Not Even The King

Album: Girl On Fire (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Keys singing of a love that can't be bought even by royalty. She debuted the studio version on September 7, 2012 at the Stand Up to Cancer telethon.
  • Keys said during an album preview event that she did three takes of this stripped down cut, and the bare version we hear on the album has absolutely no overdubs or extra production.
  • This is one of three songs on Girl On Fire that Keys wrote with Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé. "She's like my little sister," revealed the New York songstress to The Sun. "I think that's why we actually wrote so many amazing songs together. It's awesome to see a young artist grow and I feel proud I was able to be a part of her story because she's special.
    "I love that we both play, sing and write," she continued. "When you go into the studio with someone it either works or it doesn't. This time it really worked and there was a lot of conversation and planning together. I had some ideas I would play and she had some ideas she would play. It was awesome and so fluid."
  • The piano ballad reappears on Alicia Keys' 2022 Christmas album, Santa Baby. The song's sentiment that true love surpasses anyone's riches captures the gratitude and humility of the holiday season.

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