Aaliyah Dana Haughton, who gained recognition for her successful albums, shared a close friendship with Enrique Iglesias. Jennifer Love Hewitt recently recalled the time when she was filming for the music video of Hero with Enrique, revealing that he was badly affected by Aaliyah's death.
Notably, Dana Haughton died in a plane crash back on August 25, 2001, along with eight other passengers. As per several reports, the plane was flying to Miami and the victims also included pilot L. Marael, who lost his life despite being transported to the hospital.
In her latest interview with Entertainment Tonight on May 30, 2024, Jennifer said that people were not aware of Enrique's friendship with Dana Haughton and added:
"And the night that we filmed that video, was the night that she passed. And so Enrique had to film that, like all of his crying stuff in the video was filmed and he was really crying because she had passed."
Jennifer continued by saying that all of them organized a prayer for Dana Haughton towards the end and described it as an intense moment.
Meanwhile, Hero was released back in August 2001 by Interscope Records and it was commercially successful, grabbing the third spot on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Aaliyah released a hit single and an album a month before the plane crash: Death and other details explained
As mentioned, Aaliyah died in a plane crash while traveling to Miami. It took off from the Bahamas and the singer was flying to the place to film a music video. The plane crashed into a swamp and Superintendent Basil Rahming, who works for the Grand Bahama police department, confirmed that six other people died alongside her.
As per reports, the passengers included Scott Gailin, Keith Wallace, Douglas Kratz, Erice Foreman, Gina Smith, and Christopher Maldonado. Among the dead passengers, Kratz was a representative for record label, Virgin Records.
While the authorities launched an investigation into the crash, they discovered after searching the wreckage that the incident happened due to engine failure.
Aaliyah's ex-boyfriend Damon Dash also appeared for a conversation with Entertainment Tonight on the occasion of her death anniversary in 2021 and revealed that she was never used to flying. Dash even recalled his first meeting with Dana Haughton at a basketball game and added:
"I was young, kind of, like an artist, just saw her as one. But then she was in [Klaberg's] office and I was like, 'Who is that?' 'Cause when you would see her, she would look different every time, you know? She had different angles, it was crazy. So from there, we started to kick it."
Dana Haughton released a single titled Try Again a month before her death. The song managed to receive decent feedback from critics and audience.
The song was even added to her self-titled album, which marked her final project. It featured 14 songs in the soundtrack and reached the first spot on the US Billboard 200. Apart from singing, Aaliyah was even featured as an actress in films such as Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned.