You might not think Alicia Keys has much in common with Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen or Santana. But you'd be wrong. They all share the support and grooming of legendary record mogul Clive Davis. Keys is Davis' latest project, and after three years of relentlessly hyping the piano-playing prodigy, Davis has hit pay dirt ... again.

Few predicted that Keys' debut, Songs in A Minor, would debut at #1 on the Billboard album charts. And no one could have foreseen the album — propelled by the seductive hit "Fallin' "— topping the charts for three weeks.

Now, the singer, who counts everyone from Beethoven to Aretha Franklin as influences, explains to Franklin Cumberbatch why she gives big ups to her mom, what it feels like to have Prince mad at you and why she didn't sweat the "next big thing" tag.

MTV: Before your album came out everyone was already calling you the next big thing. How much pressure was that?

Alicia Keys: In one sense, it was amazing to be compared to all these wonderful artists that having been doing it for so long and making wonderful records. I was honored. In another sense, I was like, "You can't compare me to these people that have been doing this for so many years." I need at least six years in the game to be compared to these people! On the other hand, I do remember a time in the beginning where I did feel a little ... nervousness or apprehension. I realized there's really no need to be nervous, because you just have to be you. You have to love it and do it from your heart and that's where the goodness comes from. Everything else is just words, it doesn't matter.

MTV: So, c'mon, is Alicia Keys your real name? Even the Keys part?

Keys: You better believe it!

MTV: How perfect is that, you play the piano and your last name is Keys?

Keys: It's pretty perfect.

MTV: There's a lot of artists these days who don't write and produce their songs. But on your album you wrote, produced and arranged almost every note. What does it mean to you to be able to do that?

Keys: It's imperative for me to do that. In the beginning of the whole process of doing a record, I tried to work with outside producers. It was definitely an experience in ... taking away something from it, learning what I didn't like. I always realized that it just worked best when I was completely involved in it. It made it exactly how I heard it in my head.

MTV: Why did you name your album Songs in A Minor?

Keys: A minor is one of my all-time favorite keys to play in. It's a very moody key, and also A is the first letter of my name. It just represents the songs through my eyes. [RealVideo]

MTV: Talk about working with J Records founder Clive Davis. He let you run with it and do what you wanted to do. What's it like to have Clive Davis, a man who brought Whitney Houston and all these other big names to the forefront, behind you like that?

Keys: It's an honor and a blessing. He's an incredible man. ... Prior to meeting him, I knew about his work with Whitney Houston and Puff Daddy. ... But I didn't know about his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and Janis Joplin. ... It just showed me how long he's been influential and had a vibe for letting people be themselves.

MTV: Your first single "Fallin'" is very powerful. Where did that song come from?

Keys: I think there's something and someone behind every song. Something makes you sing it, something makes you feel it to write it. I love my mother to death, but boy, there are times I wish she would leave me alone. I think that's definitely an emotion that naturally happens when you really, really care about somebody, even if it's just your mother. [RealVideo]

MTV: "How Come You Don't Call Me" is a cover of a Prince song. Why did you choose that one?

Keys: It was just a fluke, it wasn't even supposed to happen. We were sitting around talking about different music and my A&R guy asked me, "Have you ever heard this song?" I was like, "I'm sure I've heard it, I know every Prince song." ... He put together a tape for me and I took it home and played it. It's just Prince sitting at the piano, stomping his foot and singing. I was just mesmerized by the whole vibe of the song. It takes you somewhere. I immediately stared to pick it out on the piano because it was such a fly song. After I did that, I was like, "You know maybe we could do a version, just to do it." I couldn't get this doggoned song out of my mind. So we did it ... and it just seemed so appropriate for the album.

MTV: When you met Prince, what did he say about the song?

