementary, where in first grade she was cast in the stage play ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]'' which inspired her to become an entertainer.<ref name="Farley22-23">Farley 2002, pp. 22–23.</ref><ref name=usatoday01/>

Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle Hankerson was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to [[Gladys Knight]].<ref name="AMG rock" /> As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York City to audition for commercials and television programs, including ''[[Family Matters]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Silverman |first=Stephen M.|url=https://people.com/celebrity/singer-aaliyah-killed-in-plane-crash-2/|title=Singer Aaliyah Killed in Plane Crash|date=August 26, 2001|access-date=August 3, 2023|work=[[People Magazine|People]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190306/https://people.com/celebrity/singer-aaliyah-killed-in-plane-crash-2/|archive-date=August 1, 2018}}</ref> After failing to land a role on the show she continued her acting through the Gesu Players.<ref name=press01>{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Kelley L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGhOAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA4&article_id=6825,4249176|date=July 25, 2001|title=While Aaliyah loves music, she loves acting too|newspaper=Bartow Press|access-date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825052250/https://books.google.com/books?id=nGhOAAAAIBAJ&dq=Aaliyah&pg=PA4&article_id=6825,4249176|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-date=August 25, 2023}}</ref> In 1989 at age ten she appeared on ''[[Star Search]]'', where she performed "[[My Funny Valentine]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/reality-rocks/remembering-the-stars-of--star-search-231733211.html|title=Losing to Win: Remembering the Real Stars of 'Star Search' |work=[[Yahoo]]|date=April 17, 2014|access-date=August 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409134614/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/reality-rocks/remembering-the-stars-of--star-search-231733211.html|url-status=live|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Aaliyah chose to begin auditioning. Her mother made the decision to drop her surname.<ref name=JenniferWarner />{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=15}} She auditioned for several record labels and at age 11 appeared in concerts alongside Knight.<ref name="AMG rock" /><ref name="The Independent">{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/aaliyah-755377.html|title=Aaliyah – Obituaries, News|last=Perrone|first=Pierre|date=August 27, 2001|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=April 4, 2009 |location= London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606064412/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/aaliyah-755377.html|archive-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref> After attending a Gladys Knight concert with music executive [[Suge Knight]], and seeing Aaliyah perform on stage, rapper [[Tupac Shakur]] wanted to sign her to a record deal.<ref>{{cite web|last=Espinoza|first=Joshua|url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/joshua-espinoza/suge-knight-says-2pac-wanted-to-sign-aaliyah|date=February 14, 2025|title=Suge Knight says 2Pac wanted to sign Aaliyah|work=[[Complex Networks|Complex]]|access-date=February 14, 2025}}</ref>

Aaliyah attended Detroit schools and believed she was well-liked, but she was teased for her short stature. By age 15, however, she came to love her height. Her mother told her to be happy she was small and complimented her. Although some children disliked Aaliyah, she determined, "You always have to deal with people who are jealous, but there were so few it didn't even matter. The majority of kids supported me, which was wonderful." Even in her adult life, she considered herself small. She had "learned to accept and love" herself and added: "the most important thing is to think highly of yourself because if you don't, no one else will."{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=2–4}}

During her audition for acceptance to the [[Detroit School of Arts|Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts]], Aaliyah sang "[[Ave Maria (Schubert)|Ave Maria]]" in Latin.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=77|Ref=none}}</ref> Aaliyah held a 4.0 grade-point average when graduating from high school. She reflected: "I wanted to keep that 4.0. Being in the industry, you know, I don't want kids to think, 'I can just sing and forget about school.' I think it's very important to have an education, and even more important to have something to fall back on." She considered a future career teaching music, music history or drama if she did not make a living as a recording artist because, as she reasoned, "when you pick a career it has to be something you love."{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=2–4}}

==Career==
===1991–1995: ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number''===
After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with [[Jive Records]], he signed Aaliyah to his [[Blackground Records]] label at the age of 12.<ref>{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=35|Ref=none}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1338606/Aaliyah.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1338606/Aaliyah.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Aaliyah|date=November 22, 2001|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=May 10, 2009 | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer [[R. Kelly]],<ref name="The Independent" /> who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her first album, recorded when she was 14.<ref name="Allmusic" /><ref name="Telegraph" /> Aaliyah's debut album, ''[[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]'', was released under her mononym "Aaliyah", by [[Jive Records|Jive]] and [[Blackground Records]] on May 24, 1994; it debuted at number 24 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, selling 38,000 copies in its first week.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-06-11.pdf|title=Between the Bullets |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 11, 1994 |page=97|publisher=[[Nielsen Corporation|Nielsen Business Media]]|via=World Radio History|access-date=May 1, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100501094813/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date=May 1, 2010 |url-status= live}}</ref> It peaked at number 18 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and it was certified two times [[music recording sales certification|Platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref name="Aaliyah albums">{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=aaliyah|chart=Billboard 200}}|title=Artist Chart History – Aaliyah – Albums|magazine= Billboard |publisher=[[Nielsen Company|Nielsen Business Media]]|access-date=July 23, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802031044/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="RIAA">{{cite web|url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=aaliyah&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |title=RIAA – Gold & Platinum |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=April 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713200457/http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=aaliyah&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-date=July 13, 2015}}</ref> To date the album has sold over 3 million copies in the US.<ref name=USSales/> In Canada, the album was certified gold by [[Music Canada]] for 50,000 copies in shipments.<ref name="CRIA">{{cite web|url=http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php |title=Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Certification Results |publisher=[[Canadian Recording Industry Association]] |access-date=May 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601023939/http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php |archive-date=June 1, 2009 }}</ref> In 2014, ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine estimated that the album had sold six million copies globally.<ref>{{cite web|last=King|first=Aliya S.|url=http://www.vibe.com/2014/08/what-millennials-should-know-about-aaliyah-age-aint-nothing-but-a-number/|title=What Millennials Should Know About... Aaliyah's 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number' LP|work=[[Vibe Magazine|Vibe]]|date=August 26, 2014|access-date=May 10, 2022|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929083303/https://www.vibe.com/2014/08/what-millennials-should-know-about-aaliyah-age-aint-nothing-but-a-number|url-status=live}}</ref>

Upon its release, ''Age Ain't Nothing But a Number'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's [[new jack swing]] helped define [[contemporary R&B|R&B]] in the 1990s.<ref name="Entertainment Weekly">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302670,00.html |title=Age Ain't Nothing But a Number – Music Review |last=Ehrlich |first=Dimitri |date=June 17, 1994 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=May 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421095311/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C302670%2C00.html |archive-date=April 21, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Slant Magazine">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=424 |title=Aaliyah: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |year=2001 |magazine=[[Slant Magazine|Slant]] |access-date=May 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509225004/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=424 |archive-date=May 9, 2009 }}</ref> Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet [[En Vogue]].<ref name="Entertainment Weekly" /><ref name="RSguide">{{harvnb|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=1|Ref=none}}</ref> Christopher John Farley of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine called the album a "beautifully restrained work," noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R. Kelly's rough beats."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,172511,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030135021/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,172511,00.html|archive-date=October 30, 2010|title=Siren of Subtlety|last=Farley|first=Christopher John|date=August 26, 2001|magazine=Time|access-date=September 14, 2009}}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] felt that the album had its "share of filler", but described the singles as "slyly seductive."<ref name="Allmusic" /> He also wrote that the songs on the album were "frequently better" than that of Kelly's second studio album, ''[[12 Play]]''.<ref name="Allmusic" /> The single "At Your Best (You Are Love)" was criticized by ''Billboard'' for being out of place on the album and for its length.<ref name="AANBANBillboard">{{cite magazine|last=Partridge|first=Kenneth|date=May 23, 2014|title=Aaliyah, 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number' at 20: Classic Track-by-Track Review|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/aaliyah-age-aint-nothing-but-a-number-at-20-classic-track-by-6099210/|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806014227/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6099210/aaliyah-age-aint-nothing-but-a-number-at-20-classic-track-by|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aaliyah's debut single, "[[Back & Forth (Aaliyah song)|Back & Forth]]," peaked at number 5 on the Hot 100 and topped the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart for three weeks.<ref name="Billboard 2001">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78511/chart-beat-bonus|title=Chart Beat Bonus|date=August 31, 2001|magazine= Billboard |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140930091726/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78511/chart-beat-bonus |access-date=May 11, 2022|archive-date=September 30, 2014 }}</ref> Two more singles charted: a cover of [[the Isley Brothers]]' "[[At Your Best (You Are Love)]]" peaked at number 6 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],<ref name="Billboard 2001" /> and the album's title track, "[[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (song)|Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]," peaked at number 75.<ref name="Billboard 2001" /> Additionally, she released "[[The Thing I Like]]" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film ''[[A Low Down Dirty Shame]]''.<ref name="Farley">{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=103|Ref=none}}</ref> In August 1995, Aaliyah was featured on the single remix to [[Junior M.A.F.I.A.]]'s song "[[I Need You Tonight (Junior M.A.F.I.A. song)|I Need You Tonight.]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/deep-cuts-from-aaliyah-every-r-and-b-fan-should-know|title=Deepcuts from Aaliyah every R&B fan should know|website=Revolt|last=Powell|first=Jon|date=May 16, 2025|access-date=September 11, 2025}}</ref>

===1996–2000: ''One in a Million'' and ''Romeo Must Die''===
{{Listen|filename=Aaliyah - If Your Girl Only Knew sample.ogg|title="If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996)|description=The first single released from her second studio album, "[[If Your Girl Only Knew]]" was described as a sassy, organ-infused song.<ref name="Slant" /> Aaliyah was noted for having "smoother, more seductive, and stronger" singing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r239065|title=One in a Million – Overview|last=Stanley|first=Leo|website=AllMusic|access-date=June 21, 2009}}</ref>|format=[[Ogg]]|pos=right}}

In February 1996, Aaliyah was featured on the [[Kris Kross]] single "[[Live and Die for Hip Hop]]", which also featured [[Jermaine Dupri]] (the song's producer) and rapper [[Da Brat]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Larry|last=Flick|title=Reviews & Previews: Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-04-13.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=13 April 1996|page=80|accessdate=September 11, 2025|author-link=Larry Flick}}</ref> That year, Aaliyah left [[Jive Records]] and signed with [[Atlantic Records]].<ref name="The Independent" /> She worked with record producers [[Timbaland]] and [[Missy Elliott]], who contributed to her second studio album, ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]''.<ref name="AMG rock" /> Elliott recalled Timbaland and herself being nervous to work with Aaliyah, since Aaliyah had already released her successful debut album while Elliott and Timbaland were just starting out. Elliott also feared she would be a diva, but reflected that Aaliyah "came in and was so warming; she made us immediately feel like family."<ref name=MissyElliott2012>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1694185/missy-elliott-aaliyah-rapfix-live/|title=Missy Elliot Remembers Aaliyah|publisher=MTV|date=November 20, 2012|access-date=August 22, 2014|archive-date=August 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826121347/http://www.mtv.com/news/1694185/missy-elliott-aaliyah-rapfix-live/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The album yielded the lead single "[[If Your Girl Only Knew]]", which peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref name="Billboard 2001" /> and topped the ''Billboard'' [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] for two weeks.<ref name="Billboard 2001" /> It also generated the singles "[[Hot Like Fire]]" and "[[4 Page Letter]]". ''One in a Million'' peaked at number 18 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]],<ref name="Aaliyah albums" /> and was certified [[Recording Industry Association of America|double platinum]] by the RIAA on June 16, 1997, denoting shipments of two million copies.<ref name="RIAA" /> The album went on to sell 3 million copies in the US<ref name=USSales/> and over eight million copies worldwide.<ref name=reporter>{{cite web|author=Powers, Lindsay|date=August 25, 2011|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aaliyah-died-10-years-today-fans-react-227684|title=Aaliyah Died 10 Years Ago Today: What Fans Say|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=May 10, 2022|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428174152/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aaliyah-died-10-years-today-fans-react-227684|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Baggs, Michael|date=August 20, 2021|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58246480|title=Aaliyah albums streaming:'Her influence is absolutely everywhere'|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=May 10, 2022|archive-date=May 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530091252/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58246480|url-status=live}}</ref> The year after her album was released, Aaliyah was featured on [[Timbaland & Magoo]]'s debut single, "[[Up Jumps da Boogie]]".<ref name="Jet">{{cite journal|date=September 10, 2001|title=Singer Aaliyah, Eight Others Die in Plane Crash in Bahamas|journal=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|page=56|issn=0021-5996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7QDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1|access-date=June 21, 2009|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907050713/https://books.google.com/books?id=-7QDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1997 Aaliyah graduated with a 4.0 GPA from the [[Detroit School of Arts|Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts]], where she majored in drama.<ref name="The Independent" /><ref name=usatoday01>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2001-08-25-aaliyah.htm|title=Aaliyah: A life in the spotlight, lost far too early|last=Jones|first=Steve|date=August 28, 2001|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209201340/https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2001-08-25-aaliyah.htm|archive-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/> The same year, she began her acting career, playing herself in the police drama television series ''[[New York Undercover]]''.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=79}} During this time, Aaliyah participated in the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert at the [[Beacon Theatre (New York City)|Beacon Theatre]] in New York.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=128}} She also became the spokesperson for the [[Tommy Hilfiger Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|title=Hard-Working Aaliyah Packed Hit Albums, Movies into Short Life|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448431/aaliyahs-short-productive-life.jhtml|work=[[MTV News]]|access-date=March 17, 2012|author2=Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric |author3=Horn, Teri van|date=August 27, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118221227/http://www.mtv.com/news/1448431/hard-working-aaliyah-packed-hit-albums-movies-into-short-life/|archive-date=January 18, 2022}}</ref> During her campaign with Tommy Hilfiger, the company sold over 2,400 pairs of the red, white and blue baggy jeans she wore in their advertisements.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/style/if-it-sings-wear-it-tommy-hilfiger-dresses-stars-hopes-that-they-will-strut-his.html|title=If It Sings, Wear It; Tommy Hilfiger dresses the stars in hopes that they will strut his stuff|last=White|first=Constance C.R.|date=October 26, 1997|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630095835/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/style/if-it-sings-wear-it-tommy-hilfiger-dresses-stars-hopes-that-they-will-strut-his.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 1997, she performed the Christmas carol "[[What Child Is This?]]" at the annual [[Christmas in Washington]] television special.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/12/19/christmas-in-washington-if-its-the-holiday/ |title="Christmas in Washington": If it's the holiday season, it... |work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune |date=December 19, 1997 |access-date=December 14, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222162035/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-12-19/features/9712190348_1_merry-christmas-christmas-angel-singing |archive-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> She also contributed to the soundtrack album for the animated film ''[[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]]'', performing a cover version of "[[Journey to the Past]]" that earned songwriters [[Lynn Ahrens]] and [[Stephen Flaherty]] a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]].<ref name="Farley" /><ref name="Simmonds 2008">{{harvnb|Simmonds|2008}}</ref> Aaliyah performed the song at the [[70th Academy Awards|1998 Academy Awards ceremony]], becoming the youngest singer to perform at the event.<ref name=BMI>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20000701aaliyah|title=Aaliyah|author=Bruce Britt|work=BMI.com|date=June 30, 2000|access-date=December 14, 2015|archive-date=December 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209122812/http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20000701aaliyah|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1998, she released the song "[[Are You That Somebody?]]" which was featured on the ''[[Dr. Dolittle (film)|Dr. Dolittle]]'' [[Dr. Dolittle (soundtrack)|soundtrack]].<ref name=98grammy>{{cite magazine|title=Nine Things We'll Never Forget About Aaliyah|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956672/nine-things-well-never-forget-about-aaliyah|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen SoundScan|access-date=March 17, 2012|date=August 25, 2010|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629144115/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956672/nine-things-well-never-forget-about-aaliyah|url-status=live}}</ref> The song peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref name="Billboard 2001"/> and earned Aaliyah her first [[Grammy Award]] nomination.<ref name=98grammy/>

