10 Facts About Aaliyah You Might Not Know

Legendary soul singer Gladys Knight—best known for various hits with her group the Pips—is Aaliyah’s aunt through her marriage to Aaliyah’s uncle, Barry Hankerson. Knight and Hankerson married five years before Aaliyah was born in 1974.

Hankerson played a major role in Aaliyah’s success as he managed her throughout her career. Knight also helped Aaliyah rise to prominence by allowing the young singer to perform with her during a five-night stint in Las Vegas when Aaliyah was just 11-years-old.

Year: 1990

When Aaliyah was 10-years-old, she appeared on the music discovery show Star Search. As a finalist, she chose to sing the song “My Funny Valentine” from the musical Babes In Arms. She said of the choice, “[It] was my mommy’s song...So that song is special to me because of her.”

Aaliyah didn’t win, but she finished with the judges giving her a cumulative score of 3.25 out of 4. When she was asked about it afterward she said, “It was an incredible experience—me and [Ed] McMahon and just being on the Star Search stage because it was a show that I really looked up to.”

Year: 1998

In our recent interview with super-producer Swizz Beatz, he let go of a surprising nugget of information. Almost no one knew the beat for Eve’s 1999 hit single “Gotta Man” was intended for Aaliyah.

Swizz recalled that back when Aaliyah was working with Timbaland on her uncle’s Blackground Entertainment label, she reached out in hopes of working with him. However, their schedules and labels prevented the collaboration from happening. Rather than let the “Gotta Man” beat go to waste, Swizz put it in Eve’s hands because he was also working on her album at the time.

Year: 1998

A big moment in Aaliyah’s career came when her song “Journey to he Past, which appeared on the soundtrack to Anastasia, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The nomination was overshadowed by her performance of the song at the event. At 19-years-old, she became the youngest artist ever to perform at the Oscars.

Year: 1999

Aaliyah was once asked on an episode of MTV Stipped if she liked rock music, to which she replied, “[I] like rock and all kinds of music.” Specifically, the singer happened to be a big fan of Nine Inch Nails.

In 1999 she reached out to Trent Reznor to produce a song on her last album. The two camps engaged in discussions before her death but, ultimately, scheduling conflicts prevented the collaboration from happening.

Year: 2000

When the movie Charlie’s Angels came out in August of 2000, Aaliyah was 21. During casting for the reboot she was considered for the role of Alex Munday. However, the studio felt she was too young and the role went to Lucy Liu.

Year: 2001

With her outstanding dance skills and a couple of quality acting roles under her belt, Aaliyah was perfect for the lead role in the 2003 dance-film Honey. Casting directors thought the same thing, which is why the role of Honey Daniels was originally cast to the singer. After Aaliyah’s tragic and untimely death in August of 2001, the role was given to Jessica Alba.