Now that Alicia Keys has had two additional weeks to work on her new J Records album, "The Element of Freedom," the New York-raised musician says she took the time to work on possibly "the most exciting collaborations of my career yet." Originally slated for a Dec. 1 release (World AIDS Day), Keys' "Element" was recently moved to Dec. 15.

"There are not a lot of collaborations because I like it like that -- I prefer it to be just the journey of music and you can get inside of what I'm talking about and saying. But, there are two collaborations that are coming because now I have a bit more time," Keys told Billboard.com without revealing names. "Sadly, I 'm unable to say what it would be right now, but it will be two of the most exciting collaborations of my career yet. It's going to be fly."

When asked about the initial decision to push the release date, Keys says she simply didn't want to rush the process. "To complete an album it takes more than just creating the songs or writing the songs -- there's also arranging the songs and mixing the songs and mastering the songs and at the same time you're starting to promote the songs so people get familiar with the music. And it just started to feel like I was rushing the end part of finalizing it, so that's why I pushed it for two weeks," she says. "It just gives me this space to be able to finalize this beautiful project, 'The Element of Freedom,' that I love so much and really make sure it's the best it can be and then give it to the world."

To read the Alicia Keys 'Element' Billboard Cover Story and for additional video, click here.