Alicia Keys "Tears Always Win" (Robert Hales, dir.)

Alicia Keys is doubtlessly a music icon, but here she echoes some other classic performers, ranging from the bejweled showgirl poses of Josephine Baker to bravaura stage shows of Gladys Knight and her Pips. Director Robert Hales delivers gorgeous images of Alicia in a slightly down-at-the-heels version of backstage Las Vegas, and intimate yet grand performances highlight the emotional distance between the icon's glittering 'front' and the heartache inherent in Alicia's lyrics.

Doug Stern also writes music video treatments and works on his back-up singer slide steps.