This was Aaliyah’s final public interview.
On August 21, 2001, Aaliyah appeared on this show to give away the grand prize of her “Get Paid in the Escalade Contest.” Every day for the past month, an audience member received a one thousand dollar cash prize, and was entered to win the grand prize of twenty thousand dollars in cash, and a black 2002 Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Aaliyah also announced that her next single would be “Rock the Boat” and that she would begin filming the video the next day. A video for “More than a Woman,” which was originally intended to be her the second single from her self-titled album, had already been filmed, but she confirmed that it would be released after “Rock the Boat.”
We learn some personal information about Aaliyah. She says that she has never owned a vehicle because living in New York means there is no point, since New York is not a car-friendly city, but she would like to have a truck if she did have her own automobile. Her video for “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” was shown as the episode’s “old school joint,” an older music video, and Aaliyah explained that this was the only video she did in Detroit, which was where she grew up (Aaliyah was born in New York City). Several of her friends appeared in the video. Other of her favorite videos that she did included “One in a Million” and “Are You That Somebody?” because the latter consisted entirely of one of her favorite things: dancing.
Aaliyah also got the chance to interview some of the finalists. She asked one young woman what she would do if she won the car. She said she would drive to beach. When Aaliyah asked what she would do with the money, she said that she would help her family and then go on a shopping spree.
Eventually, the winner was chosen: a young man named Julian Hawkins.
This was really nice. Aaliyah showed how relatable she was, and how much she loved to give back. Of course, in hindsight, it seems bittersweet, but we saw how in her final days, she was still doing what she loved and reaching out to others.
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