Alicia Keys: I’m tired of fakeness

Alicia Keys thinks the public are tired of "fake perfection".

The 35-year-old singer says people have grown weary of being spoon-fed a false picture of reality and are now searching for authenticity in all aspects of their lives.

She said: "So much of what we see and consume is so carefully constructed and polished, and I think people are over it. We want the truth, from TV, from government, from wherever."

The New York City-born star admits she used to fret about her appearance and what people would think of her, but says she has learned to become more self-accepting as she has matured.

She told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn’t put on make-up: what if someone wanted a picture? All of it, one way or another, based on what other people thought of me.

"And I hope to God it’s a revolution,’cause I don’t want to cover up any more. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing."

Alicia’s new single, ‘In Common’, shares a similar theme.

The award-winning singer-songwriter explained that it is about "breaking out of the boxes we get put in, because it’s all garbage, you know? We share so much in common and at the same time we’re all so complex. We should be free to just be who we are."

Alicia’s remarks come shortly after she confessed she considers everyday life struggles to be "beautiful".

She said: "We all have our issues, our challenges. We are all kind of messed up and that’s all right. In fact, that’s what helps us understand each other. To me, that’s is what is so beautiful."