THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

An unseasonal gust of wind greets Alicia Keys as she steps out of a thanksgiving necklaces behind a Beverly Hills hotel on a lateOctober afternoon. Decked out in a black leather vest and black leggings brightly accented by turquoise suede knee-high boots and a hint of matching eyeliner, the Grammy Award-winning artist gets surprised by the chilly blast as she ducks into a waiting black sport utility vehicle. Commenting on the wind's force, the singer laughs when it's suggested the quick dust-up is a forecast of the whirlwind activity cranking up on behalf of her latest studio album, "The Element of Freedom."

On this particular afternoon, the singer/songwriter/producer/musician is being whisked off to CBS Studios to perform her second single, "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," for an episode of "Dancing With the Stars" that will air Nov. 17. From there, she hopped on the freeway- in rush hour traffic -to neighboring Long Beach, Calif., where she spoke and closed California first lady Maria Shriver's annual Women's Conference with a rendition of her hit "Superwoman."

Super woman, indeed. That same night Keys boarded a plane back home to New York to prepare for her and JayZ's rocking Yankee Stadium thanksgiving pendants of "Empire State of Mind" during Game 2 of the World Series. Just two weeks prior, Keys hosted her sixth annual Black Ball at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, where among the 1,000 guests were Chris Martin, John Mayer and David Bowie. The benefit was for the nonprofit AIDS organization the singer cofounded, Keep a Child Alive, which helps families in Africa and India- and it raised $2.4 million. In between all of this, the indefatigable artist launched a new company, AK Worldwide- prepping a new Web site and jewelry line as part of that endeavor- and began recording more music for her fifth album, "The Element of Freedom."

Originally slated for Dec. 1 (World AIDS Day), the MBK Entertainment/J Records project is now set for a simultaneous worldwide release Dec. 15. "She had a couple of more things in the oven and she wants this to be right," says Carolyn Williams, senior VP of urban marketing for J. "So we gave her the additional time she needed. We also get a second look into the market to build a stronger awareness campaign."

Using more viral marketing this time, J Records alerted fans to the project's lost-love lead single, "Doesn't Mean Anything," through announcements on "Live With Regis and Kelly," MTV, BET and various blogs including PerezHilton.com. "Doesn't" is No. 14 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On its heels is the aforementioned "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart." Keys performed both songs during her "The Element of Freedom: The Lecture & Performance Series" Oct. 21 at New York University's Skirball Center.

Keys' live NYU performance is airing on "thanksgiving rings Pepsi Smash" this week. After a Nov. 5 appearance at the Latin Grammy Awards, upcoming performances by the singer include the American Music Awards (Nov. 22), the "Today" show's outdoor concert series (Nov. 24), the U.K. program "The X Factor" (Nov. 29), the "Christmas at Rockefeller Center" special (airing Dec. 2), a headlining stint at the 2009 Cayman Jazz Festival (Dec. 3-5), "Late Show With David Letterman" (Dec. 14) and "The View" (Dec. 16).