In 1999, Aaliyah landed her first big-screen acting role in ''[[Romeo Must Die]]''.<ref name=romeo99>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1424659/aaliyah-jet-li-to-star-in-cross-cultural-romeo-and-juliet/ |date= April 6, 1999|access-date=May 14, 2022|title=Aaliyah, Jet Li to star in cross-cultural "Romeo And Juliet"|work=[[MTV News]]|archive-date=May 14, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220514102147/https://www.mtv.com/news/1424659/aaliyah-jet-li-to-star-in-cross-cultural-romeo-and-juliet/|url-status=dead}}</ref> She starred opposite martial artist [[Jet Li]], playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families.<ref name=romeo99/> Released on March 24, 2000, the movie grossed US$18.6&nbsp;million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office.<ref>{{cite web|first=David|last=Basham|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1424656/aaliyah-dmx-ginuwine-pitch-in-for-romeo-lp/|date=February 18, 2000|title=Aaliyah, DMX, Ginuwine Pitch In for "Romeo" LP|work=[[MTV News]]|access-date=May 14, 2022|archive-date=May 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514102148/https://www.mtv.com/news/1424656/aaliyah-dmx-ginuwine-pitch-in-for-romeo-lp/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,85088,00.html|title='Romeo' and Julia |last=Wolk|first=Josh|date=March 26, 2000|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607180948/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,85088,00.html |access-date=May 10, 2009|archive-date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref> Aaliyah purposely stayed away from reviews of the film to "make it easier on" herself, but she heard "that people were able to get into me, which is what I wanted."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2001/07/22/hip-pops-aaliyah-flaunts-versatility/|title=Hip-pop's Aaliyah Flaunts Versatility|date=July 22, 2001|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=August 16, 2014|archive-date=December 5, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141205210921/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2001-07-22/news/0107220074_1_aaliyah-barbra-streisand-jennifer-lopez}}</ref> In contrast, some critics felt there was no chemistry between her and Jet Li, as well as viewing the film as too simplistic.<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory>{{cite news|url=http://www.vibe.com/article/aaliyahs-2001-vibe-cover-story-what-lies-beneath|title=Aaliyah's 2001 Vibe Cover Story: 'What Lies Beneath'|date=January 14, 2015|publisher=Vibe.com|access-date=February 22, 2015|archive-date=February 22, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150222070654/http://www.vibe.com/article/aaliyahs-2001-vibe-cover-story-what-lies-beneath|url-status=live}}</ref> This was echoed by Elvis Mitchell of ''[[The New York Times]]'', who wrote that while Aaliyah was "a natural" and the film was conceived as a spotlight for both her and Li, "they have so little chemistry together you'd think they're putting out a fire instead of shooting off sparks.<ref>{{cite news |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9907E7D71E3AF931A15750C0A9669C8B63 |first=Elvis |last=Mitchell |title=Romeo Must Die (2000) FILM REVIEW; Hip-Hop Joins Martial Arts but Lets Plot Muscle In |date=March 22, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222224228/https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9907E7D71E3AF931A15750C0A9669C8B63 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Aaliyah Dana Haughton 02.jpg|thumb|Aaliyah in 2000]]
In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the [[Romeo Must Die (soundtrack)|film's soundtrack]], for which she contributed four songs.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/27/arts/aaliyah-22-singer-who-first-hit-the-charts-at-14.html|title=Aaliyah, 22, Singer Who First Hit the Charts at 14|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=August 27, 2001|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 10, 2009|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913061406/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/27/arts/aaliyah-22-singer-who-first-hit-the-charts-at-14.html| url-status=live}}</ref> "[[Try Again (Aaliyah song)|Try Again]]" was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on [[airplay]]; this led the song to be released in a 12-inch vinyl and 7-inch single.<ref name="Billboard 2001" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Bronson|first=Fred|title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits|publisher=Billboard Books|year=2003|page=896|isbn=0-8230-7677-6}}</ref> The music video won the [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video|Best Female Video]] and [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film|Best Video from a Film]] awards at the [[2000 MTV Video Music Awards]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/915759.stm|title=MTV Video Music Awards: The winners|date=September 8, 2000|work=BBC News|access-date=May 21, 2009|location=London|archive-date=December 5, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141205091839/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/915759.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> It also earned her a [[Grammy Award]] nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1510034.stm|title=R&B's Aaliyah dies in plane crash|date=August 26, 2001|work=BBC News|access-date=May 21, 2009|location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090623203342/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1510034.stm| archive-date= June 23, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5&nbsp;million copies in the United States.<ref name=USSales>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/79059/aaliyah-returns-to-music|title=Aaliyah Returns to Music|last=Hall|first=Rashaun|date=July 20, 2001| magazine= Billboard|access-date=July 23, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802031044/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date= August 2, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

===2001: ''Aaliyah'' and ''Queen of the Damned''===
{{Main|Aaliyah (album)}}
After completing ''[[Romeo Must Die]]'', Aaliyah began to work on her second film, ''[[Queen of the Damned]]''. She played the role of an ancient [[vampire]], Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being".<ref name="Telegraph" /> Filming both Romeo Must Die and ''Queen of the Damned'' delayed the release of the album. Aaliyah had not intended for her albums to have such a gap between them. "I wanted to take a break after ''One in a Million'' to just relax, think about how I wanted to approach the next album. Then, when I was ready to start back up, "Romeo" happened, and so I had to take another break and do that film and then do the soundtrack, then promote it. The break turned into a longer break than I anticipated."<ref name=mtvrapfix>{{cite web|url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/08/25/aaliyah-final-mtv-interview/ |title=Remembering Aaliyah Ten Years Later: The Final MTV Interview|work=[[MTV]]|date=August 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103000526/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/08/25/aaliyah-final-mtv-interview/|archive-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref> Ultimately, she filmed ''Queen of the Damned'' and recorded her third album at the same time so that it could be released in 2001.<ref name=mtvrapfix/> Aaliyah enjoyed balancing her singing and acting careers. Though she called music a "first" for her, she also had been acting since she was young and had wanted to begin acting "at some point in my career", but "wanted it to be the right time and the right vehicle" and felt ''Romeo Must Die'' "was it".<ref name=USSales/> Connie Johnson of the ''Los Angeles Times'' argued that Aaliyah having to focus on her film career may have caused her to not give the album "the attention it merited."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jul-29-ca-27750-story.html |title=A Coasting Aaliyah Steers Clear of Depth |date=July 29, 2001 |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Connie |last=Johnson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026025424/https://articles.latimes.com/2001/jul/29/entertainment/ca-27750 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 }}</ref>

During the recording stages for the album, Aaliyah's publicist disclosed that the album's release date was most likely in October 2000.<ref name=MTVMarch2000>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/669913/aaliyah-back-in-recording-studio/|title=Aaliyah Back In Recording Studio|date=March 9, 2000|publisher=MTV|access-date=July 27, 2014|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629091655/http://www.mtv.com/news/669913/aaliyah-back-in-recording-studio/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Eventually, she finished recording the album in March 2001; after a year of recording tracks that began in March of the previous year.<ref name=MTVMarch2001>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1441665/aaliyah-finishes-new-album-during-break-from-movies/|date=March 14, 2001|title=Aaliyah Finishes New Album During Break From Movies|publisher=MTV|access-date=July 27, 2014|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016164103/http://www.mtv.com/news/1441665/aaliyah-finishes-new-album-during-break-from-movies/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
''Aaliyah'' was released five years after ''One in a Million'' on July 17, 2001,<ref name="Allmusic" /> and it debuted at number two on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], selling 187,000 copies in its first week.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78998/keys-wards-off-aaliyah-foxy-at-no-1|title=Keys Wards Off Aaliyah, Foxy at No. 1|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=July 26, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 23, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524085547/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78998/keys-wards-off-aaliyah-foxy-at-no-1|url-status=live}}</ref> The first single from the album, "[[We Need a Resolution]]", peaked at number 59 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="Billboard 2001" /> The week after Aaliyah's death, her third album rose from number 19 to number 1 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78474/aaliyah-posthumously-tops-album-chart|title=Aaliyah Posthumously Tops Album Chart|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=September 6, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 23, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524165906/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78474/aaliyah-posthumously-tops-album-chart|url-status=live}}</ref> "[[Rock the Boat (Aaliyah song)|Rock the Boat]]" was released as a posthumous single. The music video premiered on [[BET]]'s ''[[Access Granted]]'', and it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/08/25/complexs-wifey-hall-of-fame-aaliyah/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828041059/http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/08/25/complexs-wifey-hall-of-fame-aaliyah/ |archive-date=August 28, 2009 |title=Complex's Wifey Hall of Fame: Aaliyah |date=August 25, 2009 |work=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |publisher=Complex Media Network |access-date=August 28, 2009 }}</ref> The song peaked at number 14 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name=BBCharts>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/hsi/|title=Aaliyah Chart History (Hot 100)|publisher=[[Billboard Magazine|Billboard]]|access-date=May 14, 2022|archive-date=May 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525143539/https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/hsi/|url-status=live}}</ref> Promotional posters for ''Aaliyah'' that had been put up in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles became makeshift memorials for grieving fans.<ref>{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=182|Ref=Farley}}</ref> In February 2002, the album was certified double Platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref name="RIAA" />

"[[More than a Woman (Aaliyah song)|More than a Woman]]" and "[[I Care 4 U (song)|I Care 4 U]]" were released as posthumous singles and peaked within the top 25 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name=BBCharts/> "More than a Woman" reached number one on the UK singles chart making Aaliyah the first female deceased artist to reach number one on the UK singles chart.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1758494.stm|title=Posthumous number one for Aaliyah|work=BBC News|date=January 13, 2001|access-date=April 7, 2011|archive-date=August 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801135249/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1758494.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Myers |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/more-than-a-woman-aaliyah-remembered-on-her-birthday__16126/ |title=More Than A Woman: Aaliyah remembered on her birthday |website=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117133106/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/more-than-a-woman-aaliyah-remembered-on-her-birthday__16126/ |archive-date=January 17, 2018 }}</ref> "More than a Woman" was replaced by [[George Harrison]]'s "[[My Sweet Lord]]" which is the only time in the UK singles chart's history when a dead artist has replaced another dead artist at number one.<ref>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Myers |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/remembering-aaliyah-on-the-15th-anniversary-of-her-death__16126/ |title=Remembering Aaliyah on the 15th anniversary of her death |website=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=August 25, 2016 |access-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826201459/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/remembering-aaliyah-on-the-15th-anniversary-of-her-death__16126/ |archive-date=August 26, 2016 }}</ref>

Aaliyah was signed to appear in several future films, including a romantic film titled ''Some Kind of Blue'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dotmusic.com/news/May2001/news20073.asp |title=Aaliyah Bites! |date=May 28, 2001 |access-date=July 31, 2023 |work=[[Dotmusic]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010811153013/http://www.dotmusic.com/news/May2001/news20073.asp |archive-date=August 11, 2001 }}</ref> and a [[Whitney Houston]]–produced remake of the 1976 film ''[[Sparkle (1976 film)|Sparkle]]''.<ref name="CNN" /> Houston recalled Aaliyah being "so enthusiastic" about the film; the project was shelved after she died.<ref>{{harvnb|Iandoli|2021|p=196}}</ref> Before her death, Aaliyah filmed some scenes for the sequels of ''[[The Matrix]]'' as the character [[Zee (The Matrix)|Zee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1453366/20020411/gaye_nona.jhtml|title=Aaliyah's 'Matrix' Role to Be Given to Nona Gaye|last=Goodman|first=Abbey|date=April 11, 2002|publisher=[[MTV News]]|access-date=April 14, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090331112845/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1453366/20020411/gaye_nona.jhtml| archive-date= March 31, 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> A portion of her role in ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]'' was filmed; these unused scenes were included in the tribute section of the ''Matrix Ultimate Collection'' series.<ref>''Ultimate Matrix Collection'' disc 9: "The Burly Man Chronicles"; Follow the White Rabbit – Australia Shoot – Tribute. {{harvnb|Sutherland|2005|p=101}}</ref>

==Artistry==
===Voice===
{{Listen|filename=Aaliyah Are You That Somebody sample.ogg|title="Are You That Somebody?" (1998)|description=[[Timbaland]]'s stuttering, idiosyncratic productions challenged Aaliyah to reveal her artistic personality more than she had on R. Kelly's smoother musical settings.<ref name="RSguide" />|format=[[Ogg]]|pos=left}}
Aaliyah had the [[vocal range]] of a [[soprano]],<ref name="The Independent" /> and with the release of her debut album ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'', writer Dimitri Ehrlich of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' compared her style and sound to R&B group [[En Vogue]].<ref name=":0" /> Ehrlich also expressed that Aaliyah's "silky vocals are more agile than those of self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop soul [[Mary J. Blige]]."<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302670,00.html |title=Age Ain't Nothing but a Number – Music Review |last=Ehrlich |first=Dimitri |date=June 17, 1994 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421095311/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C302670%2C00.html |archive-date=April 21, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In her review for Aaliyah's second studio album ''One in a Million'' ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine, music critic [[Dream Hampton]] said that Aaliyah's "deliciously feline" voice has the same "pop appeal" as [[Janet Jackson]]'s.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hampton|first=Dream|date=October 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407191257/https://books.google.com/books?id=4SsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134|archive-date=April 7, 2022|title=Revolutions- Aaliyah One In A Million|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|location=New York|page=134|access-date=June 21, 2022}}</ref> According to ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' "the most remarkable thing about Aaliyah's voice, besides its flexibility and crisp range, was its almost preternatural poise — she always seemed to be holding her power in reserve, to know every side of the scenarios she described".<ref name=bestsingers2023/> While, Siân Pattenden from ''[[Mixmag]]'' stated that, "She doesn't try to toss the caber with vocal athleticism. There's no shouting, screeching, wailing or jazz-style noodling. Everything is underplayed: Ms Haughton's range is displayed by the slightest high-octave backing and tiniest harmonies".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Pattenden|first=Siân|url=https://mixmag.net/feature/aaliyah-mixmag-cover-feature-august-2001|date=January 16, 2019|title=Classic Cover Story: When Aaliyah Reigned Supreme|magazine=[[Mixmag]]|access-date=September 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607093115/https://mixmag.net/feature/aaliyah-mixmag-cover-feature-august-2001|url-status=live|archive-date=June 7, 2023}}</ref>

Aaliyah herself said her vocal styling consisted of her singing softly while utilizing her falsetto.<ref name=sultry2001/> She further explained saying, "My signature style is breathy, tone-y, airy. It's simple but I can ride a crazy track."<ref name=Interviewjuly01>{{cite web|last=O'Brien |first=Lucy|url=http://www.nme.com/features/36592.htm|date=July 15, 2001|title=Aaliyah Video + Interview Special!|work=[[NME]] |access-date=August 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020602004911/http://www.nme.com/features/36592.htm|archive-date=June 2, 2002}}</ref> Although she frequently sang in a softer tone, there were moments when she utilized other facets of her voice. "Never Givin' Up" (1996) and "The One I Gave My Heart To" (1997) are a few stand-out vocal highlights.<ref name="Vibe2016">{{cite web|last=Augustin|first=Camille|url=https://www.vibe.com/2016/08/one-in-a-million-album-aaliyah-week/|title=Aaliyah Week: How 'One In A Million' Pushed The Envelope Of R&B|date=August 26, 2016|work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|access-date=September 11, 2023|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227172302/https://www.vibe.com/2016/08/one-in-a-million-album-aaliyah-week|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Daryl Simmons]] the producer of "The One I Gave My Heart To", recalled Aaliyah doing [[opera]] vocal warm-up exercises in preparation for the songs recording.<ref name="Vibe2016"/> While commenting on her doing opera vocal warm ups Simmons mentioned, "It was the furthest thing I would have ever thought that she could do. It just blew my mind."<ref name="Vibe2016"/> The song's writer, [[Diane Warren]] praised her vocals on the song, saying: "It showed her vocal range, and I know a couple of people thought she wouldn't be able to do that song. I thought, 'No, she'll be able to do that."<ref name="Vibe2016"/> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' echoed a similar sentiment as Warren, saying "The One I Gave My Heart To" "showcased Aaliyah's ability to hit higher notes."<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Alex Gonzalez |author2=Jem Aswad |url=https://variety.com/2021/music/news/aaliyah-streaming-10-essential-songs-1235045024/|date=August 20, 2021|title=Aaliyah's Catalog Finally Hits Streaming Services: 10 Essential Songs|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=September 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821015537/https://variety.com/2021/music/news/aaliyah-streaming-10-essential-songs-1235045024/|url-status=live|archive-date=August 21, 2021}}</ref> Discussing her approach on "Never Givin' Up" producer Craig King said, "lyrically and vocally she just took you to places that you didn't know she could go".<ref name="Vibe2016"/>

