Aaliyah stepped into her own onOne in a Million— and created the blueprint for modern R&B

But after unfairly bearing the brunt of criticism for a relationship between herand collaboratorR.

“I’m an interpreter of other people’s words,” Aaliyah toldEWin a 2000 interview.

(The approach reminded some critics of another R&B chanteuse, Janet Jackson.)

Aaliyah’s attempt at individuality blossomed on her sophomore effort, ‘One In A Million’.Credit: Marc Baptiste

When “Are You That Somebody” from theDr.

1 on the R&B charts in 1998, the seeds planted byOne in a Millionhad officially blossomed.

At that point, she was a pop star on the verge of something greater.

But withoutOne in a Million, Aaliyah wouldn’t have ascended as quickly as she did.