Alicia Keys Stands Up for the ‘Underdog’ in New Video

Alicia Keys released a new single on Thursday called “Underdog,” co-penned with Ed Sheeran and co-produced with Johnny McDaid (Ed Sheeran, Pink).

The accompanying visual shows Keys and her posse encouraging underdogs to “rise up.” It focuses on a man selling CDs on the side of the road and a girl in a hijab going to prom with her friends.

“Some people may think of the word underdog as a negative word, but I see it as a powerful word representing people who may be underestimated and yet still rise to the challenge and exceed expectations,” Keys said in a statement. “I love this song so much because it’s about real life and real people and our experiences. We’ve all been in a place in our lives where we’ve had to defy the odds. It’s never easy. One of my favorite lyrics in the song is, ‘They say I would never make it but I was built to break the mold.’ I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that hasn’t felt that way.”

“Underdog” will be available on Keys’ upcoming seventh studio album ALICIA, set for an early 2020 release. Keys previously shared the songs “Time Machine” and the Miguel duet “Show Me Love.”

Keys is also set to host the Grammy Awards for the second year in a row on January 26th. Her book, More Myself, will be released March 31st.

Featured via: Rollingstone