Tank remembers Aaliyah, recalls being captivated by her beauty

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In an exclusive interview on theGrio LIVE, R&B veteran Tank talked all things R&B, including new music and his fond memories of the late, great, Aaliyah.

Before the singer became a R&B sex symbol he is today, he got his start singing backing vocals for Aaliyah, who was introduced to him through Ginuwine. As we come up on the 16th anniversary of her tragic plane crash death on Aug. 25, Tank recalled the first time he met Aaliyah, and being more than a little starstruck.

He met Aaliyah after she dropped in during a Ginuwine rehearsal and he made the introduction. Impressed by his work, Aaliyah had Tank sing back up for her as well.

–MAC Cosmetics announces Aaliyah Collection during anniversary of death–

“She walks in the room and I’m like, ‘Man…’,” Tank tells theGrio‘s Gerren Keith Gaynor. “I’m fighting the tears…I’m like: ‘That’s Aaliyah right there.”

Tank went on to remember going out to lunch with the star, and appreciating how down to earth and fun she was, saying that she was “not just beautiful, but really cool.”

During that very first lunch, the singers says that he ended losing his train of thought during a round of a game called, ‘Questions,’ because he was so captivated by Aaliyah’s beauty.

“I remember she asked me a question and I was so caught up in looking at her that I was like (starts talking gibberish),” he recalled jokingly. “Everyone in the room is laughing and I’m like what do you want me to do?! Aaliyah is asking me a question!”

On why Aaliyah still remains relevant in R&B today, Tank explains:

She was in essence the prototype of what, you know, a lot of these, a lot of female artists want to be. They want to be a makeup model. They want to be a hair model. They want to be a movie star. They want to be an artist. They want to be a dancer you know what I’m saying? They want to be a fashionista. Like they want to be all these things at a high level and that was Aaliyah. That’s kind of where that started. And so there are a lot of, there is so much of Aaliyah living on to this day, to where everybody is like ‘it’s not broke.’ That formula is not broke. The idea of wanting to be all of these things is what every woman should aspire to be, and that’s the Aaliyah blueprint. And it helps that her personality was so angelic. It helps that she was just, she didn’t wear it on her shoulder how much she had and that she was willing to offer it to others. It helps.

Check out the full clip above.