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CNN Live At Daybreak

Aaliyah Remembered

Aired August 27, 2001 - 08:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've been talking all morning long about this up-and-coming superstar Aaliyah. She was only 22 years old and yet her plane, as she was taking off from the Bahamas, crashed. There is an investigation going on. Nine people in total died, but Aaliyah clearly the highest profile person on that plane. And people remember her as someone who had such an amazingly promising future in the R&B scene and film and television.

Joining us this morning, Jodi Ross, from CNN's "Showbiz" unit.

And Jodi, as I understand it, you interviewed her and you know her pretty well. How big a loss is this for the music scene?

JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a big loss because she really -- she had sort of already crossed over into becoming -- I think on the verge of becoming a movie star, but her record career had been blowing up like wild since she was 15 when she put out her first album.

When I met her, which was three or four months ago at the Essence Awards, she was incredibly humble for someone who had so much success. She was very soft-spoken, very sweet, which is actually reflected in her music. She had a nice way about her. She was there because she was just proud to be part of that industry and she was just there to show support.

Her music career really from the beginning has been on fire, and she made that crossover into becoming a movie star, which a lot of musicians aim to do and never are able to. She was in -- her debut film was "Romeo Must Die" which was a big hit where she starred opposite Jet Li. And of course she was supposed to be part of "Matrix" 2 and 3, the sequels to the original Matrix. And her next film is an adaptation of an Anne Rice novel "Queen of the Damned" in which she had a staring role playing a vampire.

So she was right there. I think it's a big loss for not only the music industry, but showbiz in general.

LIN: Indeed. Thanks so much, Jodi. Jodi Ross in New York with "Showbiz."

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