===Musical style===
From the very beginning, she opted "for an edgier, more mature sound", and her songs were often uptempo and at the same time often dark, revolving around "matters of the heart".<ref name=usatoday01/><ref name="Aaliyah review">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,168502~4~~aaliyah,00.html|title=Aaliyah – Music Review|last=Seymour|first=Craig|date=June 23, 2001|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112200400/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,168502~4~~aaliyah,00.html|archive-date=January 12, 2012|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> She "easily straddled the hip-hop and pop worlds, never projecting the frilliness of her ingénue peers".<ref name=usatoday01/> After her R. Kelly–produced debut album, Aaliyah worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, whose productions were more [[electronic music|electronic]].<ref name="Needham">{{cite journal|last=Needham|first=Alex|date=July 7, 2001|title=Who's That Girl?|journal= NME |location=London|pages=25–26}}</ref> The duo "mixed choppy, nervous rhythms over loops of computer-generated backing tracks, and incorporating harmonies which – within the genre's limited horizons – seemed daring".<ref name="Telegraph" /> They also created, the "Freeze-and-stop style of singing on top of bass-heavy instrumentals" which became Aaliyah's signature style.<ref name=press01/> In 2001, Aaliyah called her sound "street but sweet", pairing feminine vocals with a gritty urban rhythm track.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,168489,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308174828/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,168489,00.html|archive-date=March 8, 2008|title=Street But Sweet|last=Farley|first=Christopher John|date=July 22, 2001|magazine=Time|access-date=May 21, 2009}}</ref> In another interview she further spoke about her artistry, saying, "I love to fuse other types of music with my own".<ref name=yahoo01>{{cite web |last=Lorez|first=Jeff|date=July 5, 2001 |url=http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/interview/12043580 |title=Killer Queen|publisher=[[Yahoo! Music]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210044259/http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/interview/12043580|archive-date=February 10, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2022 }}</ref> She explored a wide range of genres such as [[contemporary R&B|R&B]],<ref name=vibe96>{{cite journal|last=Ex|first=Kris|date=December 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSwEAAAAMBAJ&q=inking+a+distribution+deal+in+1993+aaliyahl&pg=PA126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210023018/https://books.google.com/books?id=QSwEAAAAMBAJ&q=inking+a+distribution+deal+in+1993+aaliyahl&pg=PA126#v=snippet&q=inking%20a%20distribution%20deal%20in%201993%20aaliyahl&f=false|archive-date=February 10, 2022|title=Got To Give It Up|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|location=New York|page=126|access-date=June 21, 2022|quote=Aaliyah's fresh sound is a brick-layered foundation with a rubbery synth-bass that incorporates actual old-school funk and R&B.}}</ref><ref name=NyDaily2016>{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Lisi|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/aaliyah-tv-appearances-15th-anniv-death-article-1.2765412|title=A look at Aaliyah's first and last TV appearances on the 15th anniversary of her tragic death|date=August 25, 2016|magazine=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|quote=Only 22 years old when a plane carrying her and eight others crashed shortly after takeoff, Aaliyah Dana Haughton has been heralded for not just amassing major achievements at such a young age, but for incorporating elements of R&B, pop and hip-hop into her music in a way that would define the sound of an entire decade.|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526012805/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/aaliyah-tv-appearances-15th-anniv-death-article-1.2765412|url-status=live}}</ref> [[pop music|pop]],<ref name=NyDaily2016/><ref name=Billboard2009/> [[hip hop music|hip hop]],<ref name=Billboard2009/><ref name=billboard1998/> [[funk]],<ref name=vibe96/><ref name=billboard1998>{{cite magazine|volume=110|issue=22|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQ4EAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah+are+you+that+somebody+review&pg=PA27|title=Reviews & Previews – Singles|last=Flick|first=Larry|date=May 30, 1998|magazine= Billboard |access-date=June 13, 2022|quote=This time, she fronts the first single from "Dr. Doolittle" and it's a welcome return to her Funk/Hip-Hop roots.}}</ref> [[Soul music|soul]],<ref name=Billboard2009>{{cite web|first=David J.|last=Prince|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-page-5-266327/|title=The Decade in Music: Top 50 Moments|date=December 23, 2009|magazine= Billboard |access-date=May 26, 2022|quote=With Timbaland and Missy Elliott in her production corner, the 22-year-old was a muse who revolutionized R&B with her honey-coated voice and sultry mix of pop, soul and hip-hop.|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519164124/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-page-5-266327/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[dance-pop]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=205903|last=Russell|first=Baillie|date=August 8, 2001|title=Aaliyah: Aaliyah|newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211000129/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=205903 |access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=December 11, 2015 |quote=As its 15 tracks thump, click and stutter with inventive, state-of-the-art dancepop, Aaliyah's voice weaves through the sparse but punchy arrangements with a mix of sultriness.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=King|first=Jason|date=February 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA136|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130203627/https://books.google.com/books?id=ziYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA136|archive-date=November 30, 2021|title=Revolutions|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|location=New York|page=136|access-date=June 21, 2022|quote=Although I Care 4 U is missing such beloved tracks as "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "Rock the Boat", it still gathers some of the most adventurous dance-pop of the last 10 years.}}</ref> Altogether, Aaliyah's music can be described as [[alternative R&B]], [[progressive soul]], and [[neo soul]], according to ''Time''{{'s}} Farley.<ref>{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=54|Ref=none}}</ref>

Aaliyah released "musically risky singles into a notoriously fickle pop market", without being "concerned about conforming to the stereotypes of the marketplace".<ref name=princess2001>{{cite web| url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/aug/31/artsfeatures.popandrock|title=The princess of risk|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=August 31, 2001|access-date=June 16, 2022|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616084608/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/aug/31/artsfeatures.popandrock|url-status=live}}</ref> Her songs "gracefully walk a line between commerciality and experimentation".<ref name=princess2001/> Aaliyah's records tend to have a "crisp production" and "[[staccato]] arrangements" that "extend genre boundaries" while containing "old-school" soul music.<ref name="HardyRS" /> Kelefah Sanneh of ''The New York Times'' called her "a digital diva who wove a spell with ones and zeroes", and writes that her songs comprised "simple vocal riffs, repeated and refracted to echo the manipulated loops that create digital rhythm", as Timbaland's "computer-programmed beats fitted perfectly with her cool, breathy voice to create a new kind of electronic music."<ref name="Sanneh">{{cite news|last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=September 2, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/arts/a-pioneer-briefly-of-a-new-sound.html |title=A Pioneer, Briefly, Of a New Sound |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108045550/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/arts/a-pioneer-briefly-of-a-new-sound.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In ''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), Keith Harris said of her lyrical content that "When it came to sexual availability, she was between En Vogue maliciously taunting 'You're never gonna get it' and Tweet blankly cooing 'Oops, there goes my shirt.'"<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Keith |last=Harris |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aaliyah/biography |title=Aaliyah Biography |access-date=May 22, 2022 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103150643/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aaliyah/biography |archive-date=January 3, 2007 }}</ref> Lyrically, "Her first two albums carefully toed the line between adolescence and adulthood, displaying a woman exploring the terrain of love, trust, and lust; one who exuded a playful innocence while hinting at a more sultry side."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/the-best-aaliyah-songs/are-you-that-somebody|title=25 Best Aaliyah Songs of All Time|access-date=May 22, 2022|work=[[Complex Networks|Complex]]|archive-date=May 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522142712/https://www.complex.com/music/the-best-aaliyah-songs/are-you-that-somebody|url-status=live}}</ref> Aaliyah did not usually write her own lyrics.<ref name="The Independent" /> The only time she had a hand in writing is on the song  "Death of a Playa" from the "Hot Like Fire" single (1997).<ref name="buffalo2001">{{cite web |first=Craig |last=Seymour |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/aaliyah-a-tribute/article_3f5a163e-c9ed-5f2a-bf82-43c0dcbbcff6.html |title=Aaliyah, A Tribute |publisher=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=August 31, 2001 |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524065316/https://buffalonews.com/news/aaliyah-a-tribute/article_3f5a163e-c9ed-5f2a-bf82-43c0dcbbcff6.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 }}</ref> She co-wrote that song with her brother Rashad Haughton, and "it reflects Aaliyah's dark perspective on romance".<ref name="buffalo2001"/> Of her role in crafting her music, Aaliyah said, "I like to have the final say but I was trained as a singer, actress and dancer, the interpreter, bringing other people's words to life. I need the songs to reflect me in one way or another".<ref name="The Independent" /> 

As her albums progressed, writers felt that Aaliyah matured, calling her progress a "near-flawless declaration of strength and independence".<ref name="HardyRS" /><ref name="Farley p6">{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=6|Ref=none}}</ref> [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] noted that her music was "evolving from the punchy pop-influenced hip hop and R&B to a more mature, introspective sound", on her third album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101199&page=1|title=Pop Star Aaliyah Dead in Plane Crash|date=August 27, 2001|magazine=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531013155/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101199&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' called her third album "radical" and said that it was "intended to consolidate her position as U.S. R&B's most experimental artist".<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Bychawski |url=https://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/8254 |title=Aaliyah Polishes A Third! |work= NME |access-date=December 14, 2015 |date=June 21, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415010614/https://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/8254 |archive-date=April 15, 2016 }}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] described her album ''[[Aaliyah (album)|Aaliyah]]'' as "a statement of maturity and a stunning artistic leap forward", and called it one of the strongest urban soul records of its time. She portrayed "unfamiliar sounds, styles and emotions", but managed to please critics with the contemporary sound it contained.<ref name="eponymous">{{cite web|url=https://allmusic.com/album/aaliyah-r539210|title=Aaliyah – Aaliyah |last= Erlewine| first= Stephen Thomas |website=AllMusic|access-date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210075745/http://allmusic.com/album/aaliyah-r539210|archive-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref> Ernest Hardy of ''Rolling Stone'' felt that Aaliyah was displaying stronger technique, giving her best vocal performances on the album.<ref name="HardyRS">{{cite magazine| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/123191/review/6067616/aaliyah|title=Aaliyah – Aaliyah – Review|last=Hardy|first=Ernest|date=August 2, 2001|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224154411/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/123191/review/6067616/aaliyah|archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref>

===Influences===
{{multiple image
| footer = [[Michael Jackson]] (left), [[Stevie Wonder]] (center), and [[Sade (singer)|Sade]] (right) all influenced Aaliyah and her music.
| image1 = Michael Jackson in 1988.jpg
| width1 = 117
| alt1 = Michael Jackson singing into a microphone
| image2 = SWonderBSTHyde060719-72 (cropped).jpg
| width2 = 147
| alt2 = Stevie Wonder with a colorful jumper wearing sunglasses
| image3 = Sade Adu 1 (cropped).jpg
| width3 = 147
| alt3 = Sade on stage, slightly smiling while holding a microphone to her waist
| align = right
}}
As an artist, Aaliyah said she was inspired by a number of performers. These include [[Michael Jackson]],{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=8–10}} [[Stevie Wonder]],<ref name="Farley p28">{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=28|Ref=none}}</ref> [[Sade (singer)|Sade]],<ref name=idols2001>{{cite web|first=George|last=Lang|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/08/31/promising-singer-worthy-of-posthumous-praise/62132698007/|title=Promising singer worthy of posthumous praise|date=August 31, 2001|access-date=June 21, 2022|work=[[The Oklahoman]]|quote=her principal idols were Sade, whom she tried to emulate on much of her mid-tempo material like "Rock da Boat," and Trent Reznor, whose industrial influence was felt on the final album's closer, the genre-bending What If.|archive-date=June 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621075332/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/08/31/promising-singer-worthy-of-posthumous-praise/62132698007/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Trent Reznor]] of [[Nine Inch Nails]],<ref name=idols2001/> [[Korn]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Jacobs |date=October 26, 2021 |url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/an-oral-history-of-queen-of-the-damned.html |title=An Oral History of Queen of the Damned |work=[[New York (magazine)|Vulture]] |access-date=July 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102000554/https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/an-oral-history-of-queen-of-the-damned.html |archive-date=November 2, 2021 }}</ref> [[Donnie Hathaway]],<ref name="Farley p28"/> [[Johnny Mathis]],<ref name="Farley p28"/> [[Janet Jackson]],{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=8–10}} [[Whitney Houston]],<ref>{{harvnb|Footman|2021|Ref=none}}</ref> and [[Barbra Streisand]].<ref name=yahoo01/> Aaliyah said that Michael Jackson's ''[[Thriller (Michael Jackson album)|Thriller]]'' was her "favorite album" and that "nothing will ever top ''Thriller''."{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=8–10}} She said she had always wanted to work with Janet Jackson, to whom she had often been compared, saying, "I admire her a great deal. She's a total performer&nbsp;... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson."{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=8–10}}<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Drennen|first1=Eileen M.| last2= Murray| first2= Sonia| last3= Hamilton |first3= Doug| last4= Dollar|first4=Steve|last5=Henry|first5=Derrick|last6= Janich|first6=Kathy|last7=DeVault|first7=Russ|title=Home Entertainment The Latest in Music, Videos And Books New Music Mini Reviews Review|newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|publisher=[[Cox Enterprises]]|date=August 9, 1996|page=G.06|quote=Actually, she's a streetwise Jackson with a far more soulful song selection. The gritty beats just don't stop on 'One in a Million,' which, a la Jackson, has one track after another aching for sensual choreography.}}</ref> Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah's affection, saying, "I've loved her from the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically." Jackson also said she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|pp=8–10}}

===Music videos===
According to director [[Paul Hunter (director)|Paul Hunter]] from day one, "Aaliyah wanted her videos to stand out from clips by other R&B singers".<ref name=musicvideos>{{cite magazine|first=Christopher John|last=Farley|url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,187537,00.html |title=Aaliyah: More Than a Woman|date=December 8, 2001|access-date=June 19, 2022 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724052555/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,187537,00.html|archive-date=July 24, 2014}}</ref> He stated, "You can watch programming all day and see a certain type of video by female artists, "Then when one of hers comes on its something special, something different to look at. That's what she was about."<ref name=musicvideos/> Christopher John Farley from ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' stated that Aaliyah's "videos, for the most part, are about mood, not about storylines... Her videos are usually lushly shot and infused with sexual tension, though not in overt and obvious ways".<ref name=musicvideos/>

Alisha Acquaye from ''[[Teen Vogue]]'' felt that, "There's much to gather while watching an Aaliyah music video" in fact,  she thinks that watching them is "actually an understatement".<ref name=teenvogue>{{cite web|first=Alisha|last=Acquaye|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/aaliyah-for-mac-launch-rashad-haughton|title=Why Aaliyah for M.A.C. Is So Important, According to Rashad Haughton|date=June 7, 2018| access-date=June 19, 2022|work=[[Teen Vogue]]|archive-date=June 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619220050/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/aaliyah-for-mac-launch-rashad-haughton|url-status=live}}</ref> Acquaye further explained, "There's a state of hypnosis you submit to as she envelops you through sight and sound, tugging at your heartstrings. Between a sequence of sensual, strong movements, infectious instrumentals, and intuitive lyrics that spark emotions of desire, sex, and empowerment, you are enraptured in Aaliyah's physical presence".<ref name=teenvogue/>

Most of Aaliyah's videos included dance routines. While discussing her video choreography ''Billboard'' mentioned that she "coined the smooth choreography and [[tomboy]]ish style that would inspire [R&B]'s future generations for years to come".<ref name=video2020/> ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' praised several videos saying, "Looking back on her videos like "Try Again" and "Are You That Somebody," Aaliyah's talent in all of those techniques of dancing are apparent, as she's able to hit every syncopated word and beat with ease as if she's moving on air".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/features/vixen/derek-lee-fatima-robinson-eric-ferrell-interivew-aaliyah-week-446812/|title=From Baby Girl To More Than A Woman: A Look At Aaliyah's Growth From Fashion To Dance|date=August 22, 2016|access-date=June 19, 2022|work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|archive-date=June 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619222607/https://www.vibe.com/features/vixen/derek-lee-fatima-robinson-eric-ferrell-interivew-aaliyah-week-446812/|url-status=live}}</ref> Kyann-Sian Williams from ''NME'' named "Are You That Somebody?" as a visual that, "pushed the boundaries when it came to dance breaks in music videos".<ref name=NME2021>{{cite web|first=Kyann-Sian|last=Williams|url=https://www.nme.com/features/aaliyah-20-best-pop-culture-moments-3012018|title=From Baby Girl To More Than A Woman: A Look At Aaliyah's Growth From Fashion To Dance|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=June 21, 2022|work= NME |archive-date=June 21, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220621121353/https://www.nme.com/features/aaliyah-20-best-pop-culture-moments-3012018|url-status=live}}</ref> Williams declared, "Until that time, dance breaks were usually reserved for boybands like *NSync and the Backstreet Boys, but Aaliyah claimed it for R&B stars too".<ref name=NME2021/>

==Public image==
Aaliyah focused on her public image while protecting her private life. She felt that it was "important&nbsp;... to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack".{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=52}} ''USA Today'' said, "Her slinky vocal style and eye-popping videos made her a crossover star, while her persistent protection of her privacy added an air of intrigue about her".<ref name=usatoday01/> According to Aaliyah, "I put a lot of pressure on myself to be true to myself and not let anything else influence me to do what someone else is doing. Being a little edgy and sexy is me. My image isn't a put-on. I'm happy to put over that dark edge in my videos, because it's always been there. I used to wear my sunglasses or have my hair over one eye a lot more when I was younger. [Now] I'm happy with all aspects of myself."<ref name=yahoo01/>

She often wore baggy clothes and sunglasses, stating that she wanted to be herself.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=51}} Aaliyah also wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan.<ref name="The Independent" />{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=53}} In 1998, she hired a personal trainer to keep in shape, and exercised five days a week and ate diet foods.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=50}} As her career progressed, "she went through so many fashion revamps".<ref name=vice>{{cite web|first=Kathy|last=Landoll|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-i-learned-about-style-from-aaliyahs-we-need-a-resolution/|title=What I Learned About Style From Aaliyah's 'We Need A Resolution'|date=January 16, 2014|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Noisey Vice]]|access-date=June 20, 2022|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411125825/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/rgmamr/what-i-learned-about-style-from-aaliyahs-we-need-a-resolution|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, when she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice and covered her left eye, much like [[Veronica Lake]].{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=54}} The look has become known as her signature and been referred to as fusion of "unnerving emotional honesty" and "a sense of mystique".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/25/aaliyahs-legacy|title=Aaliyah's true legacy is her rare gift for nuance| date= August 25, 2011|work=The Guardian|first=Alex|last=Macpherson|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140108055107/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/25/aaliyahs-legacy|url-status=live}}</ref> In regards to her fashion choices, writer Jeff Lorez described her as a "model of understatement".<ref name=yahoo01/> According to Lorez, "She's beautiful, but hardly in a high-gloss, supermodel way—more like a really good-looking girl next door. And rather than bling-blinging her ice in a ghetto-fabulous manner befitting her Trumped-up surroundings, she blings on the down-low: A subtle bracelet here, a winking pendant there, offset by her simple black jeans and matching sweater. Trés cool".<ref name= yahoo01/> Former TRL host Carson Daly said that she was "cutting edge, always one step ahead of the curve and that the TRL audience looks to her to figure out what's hot and what's new".<ref name= Vibe2001CoverStory />

