Alicia Keys has aspirations of being a rock star, belting over screaming guitars. She also sees herself as a jazz chanteuse, elegantly dressed while scat-singing and improvising melodies on her beloved piano. Then she wants to do more acting — some drama, maybe comedy — and establish more charitable efforts. The list of things she wants to accomplish goes on and on.

But it’s not as if the pop superstar with the seductive, camera-ready face hasn’t done a lot already. At 27, with a career that’s barely a decade old, she owns 11 Grammys and four multiplatinum albums. Along with Beyonce, she is one of the most visible, lauded pop performers of her generation. Still, Keys wants to confound your expectations of her — especially in the realm of music.

Since rocketing to stardom with her Grammy-winning, 10-times-platinum debut, 2001’s Songs in A Minor, the native New Yorker has worn the neo-soul tag well — lacing contemporary, decidedly pop-conscious productions with traditional soul elements. But on her latest album, the No. 1 smash As I Am, Keys reveals shades of different musical styles, including rock and a hint of reggae.

The album — a brighter, more diverse musical palette than her previous two studio efforts — has sold more than 3 million copies since its release in November.
“Funny enough, this album was probably the one that I would let go of the most, whereas my other ones I was always very adamant about who I worked with and how I worked it,” says Keys, who headlines a show at the 1st Mariner Arena tonight. “This time, I kind of took a different approach and allowed it to be a bit more natural.”

The more fluid direction is perhaps best represented by the album’s first single, the ubiquitous “No One,” which topped the pop and urban charts about a month before As I Am hit the streets. The single, Key’s biggest one to date, melds her pop sensibilities (a simple melody and a catchy chorus) with her sense of musical experimentation (a drowsy, dub-flavored beat punctuated by buzzing synths). But the raspy vocal melisma, Keys’ hallmark, and her wide-eyed lyrical tales of love (mostly centering on self-preservation and unwavering devotion) remain intact.

“I’ve grown a whole lot musically, definitely, because I’ve just started to discover for me what feels good for me in regard to creating the music,” says Keys, who was recently at a tour stop in New Orleans. “I think this is definitely the most complete album that I’ve ever done yet. … It is the most complete in the sense [that] musically it’s a journey, and it’s so lush.”

Her songwriting and vocal prowess have deepened, and Keys pushes the music on As I Am, something she had been doing in earnest since her sophomore album, 2003’s The Diary of Alicia Keys.

“Her first two albums were straight-ahead soul albums. This new one is more experimental in pop and rock,” says Easy Mo Bee, the New York rap and R&B producer who worked on The Diary of Alicia Keys. “When [Keys' producers Kerry "Krucial" Brothers] played me tracks for the new album, I was like, ‘Man, what is she doing?’ But when it all came together — the ballads and all — it made sense. But no matter what genre she does, she comes out soulful.”

To punch up the pop-rock side on the new album, Keys collaborated with friend John Mayer and songwriter Linda Perry.

“I’ve been raised on a ton of styles of music, and I discover new music every day, and it’s really important for me to try new things all the time,” Keys says. “And so I think as a performer, it’s exciting and it’s fun to do things that challenge me and even push me to a new level, a new place.”

Although she stretches herself musically on the new album, the artist doesn’t forsake the melodic integrity of her approach. Her magazine-cover beauty aside, Keys’ adherence to traditional pop and soul elements, couched in a tasteful contemporary context, has made her a standout in modern R&B and pop.

“In a time right now of synthetic music, whether you love or hate her, Alicia is the closest thing to Stevie Wonder or Minnie Riperton — folks whose music was genuine,” Easy Mo Bee says. “She still plays an instrument and plays it well. We need her for that.”

Los Angeles-based producer and keyboard player Mark Batson worked with Keys on As I Am. He says her around-the-clock work ethic has much to do with her success.

“A lot of artists don’t have that dedication to the art form, so Alicia is rarer than you think,” he says. “Having a label president like Clive Davis behind you has certainly helped. But Alicia has an amazing work ethic. She’s in the studio before you get there, and she works all day and all night to make records sound good. We’ve had long conversations about Chopin and the way he brought emotion with a certain note. She studies the masters and don’t let anything cloud the music.”

While in the throes of touring, Keys says she hardly has time for anything that’s not connected with the show. Although this time she won’t indulge too much of her rock and jazz aspirations on stage, Keys still promises a versatile show.

“There are very large moments [and] there are very intimate, personal private moments where no one’s on the stage but me,” she says. “And I love that, because I think that one thing that I always want to do is remain true to who I am.”