I just don’t understand why everyone is mean mugging Alicia for not turning on at a party at Pacha, because the damn promoters didn’t get there money right. They were suppose to play her $15 000 for her appearance, but they were $4000 short on her money. But missing money kept the singer circling the block for nearly an hour while the promoters hustled to find $4,000 to get Keys out of her car and into the club.

Alicia was slated for a midnight arrival, but by the time 1:30 a.m. rolled around, her bodyguards, friends and even boyfriend were all inside waiting for her. Outside, Keys drove around the neighborhood.”These promoters were digging in their pockets, looking for cash, and were still short,” said another source. “The owner of the club even offered to pay the remainder of the owed money himself, just to get her in the club.”

That’s where fans who’d paid $25 a pop were waiting, says the spywitness: “One eight-months-pregnant lady, who is an Alicia Keys superfan, showed up and waited for hours just to see her.”Keys’ manager, Jeff Robinson, told us, “This is the first I’ve heard of that,” when we asked him about the lack of payment. “I never heard she was getting paid at all.”

Then why did Alicia not go inside even to meet her boyfriend? “Well, there was a lot of mismanagement by these club promoters, and that’s about all I know,” Robinson told us.Keys’ fans got the shortest end of the stick, as many went home dejected after missing their idol. Usually devoted to her fans, Keys may have had no idea that the people at the club had paid to see her.

Meanwhile, in a revealing interview in the new Entertainment Weekly, she says she has found it hard to trust people.”Ever since I was little, I always felt like if people knew about me, they’d be able to use it against me,” Keys explains. “I’ve just always been like, ‘If you don’t know about me, there’s nothing you can say to destroy or hurt me.’ So, moving into a career where people are always prying, my instinct has always been to close up.

“I discovered a lot about myself I didn’t like. I would look in the mirror, and I didn’t know who that person was. I didn’t like my eyes; I didn’t like what they said. I couldn’t sleep. I was uncomfortable all the time, and irritated and frustrated.”