Aaliyah was often praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |title=U.S. investigators to probe Aaliyah crash |date=August 27, 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421105249/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |archive-date=April 21, 2009 }}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' wrote of Aaliyah's artistry and image, "she was lithe and dulcet in a way that signified neither jailbait nor hottie—an [[Ingenue (stock character)|ingenue]] whose selling point was sincerity, not innocence and the obverse it implies."<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=March 25, 2003| url= http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-03-25/music/as-long-as-i-still-can/|title=As Long as I Still Can|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=October 7, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130614235412/http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-03-25/music/as-long-as-i-still-can/|archive-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref> [[Emil Wilbekin]], told [[CNN]]: "Aaliyah is an excellent role model because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album,'' [[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]''. And then her second album, ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]'' went double platinum. She had the leading role in ''[[Romeo Must Die]]'', which was a box office success. She's won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself in a very professional manner. She was well-spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire her."<ref name=August2001CNN>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html|title=Vibe Magazine's Emil Wilbekin: Remembering Aaliyah|date=August 27, 2001|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 22, 2015|archive-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151104234229/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

She was also seen by others as a [[sex symbol]] and did not have a problem with being considered one. "I know that people think I'm sexy and I am looked at as that, and it is cool with me," she stated. "It's wonderful to have sex appeal. If you embrace it, it can be a very beautiful thing. I am totally cool with that. Definitely. I see myself as sexy. If you are comfortable with it, it can be very classy and it can be very appealing."<ref name=sultry2001>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JrUDAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah+jet+magazine|title=Sultry Singer Aaliyah On Why It's Cool To Be So Hot|date=July 23, 2001 |magazine= Jet|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> Aaliyah also felt though her image was "risque and sexy", it was important to remain respectable because she wanted to make songs that everyone could relate to without it being vulgar.<ref name=Interviewjuly01/> When she participated in fashion designer [[Tommy Hilfiger]]'s All America Tour Tommy Jean ads, she wore boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger's brother, [[Andy Hilfiger|Andy]], called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy".{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=53}} The single "[[We Need a Resolution]]" was argued to have transformed "the once tomboy into a sexy grown woman".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boom92houston.com/3918/artist-spotlight-aaliyah/|title=Artist Spotlight: Aaliyah|date=January 16, 2015|publisher=Boom 92|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119230626/http://boom92houston.com/3918/artist-spotlight-aaliyah/|archive-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In an 1995 interview with [[Honey (magazine)|''Honey'']], Aaliyah stated that she was [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and she attended church whenever she was at home.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=|first=|date=1995|title=Interview|magazine=Honey}}</ref> In 2001, she told ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine that she was mostly a homebody and liked "the simple things in life."<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory />

===Family===
Aaliyah's family played a major role in the course of her career.<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory /> Beginning in 1995, Aaliyah's father Michael Haughton served as her personal manager, and her mother assisted him. Aaliyah's brother Rashad Haughton and her cousin Jomo Hankerson were with her when she worked.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thegrio.com/2011/12/27/drakes-tattoo-to-timbalands-heart-aaliyah-still-idolized-after-all-these-years/|title=Drake's tattoo to Timbaland's heart: Aaliyah still idolized after all these years|date=December 27, 2011|publisher=theGrio|first=Ronda Racha|last=Penrice|access-date=August 23, 2014|archive-date=August 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115146/http://thegrio.com/2011/12/27/drakes-tattoo-to-timbalands-heart-aaliyah-still-idolized-after-all-these-years/|url-status=live}}</ref> After her father became ill, her brother Rashad became her manager.<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory />

Aaliyah was known to have usually been accompanied by members of her family. Her brother Rashad stated that the filming of "Rock the Boat" was the only time her family was not present during a video shoot. In October 2001, Rashad said: "It really boggles everyone [that] from Day One, every single video she ever shot there's always been myself or my mother or my father there. The circumstances surrounding this last video were really strange because my mother had eye surgery and couldn't fly. That really bothered her because she always traveled. My dad had to take care of my mom at that time. And I went to Australia to visit some friends. We really couldn't understand why we weren't there. You ask yourself maybe we could have stopped it. But you can't really answer the question. There's always gonna be that question of why."<ref>Farley, p. 176.</ref> Her friend [[Kidada Jones]] said in the last year of Aaliyah's life, her parents had given her more freedom and she had spoken about wanting a family.<ref name="RollingStone">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/aaliyah-1979-2001-20011011?page=2|title=Aaliyah Obituary: Remembering the R&B Star|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=October 11, 2001|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831083604/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/aaliyah-1979-2001-20011011?page=2|archive-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref>

===Illegal marriage===
Aaliyah reportedly developed an [[intimate relationship]] with Kelly during the recording of her debut album. She told [[Vibe (magazine)|''Vibe'' magazine]] in 1994 that she and Kelly would "go watch a movie" and "go eat" when she got tired and would then "come back and work". She described the relationship between her and Kelly as "rather close."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://b96.cbslocal.com/2011/08/31/r-kelly-and-aaliyah-secretly-married-on-this-day-in-1994/|title=R. Kelly And Aaliyah Secretly Married On This Day In 1994|date=August 31, 2011|publisher= [[WBBM-FM|Chicago's B96]] | website= b96.cbslocal.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141027105639/http://b96.cbslocal.com/2011/08/31/r-kelly-and-aaliyah-secretly-married-on-this-day-in-1994/|archive-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref> In December 1994, Aaliyah told the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' that whenever she was asked about being married to Kelly, she urged them not to believe "all that mess" and that she and Kelly were "close" and "people took it the wrong way".<ref name=WBEZ>{{cite news|url=http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis/2013-07/timeline-life-and-career-r-kelly-107973|title=Timeline: The life and career of R. Kelly|publisher=[[WBEZ 91.5 Chicago]]|access-date=August 19, 2014|archive-date=February 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216234843/http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis/2013-07/timeline-life-and-career-r-kelly-107973}}</ref>

With the release of ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'', rumors circulated about a relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly,<ref name="The Independent"/><ref name="Kenyatta">{{harvnb|Kenyatta|2002|p=25|Ref=none}}</ref> including the allegation that they had [[Elopement|secretly married]] without her parents' knowledge.<ref name=suntimes2000>{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/939951,kellya.article |title=Kelly accused of sex with teenage girls |date=December 21, 2000 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005806/http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/939951%2Ckellya.article |archive-date=May 16, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Vibe">{{cite web |url= http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2008/09/rkelly_day_part3/ |title=R. Kelly: Indecent Proposal |date=September 18, 2008 |work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |access-date=May 14, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080919171519/http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2008/09/rkelly_day_part3/ |archive-date=September 19, 2008 }}</ref> ''Vibe'' magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in [[Rosemont, Illinois]].<ref name="Vibe" /> Aaliyah, [[Minor (law)|who was 15 at the time]], was listed as 18 on the certificate; R. Kelly was 27. The marriage was [[Annulment|annulled]] by her parents in February 1995, but the pair denied the allegations, saying that neither was married and that the certificate was a forgery.<ref name="Kenyatta" /><ref name="Vibe" />

[[Jamie Foster Brown]] in the 1994 issue of ''[[Sister 2 Sister]]'' wrote that "R. Kelly told me that he and Aaliyah got together, and it was just magic." Brown also reported hearing about a sexual relationship between them. "I've been hearing about Robert and Aaliyah for a while—that she was pregnant. Or that she was coming and going in and out of his house. People would see her walking his dog, 12 Play, with her basketball cap and sunglasses on. Every time I asked the label, they said it was platonic. But I kept hearing complaints from people about her being in the studio with all those men." Brown later added "at 15, you have all those hormones and no brains attached to them".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dywEAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah&pg=PA56|work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|date=December 1994|title=R. Kelly marriage to Aaliyah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407192011/https://books.google.com/books?id=dywEAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah&pg=PA56#v=snippet&q=aaliyah&f=false|archive-date=April 7, 2022}}</ref>

In his 2011 book ''The Man Behind the Man: Looking from the Inside Out'', Demetrius Smith Sr., Kelly's former tour manager, revealed that Kelly married Aaliyah after she told him that she was pregnant.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://s2smagazine.com/2011/05/25/did-rkelly-impregnate-aaliyah/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084043/http://s2smagazine.com/2011/05/25/did-rkelly-impregnate-aaliyah/|archive-date=August 19, 2014|title=Did R. Kelly impregnate Aaliyah?|date=May 25, 2011|publisher=[[S2SMagazine.com]]|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> In the 2019 documentary ''[[Surviving R. Kelly]]'', Smith described how he helped Aaliyah forge the necessary documents to show she was 18 to marry Kelly.<ref>{{cite news|last=Moghe|first=Sonia|date=August 21, 2021|title=Former R. Kelly tour manager reluctantly testifies about the singer's marriage to Aaliyah|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/us/r-kelly-trial-testimony-friday/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821162312/https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/us/r-kelly-trial-testimony-friday/index.html |archive-date=August 21, 2021 }}</ref> Smith also said he was "not proud" of his role in facilitating their marriage.<ref>{{cite web|title='Surviving R. Kelly' Shares Disturbing New Details About His Reported Marriage To Aaliyah|url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/r-kelly-aaliyah-marriage-new-details/|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=Essence|date=October 23, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=July 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720200130/https://www.essence.com/entertainment/r-kelly-aaliyah-marriage-new-details/|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the documentary revealed that Jovante Cunningham, a former backup dancer, claimed to have witnessed Kelly having sex with Aaliyah on his tour bus.<ref name="dashpeople" />

Aaliyah admitted in court documents that she had [[Age fabrication|lied about her age]]. In May 1997, she filed suit in Cook County seeking to have all records of the marriage expunged because she was [[Void marriage|not old enough under state law]] to get married without her parents' consent. It was reported that she cut off all professional and personal ties with Kelly after the marriage was annulled and ceased contact with him.<ref name=suntimes2000/> In a 2014 interview, Aaliyah's cousin Jomo Hankerson said that she "got villainized" for her relationship with Kelly and the scandal over the marriage made it difficult to find producers for her second album. "We were coming off of a multi-platinum debut album and except for a couple of relationships with [[Jermaine Dupri]] and [[Sean Combs|Puffy]], it was hard for us to get producers on the album." Hankerson also expressed confusion over why "they were upset" with Aaliyah given her age at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7487855/aaliyah-one-in-a-million-album-anniversary|title=Aaliyah's 'One In a Million' Turns 20: How Her Second Album Predicted R&B's Future|last=Partridge|first=Kenneth|date=August 27, 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915140621/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7487855/aaliyah-one-in-a-million-album-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aaliyah was known to avoid answering questions about Kelly after the professional split. During an interview with Christopher John Farley, she was asked whether she was still in contact with him and would ever work with him again. Farley said Aaliyah responded with a "firm, frosty 'no{{' "}} to both questions.<ref>Farley 2002, p. 162.</ref> ''Vibe'' magazine said Aaliyah changed the subject anytime "you bring up the marriage with her".<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory /> A spokeswoman for Aaliyah said in 2000 that when "R. Kelly comes up, she doesn't even speak his name, and nobody's allowed to ask about it at all."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/09/why-has-the-public-forgiven-r-kelly-for-his-sordid-predatory-past.html|title=Why Has the Public Forgiven R. Kelly for His Sordid, Predatory Past?|date=December 9, 2013|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|access-date=August 15, 2014|archive-date=December 9, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131209175721/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/09/why-has-the-public-forgiven-r-kelly-for-his-sordid-predatory-past.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Kelly later said that Aaliyah had opportunities to address their relationship after they separated professionally but chose not to.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/01/r-kelly-speaks-on-cosby-aaliyah-rape.html|title=R. Kelly Gets Painfully Candid About Bill Cosby, Aaliyah, and Rape Accusations|date=January 20, 2016|publisher=Vulture|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=July 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720183215/https://www.vulture.com/2016/01/r-kelly-speaks-on-cosby-aaliyah-rape.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, [[Damon Dash]] revealed to ''Hip Hop Motivation'' that Aaliyah did not even speak of her relationship with Kelly in private; he tried multiple times to discuss it with her, but she would only say that Kelly was a "bad man".<ref name="dashpeople">{{cite web |last1=Hohman |first1=Maura |title=Aaliyah's Ex Boyfriend Says She Wouldn't Talk About R. Kelly: 'It Was So Much Hurt for Her' |url=https://people.com/music/aaliyah-ex-boyfriend-says-she-couldnt-talk-about-r-kelly/ |website=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=January 10, 2019 |language=en |access-date=January 11, 2019 |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720172950/https://people.com/music/aaliyah-ex-boyfriend-says-she-couldnt-talk-about-r-kelly/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Dash said he was unable to watch ''Surviving R. Kelly'' because its interviews with visibly traumatized girls struggling to discuss their encounters with Kelly reminded him of how Aaliyah behaved when trying to recount her relationship with Kelly.<ref name="dashpeople" /> Dash later appeared in ''[[Surviving R. Kelly#Season 2: Part II: The Reckoning (2020)|Surviving R. Kelly, Part II]]'' in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ryan|first=Patrick|date=January 2, 2020|title='Surviving R. Kelly, Part II': Aaliyah was a 'sacrificial lamb' in alleged abuse 'cover-up'|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/01/02/surviving-r-kelly-part-ii-aaliyah-wanted-singer-keep-away/2799271001/|url-status=live|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103033958/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/01/02/surviving-r-kelly-part-ii-aaliyah-wanted-singer-keep-away/2799271001/ |archive-date=January 3, 2020 }}</ref>

Other allegations were made about Kelly regarding underage girls in the years after Aaliyah's death, and their marriage was used as an example of his involvement with them.<ref>{{cite web|last=Grady|first=Constance|date=April 25, 2018|title=Sexual misconduct allegations against R. Kelly spanning 25 years, in one timeline|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/25/17248084/r-kelly-sexual-misconduct-allegations-timeline|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=Vox|language=en|archive-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211063959/https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/25/17248084/r-kelly-sexual-misconduct-allegations-timeline|url-status=live}}</ref> He has refused to discuss his relationship with her, citing her death. "Out of respect for her, and her mom and her dad, I will not discuss Aaliyah. That was a whole other situation, a whole other time, it was a whole other thing, and I'm sure that people also know that."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/r/r_kelly/news_feature_051304/index4.jhtml |title=R. Kelly: When The Gavel Drops |publisher=MTV News |date=May 13, 2004 |first=Jennifer |last=Vineyard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101024003/http://www.mtv.com/bands/r/r_kelly/news_feature_051304/index4.jhtml |archive-date=January 1, 2015 }}</ref> In 2016, Kelly said that he was as in love with Aaliyah as he was with "anybody else."<ref>{{cite news|date=January 22, 2016|title=R. Kelly Addresses Relationship With Aaliyah, Allegations in Child Pornography Case|publisher=NBC Chicago|url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/R-Kelly-Addresses-Relationship-With-Aaliyah-Allegations-in-Child-Pornography-Case-366218351.html|access-date=January 30, 2016|archive-date=January 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124213652/http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/R-Kelly-Addresses-Relationship-With-Aaliyah-Allegations-in-Child-Pornography-Case-366218351.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Aaliyah's mother, Diane Haughton, reflected that everything "that went wrong in her life" began with her relationship with Kelly.<ref name=WBEZ />

