Aaliyah's Death Shocks Industry

In light of the tragic death of R&B singer Aaliyah, Gladys Knight—Aaliyah's aunt—recalled the first time she performed onstage with her niece: "She was still quite young," Knight said in a statement, "but she already had it—that spark the world would later see and fall in love with."

The music world lost one of its fastest-rising stars when the 22-year-old Aaliyah and eight others were killed Aug. 25 in a plane crash in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The singer had been in the Bahamas shooting a video for her latest single, "Rock the Boat."

The incident has sent shock waves throughout the music industry. Clive Calder, chairman/CEO of the Zomba Group, tells Billboard, "There are no words that can adequately express my personal and our company's feelings about this tragedy. Our prayers and thoughts at this time are for Aaliyah's mother Diane, father Michael, brother Rashad, uncle Barry, grandfather Hankerson, and cousins Jomo and Shanga."

The singer's publicist released a statement reading, "Aaliyah's family is devastated at the lost of their loving daughter and sister. Their hearts go out to those families who also lost their loved ones in this tragic accident."

Virgin Records also posted a statement regarding the tragedy on the singer's Web site, aaliyah2001.com: "Aaliyah, one of the world's brightest and most talented stars, will be mourned by all who loved her and loved her music. Her depth and versatility as an artist was matched by the passion and devotion she had for her craft."

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Detroit, Aaliyah Dana Haughton made her recording debut in 1994 with Age Ain't Nothing But a Number (Blackground/Jive). Her follow-up, 1996's One in a Million (Blackground/Atlantic), was certified double-platinum.

Aaliyah made her acting debut in last year's Romeo Must Die, in which she co-starred with Jet Li. "Try Again," the lead single off the film's soundtrack, topped The Billboard Hot 100 and earned her a Grammy nomination this year for best female R&B vocalist.

A consummate professional, Aaliyah did her best to maximize her twin careers. She recorded her latest album, this year's Aaliyah (Blackground/Virgin), while in Australia on the set of her latest film, Queen of the Damned. "On the days when I had to shoot during the day, I would record at night, and vice versa," Aaliyah told Billboard earlier this year. "[But] there were nights when I didn't go into the studio—I was too tired. On the weekends, I always made it."

Aaliyah was looking forward to possibly touring in support of her new album and to her upcoming film roles in The Matrix sequels and a remake of 1976's Sparkle.

MTV, BET, and VH1 have all aired tributes. Radio stations nationwide have also organized various tributes to the singer/actress.

Among them is WJLB, in Aaliyah's hometown of Detroit. Assistant PD/music director Kris Kelly says, "It was particularly devastating to the listeners here, because she has family members, friends, former classmates, and teachers all in the area. We started by airing a musical tribute Saturday night into Sunday morning. We've also been airing messages from listeners to Aaliyah's family. We worked with her former high school, Detroit School of the Arts, to get the word out about a candlelight vigil [Aug. 27].

"Aaliyah had a long history with WJLB over the years, going back to before she was a national star," Kelly continues. "Right now, a great deal of people are still in shock over this tragedy. What we hope to do in the near future is to create a tribute that encompasses all of Aaliyah's true spirit."

The impact of the singer's death was also felt at retail, as stores have seen sales of her material spike (see Over the Counter, page 85).

"Sales [of Aaliyah] on Sunday [Aug. 26] alone were eight times what we sold the previous week," says Jim Stella, urban music buyer for Albany, N.Y.-based Trans World Entertainment. "The catalog stuff popped as well. The sales of Aaliyah this week were 14 times what we sold the previous week."

Aaliyah is survived by her parents and brother. In accordance with her family's wishes, a memorial fund has been established in her name, with proceeds to benefit several breast-cancer charities. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to Aaliyah Memorial Fund, c/o Entertainment Industry Foundation, 11132 Ventura Blvd. Suite 401, Studio City, Calif. 92604.