Ananova:

Alicia Keys says the smell of warm urine and beer on the subway are among the things she misses most about New York.

The 22-year-old told German magazine Spiegel she hadn't taken the New York metro in over a year: "I actually miss the warm smell of urine and beer on the subway."

The daughter of a white actress and black flight attendant, Keys grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a rundown district of Manhattan.

"The place was full of derelicts, crazy people and pimps," she said.

But in spite of her poor childhood, Keys says she never dreamed of a glamorous life.

She added: "I was never one of the stylish in-crowd, never went to cool parties and was never interested in hip fashion. I always preferred playing the piano."

The star admits however that she went on a shopping spree after the success of her first album Songs in A Minor, but it left her unsatisfied.

"I bought things like crazy. The next day I was so shocked when I saw the enormous pile that I went back and returned almost every item. My favourite toy is still my piano."