After the documentary ''Surviving R. Kelly'' aired in January 2019, pressure from the public using the [[Mute R. Kelly]] [[hashtag]] escalated and [[RCA Records]] dropped Kelly from the label.<ref name="Aswad Aswad 2019">{{cite web | last=Aswad | first=Jem | title=R. Kelly Dropped by Sony Music | website=Variety | date=January 18, 2019 | url=https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/r-kelly-dropped-sony-music-1203106180/| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928/https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/r-kelly-dropped-sony-music-1203106180/| archive-date=September 28, 2021 | access-date=January 18, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In February 2019, Kelly was indicted on ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.<ref name="BBCCharge">{{cite news |title=R Kelly: Singer charged with sexual abuse in Chicago |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47338368| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47338368| archive-date=September 28, 2021 |access-date=February 22, 2019 |date=February 22, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In July 2019, he was arrested on federal charges of sex crimes, [[human trafficking]], child pornography, [[racketeering]], and [[obstruction of justice]].<ref name="chicagotribune.com">[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-r-kelly-arrested-federal-charges-20190712-6ghntysw3zf3lpncn4owcfzyje-story.html "R. Kelly arrested in Chicago after being indicted by federal grand jury on new sex crime charges"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927223200/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-r-kelly-arrested-federal-charges-20190712-6ghntysw3zf3lpncn4owcfzyje-story.html |date=September 27, 2021 }}, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', July 11, 2019.</ref> When his trial began in August 2021, Kelly faced 22 federal criminal charges that involved allegedly abusing 11 girls and women between 1994 and 2018.<ref>{{cite web|first=Anastasia|last=Tsioulcas|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/13/815500741/new-york-federal-prosecutors-file-new-charges-against-r-kelly| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313214619/https://www.npr.org/2020/03/13/815500741/new-york-federal-prosecutors-file-new-charges-against-r-kelly| archive-date=March 13, 2020|title=New York Federal Prosecutors File New Charges Against R. Kelly|website=[[NPR]]|language=en|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=January 29, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Aaliyah's illegal marriage to Kelly was heavily featured in the court case.<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Brien|first=Rebecca Davis|date=September 22, 2021|title=27 years later, R. Kelly's illegal marriage to Aaliyah is at the center of the case against him.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/nyregion/aaliyah-r-kelly.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/nyregion/aaliyah-r-kelly.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=December 11, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On September 27, 2021, a federal court jury found Kelly guilty of nine counts including [[racketeering]], [[Child sexual abuse|sexual exploitation of a child]], [[kidnapping]], bribery, [[sex trafficking]], and a violation of the [[Mann Act]]. The judge ordered that Kelly remain in custody pending sentencing, which was set for May 4, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=September 27, 2021|title=R Kelly found guilty on racketeering and sex trafficking charges|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/27/r-kelly-racketeering-sex-trafficking|url-status=live|access-date=September 27, 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927193026/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/27/r-kelly-racketeering-sex-trafficking |archive-date=September 27, 2021 }}</ref> On June 29, 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61989606|title=R. Kelly given 30 years in jail for sex abuse|website=BBC|date=June 29, 2022|access-date=June 29, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629191410/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61989606|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/29/r-kelly-sentenced-sexual-abuse|title=R Kelly sentenced to 30 years on sexual abuse charges- The R&B singer, 55, had been found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering involving women, girls and boys|website=The Guardian|last=Salam|first=Eram|date=June 29, 2022|access-date=June 29, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629191824/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/29/r-kelly-sentenced-sexual-abuse|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Relationship with Damon Dash===
Aaliyah was dating the co-founder of [[Roc-A-Fella Records]], Damon Dash, at the time of her death. Although they were not formally engaged, Dash claimed the couple had planned to marry in interviews given after Aaliyah's death.<ref>Farley 2002, p. 140.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Calloway|first1=Sway|title=Damon Dash Says Every Day with Aaliyah Was Special|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448466/boyfriend-damon-dash-recalls-aaliyah.jhtml |publisher=[[MTV News]] |access-date=August 5, 2014|author2=Hiatt, Brian |author3=Kroft, Ryan|date=August 28, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119021123/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448466/boyfriend-damon-dash-recalls-aaliyah.jhtml|archive-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref> In the summer of 2000, Aaliyah was introduced to Dash by his accountant and they formed a friendship.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Aaliyah: A Biography|last=Warner|first=Jennifer|publisher=BookCaps Study Guides |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-5006-2821-5}}</ref><ref name=Billboard2011/> Aaliyah never publicly addressed their relationship as anything but platonic.<ref name=Vibe2001CoverStory /> Due to their hectic work schedules, Aaliyah and Dash were separated for long periods of time.<ref name=Billboard2011>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/damon-dash-talks-losing-aaliyah-nothing-prepares-you-for-that-467784/|title=Damon Dash Talks Losing Aaliyah: 'Nothing Prepares You for That'|date=August 24, 2011|magazine=Billboard|first=Erika|last=Ramirez|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725130407/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/467784/damon-dash-talks-losing-aaliyah-nothing-prepares-you-for-that|url-status=live}}</ref>  Jay-Z mentioned Aaliyah and Dash in the remix of her song "[[Miss You (Aaliyah song)|Miss You]]", released in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|date=March 13, 2003|title=Jay-Z Tells Aaliyah Dame's Doing Well, Missy Misses Her On New Remix|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1470560/jay-z-tells-aaliyah-dames-doing-well-missy-misses-her-on-new-remix/|url-status=dead|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=MTV News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223212958/http://www.mtv.com/news/1470560/jay-z-tells-aaliyah-dames-doing-well-missy-misses-her-on-new-remix/ |archive-date=December 23, 2014 }}</ref> In August 2021, Dash told ''Entertainment Tonight''{{'s}} Kevin Frazier, "I was reflecting [that] there hasn't been one day since she's passed, not one in the 20 years, that I haven't either heard her name, heard her record, or seen a picture of her ... Every single day she's present in my life and I feel lucky for that."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/damon-dash-reflects-on-aaliyahs-legacy-on-the-anniversary-of-her-death-exclusive-170913|title=Damon Dash Reflects on Aaliyah's Legacy on the Anniversary of Her Death (Exclusive)|website=Entertainment Tonight|last=Pierre|first=Mekishana|date=August 25, 2021|access-date=June 29, 2022|archive-date=August 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826211022/https://www.etonline.com/damon-dash-reflects-on-aaliyahs-legacy-on-the-anniversary-of-her-death-exclusive-170913|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Death==
{{Main article|2001 Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash}}

On August 25, 2001, at 6:50&nbsp;p.m. ([[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]), Aaliyah and some employees of her record company boarded a twin-engine [[Cessna 402]] light aircraft at the [[Marsh Harbour Airport]] in [[Abaco Islands]], the Bahamas, to travel to [[Opa-Locka Airport]] in Florida after they completed filming the video for "[[Rock the Boat (Aaliyah song)|Rock the Boat]]".<ref name="MTV News">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448402/20010826/aaliyah.jhtml |title=Aaliyah Killed in Plane Crash |last=Schumacher-Rasmussen |first=Eric |date=August 26, 2001 |publisher=MTV News |access-date=April 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418020928/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448402/20010826/aaliyah.jhtml |archive-date=April 18, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They had a flight scheduled the next day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the US and decided to leave immediately. The designated airplane was smaller than the [[Cessna 404]] on which they had originally arrived, but the whole party and all the equipment were accommodated on board.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=119}} The plane crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff, about {{convert|200|ft|m|-1}} from the end of the runway.<ref name="MTV News" /> Aaliyah and the eight others on board—pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, family friend Keith Wallace, make-up stylist Christopher Maldonado, and [[Blackground Records]] employees Douglas Kratz and Gina Smith—were killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |title=U.S. investigators to probe Aaliyah crash |date=August 27, 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413035550/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |archive-date=April 13, 2009 }}</ref>

The passengers had grown impatient because the Cessna was supposed to arrive at 4:30&nbsp;pm. EDT, but did not arrive until 6:15&nbsp;pm.<ref name="NYTHastes">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/08/arts/music/08AALI.html|title=Aaliyah – Haste, Errors and a Fallen Star|work= The New York Times |date=September 8, 2001|access-date=August 27, 2020|archive-date=September 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901011239/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/08/arts/music/08AALI.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Another charter pilot, Lewis Key, said he overheard passengers arguing with their pilot, Luis Morales, before takeoff, adding that Morales warned them that there was too much weight for a "safe flight". Key added: "He tried to convince them the plane was overloaded, but they insisted they had chartered the plane and they had to be in Miami Saturday night."<ref name=IndependentAugust28>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/pilot-in-crash-warned-soul-singers-group-that-plane-was-overloaded-9167049.html/|title=Pilot in crash 'warned soul singer's group that plane was overloaded'|date=August 28, 2001|publisher=Independent|access-date=August 27, 2020|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907050728/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/pilot-in-crash-warned-soul-singer-s-group-that-plane-was-overloaded-9167049.html|url-status= live}}</ref> Key indicated that Morales gave in to the passengers and that he had trouble starting one of the engines.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=102736|title=More Questions Emerge in Aaliyah Crash|date=August 29, 2001|work=ABC News|access-date=August 25, 2020|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200726175813/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=102736|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to findings from an inquest conducted by the coroner's office in the Bahamas, Aaliyah had "severe burns and a blow to the head" in addition to severe shock and a weak heart.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/15575|title=Coroner Delivers Verdict Over Aaliyah Death Crash|date=November 20, 2003|work=NME|access-date=March 5, 2010|archive-date=May 21, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090521104819/http://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/15575|url-status=live}}</ref> The coroner theorized that she went into such a state of shock that even if she had survived the crash, her recovery would have been nearly impossible given the severity of her injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2003/11/21/aaliyah.htm|title=Bahamas Coroner delivers verdict in Aaliyah death crash|date=November 21, 2003|work=Caribbean News|publisher=Caribbean Net News|access-date=February 7, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040127093955/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2003/11/21/aaliyah.htm|archive-date=January 27, 2004}}</ref> The bodies were taken to the morgue at [[Princess Margaret Hospital, Nassau|Princess Margaret Hospital]] in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], where they were kept for relatives to help identify them. Some of them were badly burned.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-08-27/entertainment/sfl-ent-aaliyah-remembered-082511_1_plane-crash-cessna-402b-rock-da-boat|title=Singer Aaliyah dies in Bahamas plane crash|date=August 27, 2001|first=Bill|last=Hirschman|publisher= | work= Sun Sentinel|access-date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811055601/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-08-27/entertainment/sfl-ent-aaliyah-remembered-082511_1_plane-crash-cessna-402b-rock-da-boat}}</ref>

As the subsequent investigation determined, the aircraft was overloaded by {{convert|700|lb|kg|-1}} when it attempted to take off, and was carrying one more passenger than it was certified for.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456119/20020716/aaliyah.jhtml |title=Cocaine, Alcohol Found in Pilot of Aaliyah's Plane|last=Moss|first=Corey|date=July 16, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=June 17, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090623072850/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456119/20020716/aaliyah.jhtml| archive-date= June 23, 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] reported, "The airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27."<ref name="NTSB">{{cite report|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20010907X01905&ntsbno=MIA01RA225&akey=1|title=NTSB Identification: MIA01RA225|publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]]|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-date=June 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628120156/https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20010907X01905&ntsbno=MIA01RA225&akey=1|url-status=live}}</ref> The report indicated that the pilot was not approved to fly the plane. Morales falsely obtained his FAA license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown to get a job with his employer, [[Blackhawk International Airways]].<ref>{{harvnb|Simmonds|2008|p=455|Ref=none}}</ref> Additionally, [[toxicology]] tests performed on Morales revealed traces of [[cocaine]] and alcohol in his system.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aaliyah-crash-pilot-was-on-cocaine/|title=Aaliyah Crash Pilot Was on Cocaine |last=Holguín |first=Jaime |date=November 11, 2003 |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=April 7, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131185023/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/19/entertainment/main584494.shtml|archive-date=January 31, 2011}}</ref>

===Funeral===
[[File:Ferncliff Cemetery Westchester County, New York.jpg|thumb|alt=An open gate revealing the road to enter a cemetery, surrounded by grass, flowers and trees.|The main entrance to [[Ferncliff Cemetery]], where Aaliyah is interred]]
Aaliyah's private [[Requiem|funeral Mass]] was held on August 31, 2001, at the [[Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (New York City)|Church of St. Ignatius Loyola]] in [[Manhattan]], following a procession from the [[Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Moody|first=Nekesa Mumbi|date=September 1, 2001|title=Fans, celebrities gather for Aaliyah's Cinderella funeral for|url=https://azdailysun.com/fans-celebrities-gather-for-aaliyahs-cinderella-funeral-for/article_320cb400-9b18-5a87-8972-be69fe8aeffe.html|access-date=January 3, 2021|website=Arizona Daily Sun|language=en|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200118/https://azdailysun.com/fans-celebrities-gather-for-aaliyahs-cinderella-funeral-for/article_320cb400-9b18-5a87-8972-be69fe8aeffe.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Her body was set in a silver-plated copper-deposit [[coffin|casket]], which was carried in a horse-drawn, glass hearse.<ref name="funeral">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> | url= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hundreds-say-good-bye-to-aaliyah/ |title= Hundreds Say Good-Bye to Aaliyah |work= CBS News |access-date= February 2, 2010 |date= August 26, 2001| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100119084456/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/08/26/entertainment/main308179.shtml |archive-date= January 19, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> An estimated 800 mourners attended the procession.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hundreds-say-good-bye-to-aaliyah/|title=Hundreds Say Good-Bye To Aaliyah|last=Miliano|first=Lou|date=August 31, 2001|work=CBS News|access-date=April 24, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119084456/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/08/26/entertainment/main308179.shtml|archive-date=January 19, 2010}}</ref>

Among those in attendance at the private ceremony were [[Missy Elliott]], [[Timbaland]], [[Gladys Knight]], [[Lil' Kim]], and [[Sean Combs]].<!--This is just a summary of attendees, not an exhaustive guest list. Please reach agreement with other edits on the talk page before inserting any further names.--><ref name="funeral"/><ref>{{cite news|title=In Pictures: Adieu to Aaliyah|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1519692.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=August 8, 2010|date=August 31, 2001|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604012227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1519692.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> After the service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of her life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448581/20010831/aaliyah.jhtml|title=Fans, Artists Pay Last Respects To Aaliyah|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|date=August 31, 2001|publisher=MTV News|access-date=June 17, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090601235237/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448581/20010831/aaliyah.jhtml| archive-date= June 1, 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref>

Aaliyah's brother Rashad delivered the eulogy and described his sister as giving him strength: "Aaliyah, you left, but I'll see you always next to me and I can see you smiling through the sunshine. When our life is over, our book is done. I hope God keeps me strong until I see her again." He read the names of the other victims of the crash and concluded by asking mourners to pray for them as well. As Diane Haughton and the mourners left, they sang Aaliyah's song "[[One in a Million (Aaliyah song)|One in a Million]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2001/09/01/funeral-awash-with-tears-pink-roses/|title=FUNERAL AWASH WITH TEARS & PINK ROSES|date=September 1, 2001|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-date=February 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218181548/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/funeral-awash-tears-pink-roses-article-1.921936|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Posthumous releases==
===2001–2014: ''Queen of the Damned'', compilations, and single releases===
Immediately after Aaliyah's death, there was uncertainty over whether the music video for "Rock the Boat" would ever air.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1448422/timbaland-p-diddy-other-artists-react-to-aaliyahs-death/|title=Timbaland, P. Diddy, Other Artists React To Aaliyah's Death|date=August 27, 2001|publisher=MTV|first=Eric|last=Schumacher-Rasumeen|access-date=July 27, 2014|archive-date=May 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508065406/http://www.mtv.com/news/1448422/timbaland-p-diddy-other-artists-react-to-aaliyahs-death/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It made its world premiere on [[BET]]'s ''[[Access Granted]]'' on October 9, 2001. She won two posthumous awards at the [[American Music Awards of 2002]]; Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for ''Aaliyah''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451722/20020110/keys_alicia.jhtml|title=Alicia Keys, Destiny's Child, Aaliyah Excel at AMAs|last=D'Angelo|first=Joe|date=January 10, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=April 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426211955/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451722/20020110/keys_alicia.jhtml|archive-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> Her second and final film, ''[[Queen of the Damned (film)|Queen of the Damned]]'', was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed some of her lines during post-production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623745,00.html |title=Nona Gaye to Fill in for Aaliyah |last=Silverman |first=Stephen M. |date=April 11, 2002 |work=People |access-date=May 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603010411/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C623745%2C00.html |archive-date=June 3, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It grossed US$15.2&nbsp;million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1839630.stm|title=Aaliyah film tops US box office|date=February 25, 2002|work=BBC News|access-date=May 16, 2009|location=London|archive-date=August 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809040320/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1839630.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> On the first anniversary of Aaliyah's death, a candlelight vigil was held in [[Times Square]]; millions of fans observed a [[moment of silence]]; and throughout the United States, radio stations played her music in remembrance.<ref>{{cite journal|date=September 9, 2002|title=Young Legends Who Live on Through Their Music|journal=Jet|page=59|issn=0021-5996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbYDAAAAMBAJ|access-date=August 8, 2010|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907051121/https://books.google.com/books?id=IbYDAAAAMBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2002, a collection of both previously unreleased and released material was issued as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, ''[[I Care 4 U]]''. A portion of the proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program and Harlem's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73679/unreleased-aaliyah-track-hits-the-net|title=Unreleased Aaliyah Track Hits The Net|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=October 28, 2002|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 24, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090725213907/http://www.billboard.com/| archive-date=July 25, 2009| url-status= live}}</ref> It debuted at number three on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], selling 280,000 copies in its first week.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73092/holiday-sales-keep-shania-up-on-top|title=Holiday Sales Keep Shania 'Up' On Top|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=December 18, 2002|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 23, 2009|archive-date=August 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824081346/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73092/holiday-sales-keep-shania-up-on-top|url-status=live}}</ref> The album's lead single, "[[Miss You (Aaliyah song)|Miss You]]", peaked at number three on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name=BBCharts/> and topped the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart for three weeks.<ref name=R&BCharts>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/bsi/|title=Aaliyah Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)|publisher=[[Billboard Magazine|Billboard]]|access-date=May 14, 2022|archive-date=June 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614082426/https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/bsi/|url-status=live}}</ref> In August of the following year, luxury fashion house [[Dior]] donated profits from sales in honor of Aaliyah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/2003-08/030805-aaliyah-honoured-by-dior.aspx?DisplayComments=true |title=Aaliyah Honoured By Dior |date=August 5, 2003 |work=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] |access-date=April 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720011056/http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/2003-08/030805-aaliyah-honoured-by-dior.aspx?DisplayComments=true |archive-date=July 20, 2009 }}</ref>

