"If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the September 11 attacks, and other events in the world and in Keys' life, the song is about "how material things don't feed the soul". It was released as the second single from The Diary of Alicia Keys on February 17, 2004, by J Records. The single cover depicts Keys similarly to the subject of Man Ray's 1924 photograph Le Violon d'Ingres.[1]
"If I Ain't Got You" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became Keys' second consecutive R&B chart-topper, remaining atop of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for six weeks. The song received two nominations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005), for Song of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, winning the latter. It was ranked at number 440 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".[2] Since its release, Keys has said that it is one of her favorite songs.[3]
In 2023 the song was reinterpreted in a classical version by Keys and Kris Bowers for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Soundtrack, which the singer performed with a 70-piece orchestra of women of color.[4] Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer.
Her debut studio album Precious was released in 1992. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 14, 1994, in the United States, spawning such R&B hits as "Love's Taken Over" and "It's Alright". Released in 1994, her second album, A Love Supreme, did not achieve the same success as her debut album.
In 1999, her third album, This Moment Is Mine, was released. The album included "Chanté's Got a Man", her first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, which became her signature song and her best charting song to date. She then released three more solo studio albums, Exposed (2000) Love the Woman (2008), Moore Is More (2013) and two collaborative albums Things That Lovers Do (2003), Uncovered/Covered (2006), both with Kenny Lattimore.
Aside from her success in music, Moore became a television personality in 2013, being involved in TV One's reality series R&B Divas: Los Angeles for three seasons before it was cancelled.