"If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys

"If I Ain't Got You" is a song by Alicia Keys from her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). The song is about "how material things don't nourish the spirit," and was inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the terrorist September 11 attacks, and other events in the globe and Keys' life. The single cover features Keys in a manner comparable to Man Ray's 1924 painting Le Violon d'Ingres.

"If I Ain't Got You," released as the album's second single on February 23, 2004, peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became Keys' second consecutive R&B chart-topper, standing atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for six weeks. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, the song garnered two nominations: Song of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, which it won. It is one of Keys' favorite songs, according to her.

Some people want everything, but Alicia Keys wants nothing if she doesn't even have her special someone.

Songwriter: Alicia Keys

Link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju8Hr50Ckwk