Today marks the 10th anniversary of Aaliyah's death

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Aailyah's passing. Billboard.com asked twelve R&B female singers about how Aaliyah influenced their music careers. Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Monica, JoJo, Ester Dean and more have shared their thoughts about the wonderful singer.

Aaliyah is a legend in her own right and her legacy will continue to live on. Tonight BET will air a special tribute titled "Aaliyah: One In A Million" tonight at 8pm ET. Make sure you watch that tonight, also check out what the ladies below had to say.

Ciara

"She was true to who she was and she didn't seem to care about it. The core of her art to me is heavily, heavily urban based. When an artist's music is so urban based, sometimes people like to take risks with artists like that. When you think about it, it really is pop, it really is cultural and that's the one thing that I thought was cool about her music. It never felt like she was trying to reach across or do anything more than just keep that cool, soulful, heavy urban core about it. It wasn't like she was trying to be anything more than who she was. I really respect that and I appreciate that."

Monica

"The first time I met her, she was extremely quiet. You [weren't] going to get a lot of words out of Aaliyah in a first meeting. It takes a lot of time for her to warm up to people overall because she had this shyness. I remember her being shocked at things I would say out loud, whether it was in interviews or when we were hanging out. She would always be gasping for air at some of the things that I would say out loud. Whenever I was around, if I saw something, whatever it was, she would just be in shock like, ‘I can’t believe you just said that out loud.’I think it’s good for people to know the side of her outside of the music and know that her music was a great reflection of her. Sometimes people are totally different than the image they represent, but what I love about her is that everything that you saw was really her. When the lights and the cameras were off, that same pleasant, mild mannered, sweet personality, that’s just how she was. She loved to laugh. Jokes with her and Missy [Elliott] were beyond what people imagine. Missy is definitely the ultimate jokester. I’ve never seen her in the type of turmoil and pain that she was in after Aaliyah passed because there’s no replacing the type of love and friendship that her and Missy had. It was the type of closeness where even when I see Missy today I always feel like something is missing from her and that is definitely Aaliyah". 

Ester Dean

"She wasn't trying hard to be anything more than what she was and she accepted how she delivered herself, her genuine self to people. I pray I have a mini percent of what she had and the fans that she had and has. They ain't gone. They still there.

I think Aaliyah made every girl write a 'Four Page Letter.' It was okay to write a bunch of words to a guy. Now, you'd be like, 'You'd better not write him no four page letter or he'll think you're a stalker.' But she was like 'I'm writing you a four page letter, bastard.'"

JoJo

"My manager's best friend, Gina Smith, was on the plane with Aaliyah and passed away as well. The fact that it has been 10 years is wild to me. I feel Aaliyah's presence and influence quite heavily. She accomplished so much at a young age and paved the way for artists like myself. If it were not for what she had trail blazed, I would probably not have been afforded certain opportunities. She really proved that 'Age Aint Nothing But A Number,' and that as young people, we are allowed to have personalities and opinions and voices and make an impact.

Her vocal delivery was unique. The combination of her angelic vocals over harder-hitting production was so special. She set trends through fashion, music, and the atmosphere that she created. Even before Beyoncé, she had music, fashion, and acting on lock. She and her team (including Jomo Hankerson, who I work closely with) helped show us that there are no boundaries in entertainment."

Keyshia Cole

“When I found out that she [had] past that night, I just cried [while] on the tour bus. That’s amazing for someone to have that affect on other people’s lives.I think why it affected me so much without me knowing her is because she seemed to have a beautiful soul. [There was] something about her spirit. She connected before reality TV, before any of that happened in our era. It was something about her that made you connect to her. She seemed like she had a beautiful soul.”

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