NEW YORK (Oct. 7, 2025) – Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Alicia Keys Unplugged, MTV will air the concert event across US and International channels through October 12th. The historic Unplugged was Keys’s first ever live recording, and was recorded live on July 4, 2005, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music during her highly acclaimed MTV Unplugged performance. It was the first MTV Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and became the highest debut for an MTV Unplugged performance since Nirvana’s iconic session in 1994. The stunning album was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best R&B album.
Keys celebrated the upcoming anniversary of the album’s release by treating fans to an incredibly special Encore Series performance at Broadway’s Shubert Theater, home of her Tony Award-winning musical Hell’s Kitchen. Among other hits, she performed “Unbreakable,” off the chart-topping 2005 Unplugged album.
AK Worldwide and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment have also released Unplugged 20th Anniversary, a deluxe 2-LP black vinyl edition of Alicia Keys’ landmark MTV Unplugged performance. Out now, this special edition commemorates two decades since the intimate concert recorded live on July 4, 2005, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Order Unplugged 20th Anniversary HERE.
In a throwback homage, Keys took to Jungle City Studios in New York City to reimagine three fan favorites from the concert in intimate Unplugged20 Sessions performances. The performances can be viewed now on YouTube. Keys performed “Karma (Unplugged20 Sessions) (Live from Jungle City Studios),” “How Come You Don’t Call Me (Unplugged20 Sessions) (Live from Jungle City Studios),” and “Butterflyz (Unplugged20 Sessions) (Live from Jungle City Studios).” Watch the Unplugged20 Sessions HERE.
MTV will air Unplugged on MTV Live, MTVU and MTV Classic in the US through October 12. Additionally, Alicia Keys music video blocks will air across all channels and performance excerpts are being included in the “Fresh Out” playlist this week. On air graphics will point viewers to Paramount + to watch Alicia Keys Unplugged in its entirety.
Outside of the US, Unplugged will air across international territories on October 7th and music video blocks will air across global video channels. Excerpts will air across these channels in heavy rotation: MTV Africa, MTV Australia, MTV Belgium, MTV Brazil, MTV France, MTV France Hits, MTV Germany, MTV Hungary, MTV Italy, MTV Italy Music, MTV Israel, MTV Latin America, MTV Netherlands, MTV Poland, MTV Portugal, MTV Spain, MTV Switzerland, MTV UK & Ireland and MTV Global.
About Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys is a 17-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, founder of Keys Soulcare, New York Times best-selling author, film/television and Broadway producer, accomplished actress, entrepreneur, and a powerful force in the world of activism. She is one of the original founders of She Is The Music, an initiative to create change for women and build an equal future for music. Since the release of her monumental 2001 debut album, SONGS IN A MINOR, Keys has sold over 65 million records, over 5 billion streams and built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments. Alicia has become the #1 RIAA certified Female R&B artist of the millennium with over 37 Million certified track sales (US) and 20 Million Album Sales (US). Hit songs “Empire State of Mind” and “No One” were both RIAA Diamond-certified in 2024, having sold over 10 million units each. She released her eighth studio album, KEYS (Original and Unlocked) – a double album – in 2021 followed by a Deluxe version in 2022 and a sold out ALICIA + KEYS World Tour that celebrated the KEYS and ALICIA albums. Alicia released her book, “More Myself: A Journey” via Flatiron Books which debuted and spent multiple weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. In March 2022, she released her first graphic novel titled, “Girl On Fire” with HarperCollins. Keys released her first-ever holiday album SANTA BABY in November 2022 which includes 4 original songs including the single “December Back 2 June.” In 2023 Keys completed a spectacular, 360 degree show, the KEYS TO THE SUMMER TOUR, which hit 22 cities across North America. In February 2024 Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, the first-ever exhibition of the Dean Collection featuring nearly one hundred significant works by Black diasporic artists, opened at The Brooklyn Museum of Art. Giants opens at Virginia Museum of Fine Art in November 2025 following its exhibitions at Minneapolis Institute of Art and Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. HELL’S KITCHEN, the original stage musical Keys diligently worked for 13 years to create, opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theater on April 20, 2024 to critical acclaim and commercial success. HELL’S KITCHEN went on to receive 13 Tony Award nominations, with two Tony Award wins, and the 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Musical Theater Album. HELL’S KITCHEN will launch a North American tour in October of 2025 in line with the release of “Hell’s Kitchen: Behind The Dream” via Penguin Random House. Keys was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2025 GRAMMY® Awards.