In April 2005, Aaliyah's second posthumous album, a double CD+DVD [[box set]] titled ''[[Ultimate Aaliyah]]'', was released in the United Kingdom by Blackground Records.<ref name="Ultimate">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r743273|title=Ultimate Aaliyah Overview|last=Kellman|first=Andy|year=2005|website=AllMusic|access-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> A documentary movie ''Aaliyah Live in Amsterdam'' was released in 2011, shortly before the tenth anniversary of Aaliyah's death. The documentary, by [[Pogus Caesar]], contained previously unseen footage shot of her career beginnings in 1995 when she was appearing in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/whats-on/film-tv/pogus-caesar-premieres-aaliyah-movie-3919688 |last=Young |first=Graham |title=Pogus Caesar premieres his Aaliyah movie in Birmingham |work=[[Birmingham Post]] |date=July 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222033034/http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/whats-on/film-tv/pogus-caesar-premieres-aaliyah-movie-3919688 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 }}</ref>

In March 2012, music producer Jeffrey "J-Dub" Walker announced that the song "Steady Ground", which he produced for Aaliyah's third album, would be included in a posthumous Aaliyah album. Aaliyah's brother Rashad denied Walker's claim.<ref>{{cite news|title=Posthumous Aaliyah Album in the Works: Report|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/posthumous-aaliyah-album_n_1327628.html|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|publisher=[[AOL]]|access-date=March 18, 2012|date=March 7, 2012|first=Brennan|last=Williams|archive-date=March 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309232717/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/posthumous-aaliyah-album_n_1327628.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 5, 2012, Blackground Records released the track "[[Enough Said (song)|Enough Said]]" which was produced by Noah "40" Shebib and features Canadian rapper [[Drake (musician)|Drake]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ramirez|first=Erika|title=Aaliyah Featuring Drake, 'Enough Said': Listen|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-featuring-drake-enough-said-listen-480600/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 10, 2012|date=August 5, 2012|archive-date=September 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912231543/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/480600/aaliyah-featuring-drake-enough-said-listen|url-status=live}}</ref> Four days later, Jomo Hankerson claimed a posthumous album was being produced that would feature new production by Timbaland and Missy Elliot, who both later denied being involved with the project.<ref name="XXL9212">{{cite web |date=August 13, 2012 |title=Timbaland & Missy Elliott Will Not Work on Aaliyah Posthumous Album |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2012/08/timbaland-missy-elliott-will-not-work-on-aaliyah-posthumous-album/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817033048/http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2012/08/timbaland-missy-elliott-will-not-work-on-aaliyah-posthumous-album/ |archive-date=August 17, 2012 |access-date=September 2, 2012 |publisher=XXL News}}</ref><ref name="biz8912"/> The album was scheduled to be released by the end of 2012 by [[Blackground Records]], but its release was shelved.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aaliyah tribute album shelved|url=http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=846184|work=[[MSN]] Music News|publisher=MSN|date=January 8, 2014|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109002117/http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=846184|archive-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref><ref name="biz8912">{{cite magazine|last=Horowitz|first=Steven J.|title=Exclusive: Drake, Missy, Timbaland? Blackground Clarifies Rumors Swirling Around Aaliyah Album (Update)|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/drake-missy-timbaland-blackground-records-1007791552.story |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 10, 2012 |date=August 9, 2012 |archive-date=August 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813203836/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/drake-missy-timbaland-blackground-records-1007791552.story}}</ref> In June 2013, Aaliyah was featured on the track "[[Don't Think They Know]]" by [[Chris Brown]], which appears on Brown's sixth studio album, ''[[X (Chris Brown album)|X]]''.<ref name="rollingstone1">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/chris-brown-pairs-with-aaliyah-hologram-in-new-clip-20130617 |title=Chris Brown Pairs With Aaliyah Hologram in 'Don't Think They Know' Video – Video |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=December 5, 2013 |archive-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127145209/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/chris-brown-pairs-with-aaliyah-hologram-in-new-clip-20130617 }}</ref> Timbaland voiced his disapproval for "Enough Said" and "Don't Think They Know" in July 2013, but later apologized to Chris Brown, explaining that Aaliyah and her death were a "very sensitive subject".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/07/26/timbaland-apologizes-to-chris-brown-for-aaliyah-collab-remarks/|title=Timbaland Apologizes To Chris Brown For Aaliyah Collab Remarks|date=July 26, 2013|publisher=RAPFIX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103000759/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/07/26/timbaland-apologizes-to-chris-brown-for-aaliyah-collab-remarks/|archive-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/07/24/timbaland-doesnt-approve-of-aaliyah-vocals-on-drake-chris-brown-songs/|title=Timbaland Doesn't Approve Of Aaliyah Vocals On Drake, Chris Brown Songs|date=July 24, 2013|publisher=RAPFIX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103000622/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/07/24/timbaland-doesnt-approve-of-aaliyah-vocals-on-drake-chris-brown-songs/|archive-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref>

===2015–present: Merchandise, catalog rerelease, and ''Unstoppable''===
In May 2015, Aaliyah was featured on the [[Tink (musician)|Tink]] track "Million", which contained samples from her song "One in a Million".<ref>{{cite news |last=Chapman Jr. |first=George |date=May 5, 2015 |title=Tink Samples Aaliyah's 'One in a Million' |publisher=BET |url=https://www.bet.com/article/s452jl/tink-samples-aaliyah-s-one-in-a-million |url-status=live |access-date=June 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623112916/http://www.bet.com/news/music/2015/05/08/tink-samples-aaliyahs-one-in-a-million.html |archive-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref> In September 2015, ''Aaliyah by [[Xyrena]]'', an official tribute fragrance, was announced.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tardio|first=Andres|title=Here's The Story Behind The New Aaliyah Fragrance |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/2272050/aaliyah-fragrance/|website=MTV News|access-date=September 28, 2015|archive-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200714220950/http://www.mtv.com/news/2272050/aaliyah-fragrance/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On December 25, 2015, [[Timbaland]] released the mixtape ''Kings Stay Kings'' which includes the unreleased Aaliyah song "Shakin" featuring rapper Strado.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Natalie|last=Weiner|date=December 26, 2015|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/new-aaliyah-song-timbaland-king-stays-king-6821612/|title=Hear a Previously-Unreleased Aaliyah Song on Timbaland's New Mixtape|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526213732/https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/new-aaliyah-song-timbaland-king-stays-king-6821612/|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2018, [[MAC Cosmetics]] released a cosmetics collection inspired by Aaliyah, The Aaliyah for Mac collection which was priced at $250 and sold out within minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-aaliyah-for-mac-collectors-box-sells-out-in-minutes/|title=The "Aaliyah For Mac" collector's box sells out in minutes|date=June 24, 2018|work=[[CBS news]]|access-date=June 25, 2018|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724202202/https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-aaliyah-for-mac-collectors-box-sells-out-in-minutes/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/a12089766/mac-aaliyah-collection/|title=MAC Just Announced An Aaliyah Collection|date=August 24, 2017|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210515211149/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/a12089766/mac-aaliyah-collection/|url-status=live}}</ref> MAC and [[i-D]] Magazine partnered up to release a short film titled "A-Z of Aaliyah" which coincided with the launch.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/a19655890/when-does-mac-aaliyah-collection-launch/|title=Finally, We Have a Launch Date for M.A.C's Aaliyah Collection|date=April 2, 2018|access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514200158/https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/a19655890/when-does-mac-aaliyah-collection-launch/|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 21, 2019, the [[Madame Tussauds]] museum unveiled a wax figure of Aaliyah at their Las Vegas location, modeled on her appearance in the "Try Again" music video.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/music/aaliyah-wax-figure-madame-tussauds/|title=Aaliyah's Brother Unveils New Wax Figure of the Late Singer at Madame Tussauds; The unveiling comes days before the 18th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed Aaliyah's life|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|last=Runtagh|first=Jordan|date=August 22, 2019|access-date=August 3, 2023|archive-date=April 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404084655/https://people.com/music/aaliyah-wax-figure-madame-tussauds/|url-status=live}}</ref> Four days later, Aaliyah's family announced that they were in talks with record companies to discuss the future of her discography.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/aaliyahs-estate-announces-her-music-is-coming-to-streaming-services__30847/|title=Aaliyah's estate announces her music is coming to streaming services|last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=August 26, 2019|work=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=November 21, 2020|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028090853/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/aaliyahs-estate-announces-her-music-is-coming-to-streaming-services__30847/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2021, [[Funko]] Pop! released an Aaliyah figurine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/funko-pop-rocks-aaliyah/|title=Funko: Pop Rocks: Aaliyah The "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", Aaliyah, is stepping out onto the stage of your music collection|website=Forbidden Planet|date=February 2, 2021|access-date=November 14, 2021|archive-date=November 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114152006/https://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/funko-pop-rocks-aaliyah/|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2021, Blackground Records announced that Aaliyah's recorded works would be re-released on physical, digital, and streaming services in a deal between the label and [[Empire Distribution]].<ref name=estatererelease/> Aaliyah's estate issued a statement in response to the announcement, denouncing the "unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah's music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate".<ref name=estatererelease>{{cite web|first=Tomás|last=Mier|date=August 5, 2021|url=https://people.com/music/aaliyah-estate-slams-effort-to-release-her-music-without-transparency/|title=Aaliyah's Estate Slams 'Unscrupulous' Effort to Release Her Music 'Without Transparency'|work=[[People magazine|People]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526222528/https://people.com/music/aaliyah-estate-slams-effort-to-release-her-music-without-transparency/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''One in a Million'' was reissued on August 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-58246480|title=Aaliyah albums streaming: 'Her influence is absolutely everywhere'|publisher=BBC|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829061008/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-58246480|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-one-in-a-million-album-stream-hear-1214560/|title=Stream Aaliyah's 'One in a Million' Album|last=Legaspi|first=Althea|publisher=Rolling Stone|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625003559/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-one-in-a-million-album-stream-hear-1214560/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the album's re-release, ''One in a Million'' re-entered the [[Official Charts Company|UK Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40]] at number eight.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20210827/115/|title=Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40, 27 August 2021 – 02 September 2021|work=[[Official Charts Company]]|date=August 27, 2021|access-date=August 27, 2021|archive-date=September 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922024758/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20210827/115/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the US, the album reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 for the first time at number ten, selling 26,000 [[album-equivalent units]] in the week ending of August 26.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9621697/olivia-rodrigo-sour-returns-number-one-billboard-200-albums-chart-2|title=Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart After Vinyl Release|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 29, 2021|archive-date=August 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829190742/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9621697/olivia-rodrigo-sour-returns-number-one-billboard-200-albums-chart-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Aaliyah (album)|Aaliyah]]'' was reissued September 10, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/aaliyah-streaming-platforms-listen/|title=Aaliyah's Chart-Topping Final Album Arrives on Streaming Platforms: Listen|publisher=Billboard|last=Brandle|first=Lars|date=September 10, 2021|access-date=September 10, 2021|archive-date=November 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128142653/https://www.billboard.com/pro/aaliyah-streaming-platforms-listen/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the album's re-release, ''Aaliyah'' re-entered the [[Official Charts Company|UK Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40]] at number seven<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20210917/115/|title=Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40, 17 September 2021 to 23 September 2021|work=[[Official Charts Company]]|date=September 17, 2021|access-date=September 17, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211020095210/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20210917/115/|url-status=live}}</ref> and re-entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 13.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2021-09-25|title=Billboard 200 Chart – Week of September 25, 2021|magazine=Billboard|date=September 20, 2021|access-date=September 21, 2021|archive-date=September 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921111009/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2021-09-25|url-status=live}}</ref> In celebration of the reissue, Blackground released an animated commercial titled "It's Been A Long Time" (in a similar style to the album's original 2001 commercial), directed by Takahiro Tanaka, showing Aaliyah resurrecting her music from out of a large underground vault.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Cj4HoGG6Y| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/J8Cj4HoGG6Y| archive-date=November 14, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Aaliyah Album Commercial (2021) – "It's Been A Long Time"|website=YouTube|date=September 10, 2021|access-date=September 10, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Compilation albums ''I Care 4 U'' and ''Ultimate Aaliyah'' were reissued October 8, 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-i-care-4-u-ultimate-aaliyah-compilation-albums-stream-hear-1238988/|title=Stream Aaliyah's 'I Care 4 U' and 'Ultimate Aaliyah' Compilation Albums|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Legaspi|first=Althea|date=October 8, 2021|access-date=October 8, 2021|archive-date=June 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604013913/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-i-care-4-u-ultimate-aaliyah-compilation-albums-stream-hear-1238988/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Ultimate Aaliyah'' peaked at number 8 on the UK R&B Albums Chart Top 40<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20211015/115/|title=Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40 15 October 2021 – 21 October 2021|work=[[Official Charts Company]]|date=October 15, 2021|access-date=October 15, 2021|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220929012318/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-albums-chart/20211015/115/|url-status=live}}</ref> and charted for the first time in the US at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2021-10-23/|title=Billboard 200 – Week of October 23, 2021|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019102234/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2021-10-23|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 25, 2021, Barry Hankerson revealed in an interview with [[Big Tigger]] for [[WVEE]] that a posthumous album titled ''Unstoppable'' would be released in "a matter of weeks". The album was said to feature Drake, [[Snoop Dogg]], [[Ne-Yo]], Chris Brown, [[Future (rapper)|Future]] and use previously unreleased vocals from before Aaliyah's passing.<ref name="Radio.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/barry-hankerson-answers-every-burning-question-on-aaliyah-the-wait-to-get-her-music-on-streaming-and-more/ar-AANJUfk?ocid=BingNewsSearch|title=Barry Hankerson answers every burning question on Aaliyah, the wait to get her music on streaming and more|publisher=[[Radio.com]]|date=August 25, 2021|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826214134/https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/barry-hankerson-answers-every-burning-question-on-aaliyah-the-wait-to-get-her-music-on-streaming-and-more/ar-AANJUfk?ocid=BingNewsSearch|archive-date=August 26, 2021}}</ref> On December 17, 2021, Background Records released the posthumous Aaliyah single "[[Poison (Aaliyah song)|Poison]]" featuring [[The Weeknd]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jon|last=Blistein|date=December 17, 2021|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-the-weeknd-poison-new-song-1273097/|title=Aaliyah's First Posthumous Song in Nearly a Decade, 'Poison' Featuring The Weeknd,' Has Arrived|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523051604/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aaliyah-the-weeknd-poison-new-song-1273097/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Sarah|last=Kearns|date=December 14, 2021|url=https://hypebeast.com/2021/12/the-weeknd-aaliyah-posthumous-album-report|title=The Weeknd Will Reportedly Feature on a Posthumous Aaliyah Album|work=[[Hypebeast (website)|Hypebeast]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526220750/https://hypebeast.com/2021/12/the-weeknd-aaliyah-posthumous-album-report|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 4, 2022, Hankerson claimed that ''Unstoppable'' would be released later that month, however, it did not see a release and there was no related announcement from the label.<ref name="Jones">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/aaliyahs-uncle-confirms-posthumous-album-unstoppable-is-coming-this-month-3129661|title=Aaliyah's uncle confirms posthumous album 'Unstoppable' is coming this month|website=NME|last=Jones|first=Damian|date=January 4, 2022|access-date=January 4, 2022|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531061240/https://www.nme.com/news/music/aaliyahs-uncle-confirms-posthumous-album-unstoppable-is-coming-this-month-3129661|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuels |first=Keithan |date=2024-01-16 |title=Blackground Records Shares Update on Aaliyah's Posthumous Album |url=https://ratedrnb.com/2024/01/blackground-records-aaliyah-posthumous-album-unstoppable/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Rated R&B |language=en-US |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117015647/https://ratedrnb.com/2024/01/blackground-records-aaliyah-posthumous-album-unstoppable/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2024, Blackground Records hinted in an Instagram post that the release was "coming".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opinion: Aaliyah's Legacy Deserves More Than a Posthumous Album |url=https://www.bet.com/article/0k6raw/opinion-aaliyahs-unstoppable-album-raises-concerns-about-legacy-and-artistic-direction |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=BET |language=en |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425023420/https://www.bet.com/article/0k6raw/opinion-aaliyahs-unstoppable-album-raises-concerns-about-legacy-and-artistic-direction |url-status=live }}</ref> 

