Alicia Keys is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her breakthrough debut hit “Fallin.”
Speaking with PEOPLE, Keys spoke about how so much has changed since her classic debut single.
“I’m not sure how I wrap my head around this whole existence called life,” Keys said. “It’s very crazy and wonderful and exciting and amazing.”
“And just thinking back to that girl in me at that time and how she had no idea, none,” she continued. That she was completely what you call ‘fake it till you make it’ — that’s what she was doing, and she did a damn good job.”
Keys also shared her gratitude for the remarkable journey she’s been on in her career.
“I’m very proud because I recognize her in me today. So that’s a beautiful thing.
“ said Keys. “And to be able to come all this way and have all these years to be creating and to have not even hit the tiny bit of where I’m going is a really, really exciting thing. So I’m grateful.”
Keys also shared that she owes her success to being true to her vision for her career, although she was just a teenager.
“The more I grew, the more I learned,” Keys explained. “And so I think about her, and I’m so appreciative of her because she was strong, she was clear. Even though she didn’t know everything, she knew what she didn’t want, and she knew what she had to hold onto — and that was authenticity and truth and honesty and music.”
An instant smash, “Fallin’ ” spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. At the 2002 Grammys, Keys walked away with five Grammys for her debut album Songs in a Minor. She won Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Best New Artist.
Keys went to pay tribute to some women in the industry who were guiding lights to her.
“I think about that a lot. I would definitely say Universal Music Publishing Group CEO and She Is the Music co-founder Jody Gerson,” Keys said. “And she has been my publisher since I was 14 years old. So she for sure took me under her wing, and she saw something in me that was special.”