The multi-GRAMMY winner shares with ET why she decided to host for a second year in a row.
She's back!
Though she insisted that she would only be hosting the GRAMMYs one time, Alicia Keys will, in fact, be returning as host of the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards come January.
"I said I wasn't coming back! What happened?" she quips during an exclusive interview with ET's Keltie Knight. "What happened is it was so good. It was so much fun. It was such a vibe. It was such an energy. The connection between us was real and I felt like I could do it even better this time."
Keys is eager to take what she learned from hosting the 2019 GRAMMYs and put it all to use at the upcoming ceremony. "I learned last year that I can damn near do anything," she declares with a laugh. "I learned that as long as I'm feeling great and that I'm just myself, it really, really works and it really resonates. I don't plan to be anything but myself and to bring everybody along so that we can have a good time together."
The 38-year-old singer adds that it's her hope that the audience at home and at the Staples Center will feel excited and a part of the big night.
"[I hope] it feels genuine and real and it's all about the music and it's about the best of the best in the room giving each other love," she shares. "That's what people resonated with most and that's how we're going to keep it going."
On a more technical note, Keys has learned that she needs to be "really close with the teleprompter person."
"That person is your best friend," she jokes. "Ace, homie -- and if they're not on our team, it's detrimental. So pray for me."
As for who she's hoping will be nominated for GRAMMYs, Keys has her favorites. "I'm excited about Lizzo. I'm excited about Billie Eilish," she lists. "I think one of the greatest things about the GRAMMYs is that it's going to be all music. I think this year more than ever, [it's] going to be more unique than it's ever been. I think that's a part of what we’re creating and wanting to continue."
When Keys announced that she was hosting the GRAMMYs the first time, she confessed to ET that her and Swizz Beatz's sons, 9-year-old Egypt and 4-year-old Genesis, were not familiar with the awards show.
That's all changed. "I'm sure they know what the GRAMMYs is now, now that we spoke about it, but I don't know if they're going to be any more thrilled," she says of her kids. "Whenever Mommy has to go somewhere, they [get] a little bit irritated. They're like, 'Why you gotta go again?'"
While she's thrilled to honor the best in music from this past year, the six-time GRAMMY winner also teased that she's working on some of her own stuff.
"We have songs that are coming," she confirms. "What's so exciting about this time in music is just putting out music and seeding the energy. I want people to feel all the different styles and vibes that you're going to get from this music and that you're going to get from me. You are going to keep hearing music from me, trust me. The project is on its way."
Next year is going to be a big one for Keys. In addition to hosting the GRAMMYs and making new music, she's also releasing a book, More Myself, with Oprah Winfrey.
"It's really about how I've figured out how to be more myself," she says of the book. "I think in this crazy world, for all of us, there's a lot to do and figure out and we're trying to be who we really are and not who people expect us to be or want us to be or tell us to be. ...How do you actually just find yourself? ...It's a step-by-step process that we're all living."
The nominees will be announced on Nov. 20, and you can check out Keys when she hosts the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 26, 2020 on CBS.
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