On January 16, 2025, [[Mattel]] released an Aaliyah Barbie Doll modeled on her appearance in the "One in a Million" music video.<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Graham|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2025/01/16/aaliyah-gets-her-own-barbie-on-what-would-have-been-her-46th-birthday/77735365007/|date=January 16, 2025|title=Aaliyah gets her own Barbie on what would have been her 46th birthday|newspaper=[[The Detroit News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250116141626/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2025/01/16/aaliyah-gets-her-own-barbie-on-what-would-have-been-her-46th-birthday/77735365007/|url-status=live|archive-date=January 16, 2025|accessdate=January 16, 2025}}</ref> On May 2, 2025, Blackground Records 2.0 released the single "[[Gone (Aaliyah & Tank song)|Gone]]", by Aaliyah, with former collaborator [[Tank (American singer)|Tank]]. The single was released exclusively to the record label's streaming app, BLKStream,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/fans-react-to-new-ai-assisted-aaliyah-and-tank-song-gone|title=Blackground Records 2.0 releases new Aaliyah and Tank collab "Gone"|website=Revolt TV|last=Velasquez|first=Angelina|date=May 2, 2025|access-date=May 2, 2025}}</ref> but saw a wider release to streaming and digital download sites on August 1, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/gallery/new-music-ciara-saweetie-aaliyah/|title=New Music This Week: Ciara Drops "This Right Here" With Latto & Jazze Pha, Saweetie Releases "Superstars," Aaliyah's "Gone," And More|website=Essence|last=Jones|first=Okla|date=August 1, 2025|access-date=August 1, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebeat951.com/music-news/2025-07-31-aaliyahs-gone-but-her-legacy-lives-on-in-new-song/|title=Aaliyah's 'Gone,' but her legacy lives on in new song|website=The Beat 951|date=July 31, 2025|access-date=August 1, 2025}}</ref> "Gone" peaked at number one on the Adult R&B Airplay Chart,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/rba/|title=Aaliyah - Adult R&B Airplay|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 23, 2025}}</ref> becoming Aaliyah's first number one on that chart;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/aaliyah-tank-gone-number-1-adult-rb-airplay-chart-1236073370/|title=Aaliyah Lands Her First Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 With ‘Gone,’ Featuring Tank|website=Billboard|last=Anderson|first=Trevor|date=September 23, 2025|access-date=September 24, 2025}}</ref> "Gone" also peaked at number 13 on the R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaliyah/chart-history/rba/|title=Aaliyah - R&B Hip Hop Airplay|magazine=Billboard|date=August 23, 2025|access-date=September 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/05/18/aaliyahs-posthumous-single-earns-the-singer-her-first-new-radio-hit-in-a-decade/|title=Aaliyah's Posthumous Single Earns The Singer Her First New Radio Hit In A Decade|website=Forbes|last=McIntyre|first=Hugh|date=May 18, 2025|access-date=June 4, 2025}}</ref> A 2D music video was released on August 1, 2025, along with the announcement of a "3D holographic experience" provided by the [[Meta Quest]] app Soapbox<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9NiU-S-5gw|title=Aaliyah & Tank - Official 2D Video "Gone"|website=YouTube|date=August 1, 2025|access-date=August 1, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/music/aaliyah-tank-gone-virtual-concert-meta-quest/|title=Aaliyah And Tank's New Song 'Gone' Is Now Available As A Virtual Concert On Meta Quest|website=Uproxx|last=Williams|first=Aaron|date=August 1, 2025|access-date=August 1, 2025}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine [[contemporary R&B|R&B]], [[pop music|pop]] and [[hip hop music|hip hop]] in the 1990s, "leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole."<ref name="rollingstone.com" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Cinquemani|first1=Sal|last2=Gonzalez|first2=Ed|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/aaliyah.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102040218/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/aaliyah.asp|archive-date=January 2, 2010|title=Aaliyah (1979–2001)|magazine=[[Slant Magazine]]|access-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref> According to ''Billboard'', she revolutionized R&B with her sultry mix of pop, [[soul music|soul]] and hip hop.<ref name=Billboard2009/> Peter Piatkowski from ''[[PopMatters]]'', stated, "Much like Janet Jackson's Control set a template of sorts for dance-pop divas in the 1980s, Aaliyah's patented brand of Black pop, which was a mélange of hip-hop, electropop, and soul, set a standard against which other young urban-pop singers were judged".<ref>{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Piatkowski|url=https://www.popmatters.com/aaliyah-legacy-perfect-rbpop-record|title='Aaliyah': The Legacy Of The Perfect R&B/Pop Record|date=July 21, 2022|access-date=December 25, 2022|work=[[PopMatters]]|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225115103/https://www.popmatters.com/aaliyah-legacy-perfect-rbpop-record|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2001 review of her third album, Ernest Hardy from ''Rolling Stone'' professed that Aaliyah's impact on R&B and pop has been enormous.<ref name="HardyRS" /> Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the "elite" artists of the R&B genre, as she "played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late 1990s."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44722|title=Aaliyah: Biography|last=Huey|first=Steve|year=2009|website=AllMusic|access-date=June 22, 2009|archive-date=October 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013103026/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44722|url-status=live}}</ref> Critic Bruce Britt stated that by combining "schoolgirl charm with urban grit, Aaliyah helped define the teen-oriented sound that has resulted in contemporary pop phenom's like Brandy, Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child".<ref name=BMI/>

Described as one of "R&B's most important artists" during the 1990s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r620051|title=I Care 4 U – Overview|last=Bush|first=John|website=AllMusic|access-date=July 1, 2009|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907051121/https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-care-4-u-mw0000228696|url-status=live}}</ref> her second studio album, ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]'', became one of the most influential R&B albums of the decade.<ref name="Slant">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/aaliyah-one-in-a-million/415|title=Aaliyah: One in a Million|last=Cinquemani|first=Sal|year=2001|magazine=[[Slant Magazine|Slant]]|access-date=January 3, 2010|archive-date=October 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008161623/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/aaliyah-one-in-a-million/415|url-status=live}}</ref> Music critic [[Simon Reynolds]] cited "Are You That Somebody?" as "the most radical pop single" of 1998.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives/aaliyah|title=Aaliyah, Whose Soaring Career Was Cut Short by a Tragedy|date=August 25, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 24, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 4, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201104025718/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives/aaliyah|url-status=live}}</ref> Kelefah Sanneh of ''The New York Times'' wrote that rather than being the song's focal point, Aaliyah "knew how to disappear into the music, how to match her voice to the bass line",<ref name=":1" /> and consequently "helped change the way popular music sounds; the twitchy, beat-driven songs of [[Destiny's Child]] owe a clear debt to 'Are You That Somebody'."<ref name="Sanneh" /> Sanneh asserted that by the time of her death in 2001, Aaliyah "had recorded some of the most innovative and influential pop songs of the last five years."<ref name="Sanneh" /> Music publication ''Popdust'' called Aaliyah an unlikely queen of the underground for her influence on the underground alternative music scene.<ref name=popdust/> The publication also mentioned that the forward-thinking music Aaliyah made with [[Timbaland]] and the experimental music being made by many underground alternative artists are "somewhat cut from the same cloth".<ref name=popdust>{{cite news|url=http://popdust.com/2011/08/25/aaliyah-underground-samples-covers-james-blake-burial-xx-weekend/|title=Aaliyah, Unlikely Queen of the Underground|date=August 25, 2011|work=Popdust|access-date=December 16, 2015|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415011822/http://popdust.com/2011/08/25/aaliyah-underground-samples-covers-james-blake-burial-xx-weekend/}}</ref> While compiling a list of artists that take cues from Aaliyah, [[MTV Hive]] stated that it's easy to spot her influence on underground movements like dubstep, strains of indie pop, and lo-fi R&B movements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/03/08/aaliyah-modern-day-influence/|title=Hive Five: Exploring Aaliyah's Modern Day Influence|work=MTV News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216051836/http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/03/08/aaliyah-modern-day-influence/|archive-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref> Erika Ramirez, an associate editor of ''Billboard'', said at the time of Aaliyah's career "there weren't many artists using the kind of soft vocals the ways she was using it, and now you see a lot of artists doing that and finding success". Ramirez argued that Aaliyah's second album ''One in a Million'' was "very much ahead of its time, with the bass and electro kind of R&B sounds that they produced", and that the sound, "really stood out" at its time, was being replicated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/11/13/impact-aaliyah-princess-of-rb-lifetime/18969815/|title=13 years later, Aaliyah is still R&B's 'Princess'|date=November 13, 2014|first=Patrick|last=Ryan|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709192219/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/11/13/impact-aaliyah-princess-of-rb-lifetime/18969815/|url-status=live}}</ref>