Keys: He called me when I was in Chicago ... and he said, "When I heard you did the cover of my song, I thought I had to call my lawyer." I said, "Well, don't call your lawyer. Did you hear it before you called him?" He said, "No, actually I didn't hear it, but I hear it's pretty good." That was the first time we spoke and he invited me to this festival that he recently put together in Minneapolis. It worked out that I could play at the festival. Before the performance, I saw him and he said, "By the way, I love your version of it." That was pretty cool, especially coming from him.

MTV: What's the next single going to be?

Keys: We're going for "A Woman's Worth." ... It's a real special song for me. It talks about how you're worth all the kindness a person can give you. Although the title is "A Woman's Worth," that [sentiment goes] for women and for men. You don't have to be treated badly, but it's especially true for the women. You know a woman's worth if you're a real man.

MTV: You wrote "Butterflyz" when you were 14. Was that the song that made you say, "OK, I want to do this for the rest of my life?"

Keys: No. I think I already knew before that. But that was definitely the first song that showed me how much I enjoy songwriting and how much I loved to sit down and play and put my feelings on paper. It was definitely a monumental moment in that sense. I love that song.

MTV: You're a classically trained pianist, and I read that at the age of 11 you had a lot of things going on. Your mom said, "You can do all this, you can do that, but you can't quit the piano." Are you glad she said that?

Keys: Oh, sure. I'm kind of feeling mom for saying that. When you're 11, 12, you're just getting into hanging out, maybe flirting a little bit. You're trying to do some real undisciplined things, and I was actually doing a lot at the time: dancing, school, piano. I just couldn't get enough time to hang out at the park, so it was like, "Mom, I sure would like to hang out at the park a little more." She understood that I needed that too, but she realized that this was something that I really loved. She said, "Stick with it." She was always adamant about me sticking to something I had started. I'm happy I stuck to it.

MTV: You managed to use your formal training and integrate hip-hop into your style. I don't think anyone has done it exactly that way.

Keys: It's just a natural occurrence. There's a lot of different styles of music that inspire me. ... I like to write and sing and play music when it's of the moment. To this day, I play Beethoven and Bach and Chopin, as well as Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, and Nina Simone. At the same time, Biggie is my dog, and so are 'Pac and Wu-Tang. It's not even something I thought about, it just kind of came out.

MTV: How would you classify your album: hip-hop, R&B?

Keys: I wouldn't. I don't, because I think that people can draw their own conclusions.

MTV: Who did you look up to musically when you were growing up?

Keys: Mozart .. Mary [J. Blige is] definitely my dog. Man, I wanted to be Mary. What girl didn't? Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Salt N Pepa.

MTV: What should people expect from an Alicia Keys show?

Keys: Definitely an exchange. That's what it is for me. That's when it's at its best. When I can get people to shout something to me from the audience, because I talk a lot, especially on stage. ... You definitely will see me behind the piano 99 percent of the time. But I get up, do my little thing and make sure you're doing your thing.

MTV: What do you hope to accomplish with your music on a personal level? And what do you expect people to learn about you from your music?

Keys: It helps me understand myself and what I may be feeling at the moment. It helps at least get it out so it doesn't feel like it's bottled up inside. On a bigger level, I just hope to have something that people can relate to, can identify with, maybe even use to help describe themselves. I hope to be somebody that can inspire in some way, because people have truly inspired me.

MTV: A lot of attention you've gotten recently is based on that fact that you're so young, but so vocally mature for your age. Do you feel that way?

Keys: No, not really.. I think that a lot of people my age go through things that are serious enough to be truly felt. It's funny that you say that, because when I went to a couple of radio stations in the beginning, I'd walk into room and they'd be like, "You're Alicia Keys? I thought you were going to be about 300 pounds." I said, "That ain't right, man." But I take that as something that's good. That's a beautiful thing, but songs don't really see an age. Feelings have nothing to do with an age. [RealVideo]

MTV: Talk about that moment during the Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party when you went on after Gladys Knight and just awed everyone. Everyone in the audience was like, "Who's this girl?"