Remembering Aaliyah on the 20th anniversary of her death

By Danielle Long

R&B star Aaliyah died 20 years ago today, leaving a long-lasting legacy on music and culture.

The singer, born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, first made waves in her music career at the tender age of 10, appearing on "Star Search." Two years later, she signed to her uncle Barry Hankerson’s Blackground Records.

Aaliyah’s first single was 1994’s "Back and Forth," which came from her debut album, "Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number." Over the next seven years, she released two more studio albums: 1996’s "One in a Million" and her 2001 self-titled effort, "Aaliyah."

Her albums, along with chart-topping hits like "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "Try Again," earned the singer the nickname "Princess of R&B."

Aaliyah also made a name for herself as an actress. She starred in "Romeo Must Die" with Jet Li and as a vampire in "Queen of the Damned."

On Aug. 25, 2001, after filming the music video for "Rock the Boat," Aaliyah boarded a plane in the Bahamas. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, killing the singer, as well as the pilot and seven others on board. She was 22.

Aaliyah is still regarded as one of the most successful R&B singers in history.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, FILE

Aaliyah attends the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in this Sept. 7, 2000, file photo in New York.

She accumulated five Grammy nominations and took home three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs during her brief career.

For the first time in over a decade, Aaliyah’s entire music catalogue has just been made available digitally for fans to stream.

Physical copies of the records are also being made for purchase.