ALICIA KEYS - KEYS JETTED OFF TO EGYPT FOR INSPIRATION

ALICIA KEYS took off to Egypt in a bid to find inspiration after she struggled with "confusing music" as she set about recording her new album. The Fallin' singer admits she was struggling to find her past form that earned her Grammy Awards and acclaim and decided she needed to take a holiday. She travelled alone through Egypt, floating down the Nile and visiting ancient sites, like the Great Pyramid of Giza, just outside Cairo. She says, "I'm thinking, `Here is this structure that's been standing for thousands of years, no magic tricks, no cranes, just mind, will and hands. "I had a profound realisation that with my mind and my hands I could create something that could last forever." Fully inspired, Keys returned to the studio last summer (06) and completed work on her upcoming album As I Am, which she states is like "Aretha Franklin singing a Janis Joplin song."