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For Alicia Keys, 2004 has been one of the most phenomenal years of her young life. She picked up music awards, wrote a well-received book of poetry and toured with her hot-selling second CD The Diary of Alicia Keys.

There was no sophomore jinx for her. Sure, her 2001 debut album Songs In A Minor was one of the biggest selling of the year with more than 10 million copies sold and brought her numerous Grammy Awards. But, her unique creativity and love of the written word helped propel The Diary of Alicia Keys to the top of the music charts. It has sold more than 3 million copies.

Keys, 23, reflected on the events that led to the release of the album in late 2003 and the pressure that all the acclaim brought her: "It hasn't been that hard dealing with all that's happened because I'm really a pretty simple lady and most important, I keep the people who've been around me for years around me now. That keeps me very focused. I'm blessed with a family and a good circle of positive people who help me keep perspective. If I believed the hype, I would never have been able to make an album!"

But, she was comfortable with her natural skills and instincts. And she has a warm and soothing ability to connect with fans of all ages.

A testament to the native New Yorker's relationship with fans was the super successful tour she embarked on with other music legends Beyonce and Missy Elliott. The trio traveled the country on the Ladies First Tout: The sold-out crisscrossing of the country was Keys' first national effort since 2001.

The tour, one of the first featuring so many prominent women, was not Keys' only of the year. She also traveled internationally, wowing crowds and selling out venues every where she went. In Copenhagen, Denmark, Keys was the first pop singer ever to perform at that city's historic, 18th century Royal Theater. Tickets to that event sold out in 16 minutes.

She also performed at the foot of the Great Wall of China. She sang eight songs on the stage next to one of the wall's massive gatehouses.

"Thanks for having me at the Great Wall," she told the cheering crowd.

The singer/songwriter/pianist chronicled her world travels by writing her impressions for the New York Daily News. She wrote her travel reports every few weeks and filed several articles for the paper.

"She brings a good perspective," said Daily News Travel Editor Michelle Leifer. "She's not jaded and is very youthful. She's seeing a lot of things for the first time."

Her writing is not limited to songs and travel stories. Earlier this year, Keys wrote Tears For Water, a compilation of poems and lyrics inspired by her life experiences.

She told CBS' Julie Chen: "One of my poems, which is titled Love and Chains, has one line that says, 'I don't mind drinking my tears for water.' And when I read that, it resonated in me because I realized at that moment that all the songs that I write, all the poetry that I write, every way that I express myself comes from some form of my tears, my pain, my happiness, my joy, my frustration and my confusion. And I drink them for water to be nourished and to survive in a way,"

She does far more than survive. She has thrived by touching fans with her piano mastery, words and melodious voice.

Reflecting on the album, she noted: "My music doesn't have a beginning or end. It's continuous. I didn't stop writing after the first album came out and everything I wrote since came from the experiences of my life, of being on the road, traveling, dealing with different situations. Once I got to the studio, I began to let those things out of me. By the time I did start thinking about how I wanted the new album to be, I had so many songs. You see, I don't put myself in any kind of box; I speak freely with my music. I knew that the second album would naturally be different from the first one because of all the growing I did during the past three years."

The CD spawned an almost immediate hit, You Don't Know My Name, a song she co-produced with Kanye West, and the popular singles If I Ain't Got You and Diary.

You Don't Know My Name is a throwback to the music of the '60s and '70s and samples some material from the '70s hit group, The Main Ingredient. "The song is based on real-life experiences," she said. Other tracks include Nobody Not Really, Feeling U, Feeling Me and Karma.

Her efforts yielded not only sold-out venues and multimillion record sales, but acclaim and awards. Keys received the NAACP Image Award in 2004 as Best Female Artist. She also won the best female artist at the MTV European Video awards in Rome.

Keys also uses her fame to help others. She recently hosted The Pusher's Ball, a benefit gala in New York held on World AIDS Day. It raised funds for Keep A " Child Alive, a charity that provides treatment to children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

In the near-future she is expected to embrace movie and television roles. Emotional performances in videos has helped prepare her for that transition. But, for now, Keys is content exploring and enjoying her lifelong love of music.