Alicia Keys's new album, "As I Am," hits stores today. Keys sounds a little different--deeper, more melodic. Or as she puts it: "Vocally, a lot of people say I sound like I drank a lot of whisky." Here are 7 things you don't know about Keys.

1. Her mom helped her pick her name. (She was born Alicia Augello-Cook). "I got so desperate I went through the dictionary for something that catches my eye," she says. "I get to the W's and I pick Wild. 'Alicia Wild, how does that sound, Ma?' She said, 'It sounds like you're a stripper.' But I liked Keys. It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors."

2. Although Bob Dylan references Keys in one of his songs, she's never said a word to him. But she once passed him at an event. "It was a magical moment. He was in his zone and I was feeling that." 

3. Now that she's already a songwriter and a poet, she wants to take a crack at a novel, too. "I want to write a book of fiction that might be a series," Keys says. "It would probably be for young adults." Like the Hardy Boys? "A little bit in that vein. But a little bit more as I experience life." What does she mean? "I don't know! I have to write it first."

4. Here's how Keys protects her voice: "I wear a lot of scarves, a lot of turtlenecks, drink a lot of tea. With time and experience and life, you voice changes because the emotions behind it change."

5. After touring the world, she thinks Spain the best country to visit. "It's so romantic with great red wine. And Flamenco dancing."

6. She loves swimming so much, she compares herself to a mermaid. "I was born in the water. I love it. I get lost and I never want to go back ... preferably in very warm climates in the Caribbean."

7. Her new album has the same name as Kristin Chenoweth's "As I Am." "Who's that?!" Keys asks of the "Wicked" Broadway star. She then concedes, "We can both be as we are, because we're both different."