Alicia Keys Joins BlackBerry As Global Creative Director

You're nobody in the consumer tech world if you don't have a celebrity "Creative Director" and, with will.i.am and Lady Gaga already occupied, BlackBerry has snatched warbler Alicia Keys. The freshly-announced "Global Creative Director" for the Canadian company, Keys joined CEO Thorsten Heins on-stage at the launch of BlackBerry 10 and promised to "work closely" with developers, retailers, and others to promote the platform.

"I want to further enhance this concept of having your work life and your personal life in one device" Keys said, referring to BlackBerry 10's combination of both business and consumer functionality. Keys will also be trying to push BlackBerry in the music industry, so expect the OS to feature in RnB and rap music soon.

Of course, being a creative director also means you get to plug your own projects, and Keys is no different. Her side-project of choice is Keep Moving, though the scheme will at least get some BlackBerry 10 devices to use. Neil Gaiman, Roger Rodriguez, and others will be using the OS to produce various creative projects.

For Keys, it'll be producing music videos in multiple cities as part of her own tour, using the Z10 to make special films to "capture sights, sounds, and fans of every city that I visit." Whether having her onboard will raise the profile among consumers is questionable, however.