American superstar Alicia Keys, one of the leading musical artists of the last 10 years, will be arriving in Israel for the first time on the birthday of her country – July 4th.The winner of 14 Grammys will perform at the Nokia Center as part of her Set the World on Fire tour in support of her new album, Girl on Fire. Keys most recent highprofile appearances were at last month’s Super Bowl where she sang the National Anthem, and at this month’s Grammy Awards where she performed a duet with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.In the decade since her 2001 debut – Songs in A Minor – Keys has established herself as a premier singer/songwriter, capable of fiery R&B, soul and artful piano ballads.“I’m in love with this album,” said Keys in a statement released Tuesday by promoter Shuki Weiss. “And I’m excited to go to new places on this tour, among them Tel Aviv. I plan on bringing with me a show full of emotion and inspiration. It’s a brand new me,” she added, referring to one of the hits singles from the album.Weiss added that that bringing an artist of Keys’ caliber who is at the height of her success was the realization of a dream.“After many conversations and technical inspections, I’m happy to bring these good tidings to an Israeli audience,” he said. A 64- person staff is expected to arrive with Keys.Tickets to the show have gone on sale, and a sponsorship deal with American Express is enabling an introductory reduced price of NIS 200.The Keys show is the third large-scale show heading to Israel so far this year, following the announcement of performances by Depech Mode and Cliff Richards. More big names are expected to be announced in the next month or two.
