Alicia Keys is new creative director of Blackberry

Singer songwriter Alicia Keys was named the new clobal creative director of Blackberry (formerly RIM).

This was announced by Thorsten Heins, the CEO of the Canadian tech firm, during the Blackberry z10 launch event last night.

“I’m fascinated by technology. I've always wanted to work directly with a technology company,” said Keys, according to a report on mashable.com.

“I wanted to do something where I could grow professionally and personally.”

She said on stage that she was previously a BlackBerry user but started experimenting with other smartphone platforms in the past few years.

But she added that its been "working out" with Blackberry. “Now we're exclusively dating again, and I’m very happy,” she said.

Keys explained that she will be working directly with developers and carriers on the platform, as well as with other artists.

Keys has started send tweets on her Blackberry on Twitter, where it appears she was posting via iPhone just a few days ago.

Her latest posting said:"First official tweet from my new #BlackBerry10 baby!!!;-) #keepmoving # forwardthinking pic.twitter.com/2P0AlMMH"

Keys is not the first entertainer to have taken up a creative-director role. Intel had hired Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am as its “director of creative innovation” and Polaroid announced in 2010 that it had appointed Lady Gaga as its creative director.

Key’s husband, record producer Swizz Beatz, was named creative director of Lotus Cars in 2011.