BlackBerry Ltd. (BB) is parting ways with Alicia Keys after the R&B singer failed to rekindle consumers’ love affair with the company’s smartphones. 
 
 Keys, who was hired as global creative director in January 2013, will be leaving the company after their yearlong collaboration, according to a statement today. The Grammy-winning artist came on board as the smartphone maker was unveiling its BlackBerry 10 operating system, a product rollout that ultimately flopped with shoppers. 
 
 Since Keys joined the company, BlackBerry has continued to lose market share to Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc.’s Android. An attempt to acquire the company and take it private failed, and it has refocused on corporate customers under new Chief Executive Officer John Chen. 
 
 In addition to serving as a high-profile BlackBerry user, Keys helped start the BlackBerry Scholars Program and advocated for getting more women into science and engineering. 
 
 “We thank Alicia for her many contributions,” the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in the statement. “We have enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an incredibly talented and passionate individual.” 
 
 To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net 
 
 Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg Singer Alicia Keys, then global creative director for Blackberry, right, smiles while being introduced by Thorsten Heins, former chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd., during the launch of the BlackBerry 10 in New York, on Jan. 30, 2013. Close Singer Alicia Keys, then global creative director for Blackberry, right, smiles while... Read More Close Open Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg Singer Alicia Keys, then global creative director for Blackberry, right, smiles while being introduced by Thorsten Heins, former chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd., during the launch of the BlackBerry 10 in New York, on Jan. 30, 2013. 
 
 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net 

 That was quick. BlackBerry is parting ways with Alicia Keys, less than a year after the recording artist was hired to come on as the company's "global creative director." The partnership was unveiled at an event last January when the company launched its BlackBerry 10 OS. Keys was tapped to "inspire the future" of the company, which took years to ready a new platform to more readily compete with the burgeoning crop of smartphones and tablets from competitors like Google and Apple. In a statement to CTV News today, the company thanked Keys for her service, without going into detail about what exactly she had done during her tenure. 
 
 Less than a year later 
 
 Keys' hire was just the latest in a string of celebrity endorsements for tech companies, though it came with some controversy. Prior to signing on with BlackBerry, Keys was an avid iPhone user, and had even developed an iOS app that let users add her image to their own photos. Just a month after signing on with BlackBerry, she sent out a tweet from her iPhone, something she later attributed to being hacked. She also walked away from a very active and well-followed Instagram account, which at the time was only available on iOS and Android. 
 
 Keys already appears to be back to using other platforms; the artist tweeted from her iPad on New Year's Eve: 
 
 Wishing u a blissful new year! Let go of our shadows; Old things,old thoughts, old ways. Lets step nto our light! Here's 2 the best 2 come! — Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) January 1, 2014 
 
 The end of the partnership comes as BlackBerry continues its attempt at a comeback. The beleaguered company tallied up billions in losses last year, while shedding executives like CEO Thorsten Heins, who left in November, and was quickly followed by other top executives. Attempts to take over the company have also been scrapped, including one from Mike Lazaridis, who co-founded the company and was its CEO, though more recently has been selling off millions of his shares in the company.
– Turns out even Alicia Keys can't get people excited about BlackBerry devices. Roughly 11 months after the company created a position specifically for the singer (Global Creative Director), it yesterday announced the two are going their separate ways, Bloomberg reports. Keys was hired as the BlackBerry 10 operating system was being rolled out; it ended up being a bust, and BlackBerry continues to lose market share. The Verge points out that Keys' partnership with BlackBerry was tinged with controversy, seeing as she had previously been a very active iPhone user and seemingly posted a tweet using her iPhone in February; she later claimed it was the work of hackers.