Alicia Keys reunited with estranged dad after grandmother's death

Singer Alicia Keys decided to mend her relationship with her estranged father after her grandmother fell terminally ill in 2006.

The Fallin' hitmaker was raised by her single mom Teresa after her dad Craig Cook left the family when Keys was just two years old, and she spent years resenting him.

But the star, who is now a mom to two-year-old son Egypt, had a change of heart when her beloved grandma died, and felt compelled to reach out to Cook to start afresh.

She tells Britain's You magazine, "My father and I are fine now. I would say in the process of growing up you realize you've been holding on to anger. I was angry then and am sure I had the right to be angry, but if you hold on to all this anger the only person you're hurting is you.

"The process started when my (paternal) grandmother became ill. You realize what's important when you see a person you love dearly and you're not going to have them for long. It was important to her. And I saw (my father's) love for her. I realized he wasn't an evil person so I said, 'Can we start from this point on? Can we be friends? I can start to understand you and you can start to understand me.'"