There has been continuing belief that Aaliyah would have achieved greater career success had it not been for her death. Emil Wilbekin mentioned the deaths of [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] and [[Tupac Shakur]] in conjunction with hers and added: "Her just-released third album and scheduled role in a sequel to ''The Matrix'' could have made her another [[Janet Jackson]] or [[Whitney Houston]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/death-entertainer-story-article-1.927129|title=IN DEATH, ENTERTAINER'S STORY GOES ON|work=Daily News|location=New York|date=August 31, 2001|access-date=August 23, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714042556/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/death-entertainer-story-article-1.927129|url-status=live}}</ref> Director of ''[[Queen of the Damned]]'' [[Michael Rymer]] said of Aaliyah, "God, that girl could have gone so far" and spoke of her having "such a clarity about what she wanted. Nothing was gonna step in her way. No ego, no nervousness, no manipulation. There was nothing to stop her."<ref>Farley, p. 168.</ref> On July 18, 2014, it was announced that [[Alexandra Shipp]] replaced [[Zendaya]] for the role of Aaliyah for the [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] TV biopic movie ''[[Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B]]'', which premiered on November 15, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/alexandra-shipp-play-aaliyah-lifetime-movie-article-1.1872188|title=Aaliyah biopic: Alexandra Shipp to play late R&B star in Lifetime movie|work=Daily News|date=July 18, 2014|location=New York|access-date=September 14, 2014|archive-date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921125221/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/alexandra-shipp-play-aaliyah-lifetime-movie-article-1.1872188|url-status=live}}</ref> Zendaya drew criticism because people felt that she was too light skinned and did not greatly resemble Aaliyah.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ge|first1=Linda|title=Zendaya Fires Back at Critics Over Aaliyah Casting Backlash|date=June 18, 2014|url=https://www.thewrap.com/zendaya-fires-back-at-critics-over-aaliyah-casting-backlash/|publisher=The Wrap|access-date=November 17, 2014|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724203111/https://www.thewrap.com/zendaya-fires-back-at-critics-over-aaliyah-casting-backlash/|url-status=live}}</ref> She voiced her strong respect for Aaliyah before dropping out of the project.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/19/aaliyah-tv-biopic-family-block|title=Family of Aaliyah reportedly plan to block a TV biopic about the late singer|date=June 19, 2014|work=The Guardian|first=Sean|last=Michaels|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=July 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713070945/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/19/aaliyah-tv-biopic-family-block|url-status=live}}</ref> She explained her choice to withdraw from the film in videos on Instagram.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2014/07/zendaya-coleman-explains-exit-from-aalyiah-biopic/|title=Zendaya Coleman Explains Exit from Aaliyah Biopic|date=July 21, 2014|work=ABC News|first=Luchina|last=Fisher|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303045723/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2014/07/zendaya-coleman-explains-exit-from-aalyiah-biopic|url-status=live}}</ref> Aaliyah's family has been vocal in their disapproving of the film. Her cousin Jomo Hankerson stated the family would prefer a "major studio release along the lines" of ''[[What's Love Got to Do with It (1993 film)|What's Love Got to Do with It]]'', the biopic based on the life of [[Tina Turner]]. Aaliyah's family has consulted a lawyer to stop Lifetime from using "any of the music, or any of the photographs and videos" they own and Jomo Hankerson claimed the TV network "didn't reach out."<ref name=NYDNRace>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/aaliyah-family-tina-turner-style-biopic-article-1.1842106|title=Aaliyah's family wants big screen biopic with A-list star portraying late singer, not low-budget Lifetime TV movie|date=June 24, 2014|first=Corky|last=Siemaszko|work=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=August 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808041331/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/aaliyah-family-tina-turner-style-biopic-article-1.1842106|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 9, 2014, it was announced that Chattrisse Dolabaille and Izaak Smith had been cast as Aaliyah's collaborators Missy Elliott and Timbaland.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/tv-film/6214312/aaliyah-biopic-adds-missy-elliott-and-timbaland-roles-report|title=Aaliyah Biopic Adds Missy Elliott and Timbaland Roles: Report|date=August 9, 2014|magazine=Billboard|first=Jocelyn|last=Vena|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210211155/https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/tv-film/6214312/aaliyah-biopic-adds-missy-elliott-and-timbaland-roles-report|url-status=live}}</ref> Dolabaille and Smith both received criticism for their appearances in comparison with that of Missy Elliot and Timbaland.<ref>{{cite web|first=Evelyn|last=Diaz|date=August 14, 2014|url=https://www.bet.com/article/uovfvx/missy-timbaland-casting-in-aaliyah-biopic-causes-uproar|title=Missy Elliott, Timbaland Casting in Aaliyah Biopic Causes Uproar|work=[[BET]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526222833/https://www.bet.com/article/uovfvx/missy-timbaland-casting-in-aaliyah-biopic-causes-uproar|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite negative reviews,<ref name=THR>{{cite web|last1=Keene|first1=Allison|title='Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B': TV Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/aaliyah-princess-r-b-tv-749086|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=November 15, 2014|access-date=November 17, 2014|archive-date=July 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711051247/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/aaliyah-princess-r-b-tv-749086/|url-status=live}}</ref> the film's premiere drew 3.2 million viewers, becoming the second highest rated television movie of 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=James|last=Hibberd|url=https://ew.com/article/2014/11/17/lifetime-aaliyah-ratings/|date=November 17, 2014|access-date=May 14, 2022|title=Lifetime's Aaliyah movie was a hit despite backlash|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|archive-date=May 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514071429/https://ew.com/article/2014/11/17/lifetime-aaliyah-ratings/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 17, 2021, [[Atria Books]] (an imprint of [[Simon & Schuster]]) published [[Kathy Iandoli]]'s ''Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah'', a biography that draws on interviews with Aaliyah's friends, mentors and family, and document how her career influenced a new generation of artists. It has not been authorized by the Haughton family.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Lamarre |first1=Carl |title=Here's When 'Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah' Book Will Be Released |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/baby-girl-better-known-as-aaliyah-release-date-book-9471719/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=October 23, 2020 |publisher=Billboard |access-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-date=May 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530090258/https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/baby-girl-better-known-as-aaliyah-release-date-book-9471719/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=FitzPatrick |first1=Hayley |title=New details of late R&B star Aaliyah's life revealed in 'Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/details-late-rb-star-aaliyahs-life-revealed-baby/story?id=79496866 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=August 28, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618165137/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/details-late-rb-star-aaliyahs-life-revealed-baby/story?id=79496866 |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 5, 2022, [[Beyoncé]] released "The Queens Remix" to her single "[[Break My Soul]]", in which she name-drops Aaliyah, along with other cultural icons.<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael Calcagno, Kyle Denis|url=https://www.billboard.com/photos/beyonce-break-my-soul-queens-remix-shout-outs-1235127000/|title=Here Are All the Shout-Outs on Beyoncé's 'Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)'|publisher=Billboard.com|date=August 16, 2022|access-date=August 6, 2022|archive-date=August 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816202113/https://www.billboard.com/photos/beyonce-break-my-soul-queens-remix-shout-outs-1235127000/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/madonna-joins-beyonce-on-new-break-my-soul-remix-listen/ |title=Madonna Joins Beyoncé on New "Break My Soul" Remix: Listen |publisher=Pitchfork |date=August 5, 2022 |access-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808150320/https://pitchfork.com/news/madonna-joins-beyonce-on-new-break-my-soul-remix-listen/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 14, 2023, Aaliyah was the subject of the documentary ''Superstar: Aaliyah'', which was broadcast on ABC. The documentary included interviews with Damon Dash, Barry Hankerson, [[Sevyn Streeter]], [[Will.i.am]], [[Justine Skye]], and author Kathy Iandoli, and discussed Aaliyah's life, career and legacy.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/culture/product-recommendations/superstar-aaliyah-how-to-watch-1235353939/|title='Superstar: Aaliyah': How to Watch the ABC Tribute Special|magazine=Billboard|last=Johnston|first=Rylee|date=June 14, 2023|access-date=June 16, 2023|archive-date=June 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615194722/https://www.billboard.com/culture/product-recommendations/superstar-aaliyah-how-to-watch-1235353939/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-06-14/308792/abc-to-honor-the-impact-of-aaliyah-in-exclusive-one-hour-special/|title=ABC to honor the life and impact of Aaliyah in exclusive one-hour special|website=Revolt|last=Saunders|first=Angel|date=June 14, 2023|access-date=June 16, 2023|archive-date=June 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616154049/https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-06-14/308792/abc-to-honor-the-impact-of-aaliyah-in-exclusive-one-hour-special/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Achievements==
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Aaliyah}}
Aaliyah has sold 8.1&nbsp;million albums in the United States and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/ask-billboard-how-popular-is-country-music/|title=Ask Billboard: How Popular Is Country Music?|magazine=Billboard| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212104423/https://www.billboard.com/pro/ask-billboard-how-popular-is-country-music/ | archive-date=February 12, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/news/ask-billboard-titanic-mid-90s-singers-tori-1003921966.story#/news/ask-billboard-titanic-mid-90s-singers-tori-1003921966.story |title=Ask Billboard: 'Titanic,' Mid-'90s Singers, Tori Amos |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=December 12, 2008 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=October 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114194915/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/thisday/ask-billboard-titanic-mid-90s-singers-tori-1003921966.story|archive-date=January 14, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Eliot|first=Marc|title=Song of Brooklyn: An Oral History of America's Favorite Borough|publisher=[[Random House]]|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/songofbrooklynor00elio/page/38 38]|isbn=978-0-7679-2014-8|url=https://archive.org/details/songofbrooklynor00elio/page/38}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=December 18, 2008|title=Canadian RandB Singer Keisha Chante to Play Aaliyah in 2009 Biopic|url=https://www.bet.com/article/iwvo68/canadian-randb-singer-keisha-chante-to-play-aaliyah-in-2009-biopic|publisher=BET|access-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827124343/http://www.bet.com/news/news/2008/12/30/newscanadiansingertoplayaaliysh.html|archive-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/aaliyahs-35th-birthday-drake-missy-elliot-remember-late-singer-2014161|title=Aaliyah's 35th Birthday: Drake, Missy Elliott, Stars Remember Singer|work=Us Weekly|date=January 16, 2014|access-date=December 14, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426222620/http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/aaliyahs-35th-birthday-drake-missy-elliot-remember-late-singer-2014161|url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout the years, she has earned several [[honorific nicknames in popular music|honorific nicknames]], including "Princess of R&B",<ref>Sources for Princess of R&B:
*{{harvnb|Sutherland|2005|p=21|Ref=none}}
*{{Cite magazine|last=Mamo|first=Heran|date=December 17, 2021|title=Aaliyah's 'Poison' Collab With The Weeknd Finally Arrives: Stream It Here|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/aaliyah-the-weeknd-poison-stream-it-here-1235011786/|access-date=June 16, 2022|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US|quote=The Princess of R&B and the dark prince of R&B join forces on the track...|archive-date=January 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117162231/https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/aaliyah-the-weeknd-poison-stream-it-here-1235011786/|url-status=live}}</ref> "Pop Princess",<ref>Sources for Pop Princess:
*{{cite magazine|volume=110|issue=11|page=22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6w4EAAAAMBAJ&q=guy+roche+journey+to+the+past&pg=PA22|title=Reviews and Previews – Singles|last=Flick|first=Larry|date=March 14, 1998| magazine= Billboard |access-date=June 14, 2022|quote=Jeep siren Aaliyah's transformation into a pop princess is complete with the release of this Oscar-nominated theme to the film "Anastasia".}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/08/19/aaliyahaaliyah-blackgroundvirginthrough-most-of-her-formative-years/|title=Aaliyah Aaliyah (Blackground/Virgin) Through...|last=Cawn|first=Brad|date=August 19, 2001|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527132851/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-08-19/news/0108190365_1_aaliyah-sade-pop|access-date=June 14, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2012|url-status=live|quote=On her third record, her first in five years, this pop princess has matured.....}} 
*{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/2014/10/lifetimes-aaliyah-biopic-trailer|title=Check Out the First Trailer for Lifetime's "Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B" Biopic|last=Frydenlund|first=Zach|date=October 2, 2014|work=[[Complex Network|Complex]]|access-date=June 15, 2022|quote=During the quick clip, Shipp is seen playing the late pop princess in scenes where she is at dance rehearsal, in the studio, and in an argument with her mother while Iggy Azalea's song, "Goddess," serves as the soundtrack for the trailer.|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615044345/https://www.complex.com/music/2014/10/lifetimes-aaliyah-biopic-trailer|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/aaliyah15-remembering-rb-singer-aaliyah-15-years-after-untimely-death/2035077/|title=#Aaliyah15: Remembering R&B Singer Aaliyah 15 Years Later|last=Glover|first=Sarah|date=August 25, 2016|work=[[WCAU|NBC Philadelphia]]|access-date=June 15, 2022|quote=On social media, fans used the hashtag #Aaliyah15 to share their remembrances of the pop princess.|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615043152/https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/aaliyah15-remembering-rb-singer-aaliyah-15-years-after-untimely-death/2035077/|url-status=live}}</ref> and "Queen of Urban Pop",<ref>Sources for Queen of Urban Pop:
*{{cite web |url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/behind_the_music/episode.jhtml?episodeID=54581 |title=Ep. 166 &#124; Episode Summary, Highlights, and Recaps |publisher=VH1 |access-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-date=October 22, 2012 |quote=But Aaliyah Dana Houghton, the reigning Queen of Urban Pop, wasn't sitting still. She was hard at work, shooting her next video, when a plane crash ended her life on August 25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022115627/http://www.vh1.com/shows/behind_the_music/episode.jhtml?episodeID=54581 }}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/people/2017/08/25/aaliyah-comestics-line/104957040/|title=Grapevine: MAC Aaliyah collection coming in 2018|last=Hodges|first=Michael|date=August 25, 2017|work=[[The Detroit News]]|access-date=June 15, 2022|quote=Petitions circulated last year demanding that the "Queen of Urban Pop," whom Essence magazine says was a loyal MAC customer before her death at 22 on a plane in the Bahamas, get her own line and the cosmetics giant responded.|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405112231/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/people/2017/08/25/aaliyah-comestics-line/104957040/|url-status=live}}
*{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-aaliyah-7c95da6e67004c29b3245263d100fc40|title=What's your favorite Aaliyah song?|last=Mayo|first=Nicki|date=August 25, 2017|work=Associated Press|access-date=June 15, 2022|quote=Aaliyah Haughton will always be remembered as the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop." She's trending today on social media because it's the anniversary of her death.|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615134934/https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-aaliyah-7c95da6e67004c29b3245263d100fc40|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|url=http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2021/1/18/aaliyahs-estate-weighs-in-on-adding-her-entire-music-catalog.html|title=Aaliyah's estate weighs in on adding her entire music catalogue to streaming services|last=Stone|first=Megan|date=January 18, 2021|work=[[ABC News Radio]]|access-date=June 15, 2022|quote=Aaliyah has since been hailed the "Queen of Urban Pop" and is credited for influencing the future sound of a variety of genres including R&B and hip hop.|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615134942/http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2021/1/18/aaliyahs-estate-weighs-in-on-adding-her-entire-music-catalog.html}}</ref>  
as she "proved she was a muse in her own right".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2002/12/13/care-4-u/|title=I Care 4 U|last=Seymour|first=Craig|date=December 13, 2002|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425185843/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,396798,00.html |access-date=July 1, 2009|url-status=live|archive-date=April 25, 2009 }}</ref> While Ernest Hardy of ''Rolling Stone'' dubbed her the "undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on".<ref name="Telegraph" /> She also has been referred to as a pop and R&B icon for her impact on those genres.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/article/janet-jackson-first-album-tbt|title=Janet Jackson New Album: Janet Jackson First Album: People.com|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094053/http://www.people.com/article/janet-jackson-first-album-tbt |access-date=December 14, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/dptf3s/aaliyah-lifetime-movie|title=Lifetime's Aaliyah Biopic Should Never Have Been Made – VH1|work=VH1 News|access-date=August 23, 2021|archive-date=July 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711093318/http://www.vh1.com/news/88742/aaliyah-lifetime-movie/|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the [[2001 MTV Video Music Awards]], Aaliyah was honored by [[Janet Jackson]], [[Missy Elliott]], [[Timbaland]], [[Ginuwine]] and her brother, Rashad, who all paid tribute to her.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448717/20010906/aaliyah.jhtml|title=Janet, Missy, Others Honor Aaliyah During VMAs|last=D'Angelo|first=Joe|date=September 6, 2001|publisher=MTV News|access-date=June 17, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090601233611/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448717/20010906/aaliyah.jhtml| archive-date= June 1, 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> Also during 2001, the United States [[Social Security Administration]] ranked the name Aaliyah as one of the 100 most popular names for newborn girls.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brackett|first=Nathan|author2=Hoard, Christian David|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/1 1]|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/1}}</ref> In 2003, Aaliyah was ranked as one of "The Top 40 Women of the Video Era" in [[VH1]]'s ''The Greatest'' series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=66355 |title=The Greatest – Ep. 71 '50 Greatest Women of the Video Era' |publisher=[[VH1]] |access-date=June 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629061423/http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=66355 |archive-date=June 29, 2011}}</ref> Also, in 2003 in memory of Aaliyah, the [[Entertainment Industry Foundation]] created the Aaliyah Memorial Fund to donate money raised to charities she supported.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=204}} In 2008, she was ranked at number 18 on [[BET]]'s "Top 25 Dancers of All Time".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bet.com/OnTV/BETShows/top25dancers.htm |title=Top 25 Dancers |date=February 1, 2008 |publisher=BET |access-date=June 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615142811/http://www.bet.com/OnTV/BETShows/top25dancers.htm |archive-date=June 15, 2008}}</ref> In December 2009, ''Billboard'' ranked Aaliyah at number 70 on its Top Artists of the Decade,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009&begin=61&order=position |title=Best of the 2000s – Artists of the Decade |magazine=Billboard |access-date=May 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511064230/http://www.billboard.com/ |archive-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> while her album [[Aaliyah (album)|''Aaliyah'']] was ranked at number 181 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/decadeendcharts/2009/billboard-200-albums |title=Decade End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums |magazine=Billboard|year=2009 |access-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204062700/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/decadeendcharts/2009/billboard-200-albums|archive-date=February 4, 2011}}</ref> In 2010, ''Billboard'' listed her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and 27th most successful R&B artist overall.<ref name="Billboard 2010">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-top-50-rb-hip-hop-artists-of-the-past-25-years-950681/|title=The Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years|last1=Trust|first1=Gary|last2=Caulfield| first2=Keith|last3=Ramirez|first3=Rauly| date= November 18, 2010|magazine= Billboard|access-date=April 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123022823/https://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/the-top-50-r-b-hip-hop-artists-of-the-past-1004127916.story?page=3#/column/the-juice/the-top-50-r-b-hip-hop-artists-of-the-past-1004127916.story?page=3|url-status=live|archive-date=November 23, 2010}}</ref> In 2011, [[Essence (magazine)|Essence]] ranked her at number 14 on its 50 Most Influential R&B Starts list.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://photos.essence.com/galleries/50_most_influential_black_musicians|title=50 Most Influential RnB Stars|magazine=[[Essence (magazine)|Essence]]|access-date=February 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628203900/http://photos.essence.com/galleries/50_most_influential_black_musicians#812063|archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref> In 2012, VH1 ranked her number 48 on their "Greatest Women in Music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-02-13/vh1s-100-greatest-women-in-music-complete-list/ |title=VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music |publisher=VH1 |access-date=March 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303101656/http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-02-13/vh1s-100-greatest-women-in-music-complete-list |archive-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref> In 2014, ''NME'' ranked her at number 18 on its 100 most influential artist list.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-100-most-influential-artists-50-1/346061#/photo/1|title=NME's 100 Most Influential Artists: 50 – 1|work=NME.COM|date=July 30, 2014|access-date=December 14, 2015|archive-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212181427/http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-100-most-influential-artists-50-1/346061#/photo/1|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2018, ''Billboard'' ranked Aaliyah at number 47 on their Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time list.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.billboard.com/pro/hot-100-turns-60-top-60-female-artists-all-time-madonna-mariah-carey-janet-jackson/|title=Hot 100 Turns 60! The Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time, From Madonna to Mariah Carey & More |last=Zellner|first=Xander|date=August 2, 2018|work=[[Billboard Magazine|Billboard]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202034853/https://www.billboard.com/pro/hot-100-turns-60-top-60-female-artists-all-time-madonna-mariah-carey-janet-jackson/ |access-date=August 2, 2018|archive-date=February 2, 2022 }}</ref> In 2020, the publication included her on its list of the 100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time.<ref name=video2020>{{Cite magazine|date=August 27, 2020|title=The 100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time: Staff List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/9440075/100-best-music-video-artists|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827203952/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/9440075/100-best-music-video-artists|archive-date=August 27, 2020|access-date=August 28, 2020|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' ranked her at number 40 on their 200 Best Singers of All Time list.<ref name=bestsingers2023>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/aaliyah-4-1234643137/|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|magazine= Rolling Stone |date=January 1, 2023|access-date=January 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101223534/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/aaliyah-4-1234643137/|archive-date=January 1, 2023}}</ref> In September 2023, she was inducted into the [[National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Grein|first=Paul|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/aaliyah-new-edition-rhythm-and-blues-hall-of-fame-2023-inductees-1235332765/|title=Aaliyah, New Edition & More Headed for National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame|date=May 19, 2023|access-date=May 25, 2023|magazine= Billboard |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230526133959/https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/aaliyah-new-edition-rhythm-and-blues-hall-of-fame-2023-inductees-1235332765/|archive-date=May 26, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2025, ''Billboard'' ranked Aaliyah at number 47 on its Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century list.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-women-artists-21st-century-chart/|date=March 19, 2025|title=Billboard's Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century Chart, Nos. 100-1|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=March 19, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319183615/https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-women-artists-21st-century-chart/|url-status=live|archive-date=March 19, 2025}}</ref> In June the publication ranked her at number 40 on its the "75 Best R&B Artists of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-rb-singers-all-time/|date=June 18, 2025|title=The 75 Best R&B Artists of All Time|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=June 18, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250618183053/https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-rb-singers-all-time/|url-status=live|archive-date=June 18, 2025}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{Main|Aaliyah discography}}
{{See also|List of songs recorded by Aaliyah}}
<!-- Per [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians/Article guidelines]], The discography section of the musician's primary article should "provide a summary of the musician's major works. In most cases this is done using a simple list of their studio albums, leaving a complete listing of releases to the discography article." -->

===Studio albums===
* ''[[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]'' (1994)
* ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Aaliyah (album)|Aaliyah]]'' (2001)

===Compilation albums===
* ''[[I Care 4 U]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Ultimate Aaliyah]]'' (2005)

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of film and television roles
|-
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Medium
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| scope="row" | ''[[Star Search]]''
| 1989
| TV show
| Herself
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[All That]]''
| 1995; 1997
| TV series
| Herself (Musical guest)
| 2 episodes
|-
| scope="row" | ''[[New York Undercover]]''
| 1997
| TV series
| Herself (Musical guest)
| Season 3, episode 65: "[[List of New York Undercover episodes#Season 3 (1996–1997)|Fade Out]]"
|-
| scope="row" | ''[[Romeo Must Die]]''
| 2000
| Feature film
| Trish O'Day
| Film debut
|-
| scope="row" | ''The Mim Rose''
| 2000
| Short film
| Melissa
| Written and directed by [[Rashad Haughton]]
|-
| scope="row" | ''[[Queen of the Damned]]''
| 2002
| Feature film
| Queen Akasha
| [[list of works published posthumously|Posthumous release]]
|}

==See also==
* [[List of artists who reached number one in the United States]]
* [[List of awards and nominations received by Aaliyah]]
* [[List of fatalities from aviation accidents]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last=Brackett|first=Nathan|author2=Hoard, Christian David|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac}}
* {{Cite book|last=Farley|first=John|title=Aaliyah: More Than a Woman|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2002|isbn=0-7434-5566-5|ref=Farley}}
*{{cite book|last=Footman|first=Tim|title=Aaliyah|publisher=Plexus Publishing Limited|year=2021|isbn=9780859657136}}
* {{cite book|first=Kathy|last=Iandoli|title=Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah|publisher=[[Atria Books]]|year=2021|isbn=978-1982156862}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kenyatta|first=Kelly|title=An R&B Princess in Words and Pictures|publisher=Amber Books Publishing|year=2002|isbn=0-9702224-3-2|ref=Kenyatta}}
* {{Cite book|last=Simmonds|first=Jeremy|title=The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars|publisher=Chicago Review Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-55652-754-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sutherland |first=William |title=Aaliyah remembered: her life & the person behind the mystique |date=2005 |publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] |isbn=1-4120-5062-6 |location=Victoria, B.C. |oclc=59337110}}

==External links==
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<!--PLEASE DO NOT ADD FANSITES. MySpace and Facebook pages cannot be added as she did not create them.-->
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000578999}}
* {{IMDb name|4691}}
* [https://www.grammy.com/artists/aaliyah/208 Aaliyah] on [[Grammy Award]]s.
* {{Find a Grave|5727911|Aaliyah Dana Haughton}}

{{Aaliyah}}
{{American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aaliyah| ]]
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American actresses]]
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[[Category:African-American female dancers]]
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[[Category:American child singers]]
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[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery]]
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[[Category:American dance-pop musicians]]
[[Category:Dancers from Michigan]]
[[Category:Jive Records artists]]
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[[Category:Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents]]
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[[Category:Swing Mob artists]]
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