Alicia Keys to release “The Element of Freedom” in December

This year wouldn’t mean anything without a brand new album from Alicia Keys and on December 1, the 12-time Grammy Award winner will release THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM, her 4th studio album on MBK/J Records. Keys’ first single, “Doesn’t Mean Anything,” was written and produced by Alicia and her longtime production partner Kerry “Krucial” Brothers. The moment the single impacted radio on September 21st, critics declared it an instant hit: “Alicia Keys Is Back” proclaimed NYPost.com’s Pop Wrap column. “It’s so perfect, it’s so brilliant and it’s so unmistakably Alicia.”

While Keys’ collaboration on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” and “Doesn’t Mean Anything” continue to climb the charts, Keys will make her television debut performance of the single on Regis & Kelly on October 12th. The P.R. Brown-directed video will premiere exclusively on PerezHilton.com on October 16th and will be available everywhere on October 17th including Myspace, Yahoo Music, AOL Music, YouTube and MSN Music.

Alicia describes THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM as a dichotomy of strength and vulnerability: “The music is really strong, and the drums are really aggressive, but my voice is vulnerable and delicate,” states Keys. THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM encapsulates Keys’ process of “eliminating all of the boundaries and all the limitations, so that you can feel your freedom and express your freedom in every way you possibly can and that’s what I did with this album,” adds Alicia.

In addition to Brothers, the 12-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/producer enlists the production talents of Jeff Brasker (Kanye West, Keri Wilson) with more production pairings to be announced soon.

THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM is the follow up to Keys’ multi-platinum selling 2007 album As I Am, which featured the Grammy Award winning tune “No One” as well as hit singles “Like You’ll Never See Me Again,” Teenage Love Affair” and “Superwoman.”