Alicia Keys has revealed she finds it hard to be famous because she likes being secretive.

She told Entertainment Weekly recently: “Ever since I was little, I always felt like if people knew about me, they’d be able to use it against me.”

“I’ve just always been like, ‘If you don’t know about me, there’s nothing you can say to destroy or hurt me.’ So, moving into a career where people are always prying, my instinct has always been to close up.”

She particularly found it difficult when she was first starting out and hearing other people’s opinions about her made her very introspective: “I discovered a lot about myself I didn’t like.”

“I would look in the mirror, and I didn’t know who that person was. I didn’t like my eyes; I didn’t like what they said. I couldn’t sleep. I was uncomfortable all the time, and irritated and frustrated.”