Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop. Her accolades include three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs, along with five Grammy Award nominations.

Aaliyah sold 8.1 million albums in the United States and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. Throughout the years, she has earned several honorific nicknames, including "Princess of R&B", "Pop Princess", and "Queen of Urban Pop", as she "proved she was a muse in her own right". Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone dubbed her the "undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on". She also has been referred to as a pop and R&B icon for her impact on those genres.

At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Aaliyah was honored by Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Ginuwine, and her brother Rashad, all of whom paid tribute to her. Also during 2001, the United States Social Security Administration ranked the name while her album Aaliyah was ranked at number 181 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade. In March 2025, Billboard ranked her at number 47 on its Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century list. In June 2025, the publication ranked her at number 40 on its the "75 Best R&B Artists of All Time" list.