Alicia Keys is in Her Element

Vintage dress, Hanae Mori (price on request). Visit coquettecouture.com. Earrings, Kara Ross ($130). Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Ave., 212-247-1100

	Gown, Yigal Azrouël ($1,420). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Ave., 212-753-4000. Earrings, Gurhan ($2,000). Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave., 212-753-7300. Head scarf, Yigal Azrouël ($385). 408 W. 14th St., 212-929-7525
	Dress, Catherine Malandrino ($395). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Ave., 212-753-4000. Cuffs ($7,795 each) and necklace (price on request), Robert Lee Morris. 400 West Broadway, 212-431-9405

Just moments into our interview, Alicia Keys politely interjects that she may have to cut our time short to squeeze in another interview, and promises to catch up with me once she’s done. “Hopefully that will work for you?” she asks sincerely. Keys is checking in from a stop on a multiday, multicountry promotional tour for her new album, The Element of Freedom, which had her bouncing from Germany to Spain, and now to London, where she’ll be for two days before heading back to the States.

While she’s in London she’s slated to appear on a show called Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. A quick consult with the Internet concludes that Ross is something like the UK’s equivalent of Jay Leno, only bawdier—and Leno isn’t likely to have an OBE bestowed upon him any time soon.

Watching Keys banter with Ross, gamely answering questions about whether she likes the sausage in Germany or what she does if she has to “wee” while she’s on stage, you cannot help but understand her appeal: The girl is unfl appable—and thoughtful: She calls Gotham back exactly when she said she would. (Please know that this is very rare in the celebrity world.)

At just 29, with 12 Grammys and millions of albums sold, the lifelong New Yorker, who was raised in Hell’s Kitchen long before it was cleaned up and realtors tried to rechristen it “Clinton,” probably doesn’t need to be so conciliatory. That she is goes a long way toward explaining her success.

“You know, it’s amazing to see a neighborhood change. When I was growing up, it was way darker, way more dismal, way more like the place where all the outcasts lived. So now, to see it more of like a tourist destination is really interesting,” she says. “But one thing it always had was those bright lights, and it did always have endless possibilities, because Broadway was so close. Even though Eighth Avenue was supergrungy—drug needles and all kinds of dingy things—Broadway was a lot more creative and interesting and possible.”

Keys harnessed that creativity, attending Professional Performing Arts School on West 48th Street, and quickly developed a love for songwriting and piano. “I had a couple of good teachers who [told me], ‘You can do this; you can succeed at this with practice,’” she recalls. “‘And not with just music—with anything you put your mind to,’ they said.” Practice resulted in a career that’s maintained a steady upward trajectory beginning with her 2001 breakout album, Songs in A Minor.

And Element, like her previous four albums, also debuted at No. 1. In a shrewd marketing move, anticipation for her album was fueled by the killer Jay-Z collaboration, Empire State of Mind, which has since become the new unofficial anthem of New York. Keys recorded another version of the track, Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, a less bombastic, more introspective extension of the original, which closes Element. “Now they both have a life of their own, so it’s really beautiful.”

As influential as the city has been and as huge as Empire State of Mind has gotten, Keys is quick to point out that Element is not a “New York” album. “Of course you’ll hear New York in it because, you know, I am New York. So it’s definitely in there, and that’s where I live and what I know and where I grew up, so that element is just natural,” she explains.

If there is a clear theme in Element, it’s love, lost and found. One need only look at the track list for confirmation: “Put It in a Love Song,” “Love Is My Disease” and the Prince-influenced single, “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart.” “Love does play a prominent role in the album because I believe love is the most important thing in the world,” she says. “It’s the one thing we can all understand.”

From just about anyone else, statements like, “You can succeed with practice,” and “I believe love is the most important thing in the world” might come off as precious or artificial, but spend just 10 minutes talking to Keys, and it’s clear that her positivity and sincerity are 100 percent authentic. When you consider her work outside of music with her Keep a Child Alive foundation, which provides services to those affected by HIV/ AIDS in Africa and India, and her latest venture, AK Worldwide, which is a multimedia home base for all of her creative projects, you understand why her convictions are so solid. “It’s all about igniting the world in some way,” she says.

Somewhere in between songwriting, recording and trying to change the world, however, Keys has an album that needs to be supported by a tour—she’ll be performing at a little venue in her hometown called Madison Square Garden on March 17. “It’s just one of the biggest, most incredible places to play. I do have to say there is going to be a special surprise that day, which I’m already working on.” And more promotional duties await. But one gets the sense that, for Keys, none of this is work. It’s an extension of her, just like The Element of Freedom.

“I love the many styles this album has, from strong, heavy beats to delicate vocals, [from] soaring arrangements to simple and sparse pianos,” she says. “That is the diversity that I’ve witnessed, especially in a place like New York, and I believe that’s followed me to my music.”