In 1999 , Aaliyah landed her first film role in '' Romeo Must Die '' , released March 22 , 2000 . Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li , playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families . It grossed US$ 18.6 million in its first weekend , ranking number two at the box office . Aaliyah purposely stayed away from reviews of the film to " make it easier on " herself , but she heard " that people were able to get into me , which is what I wanted . " In contrast , some critics felt there was no chemistry between her and Jet Li , as well as viewing the film was too simplistic . This was echoed by Elvis Mitchell of '' The New York Times '' , who wrote that while Aaliyah was " a natural " and the film was conceived as a spotlight for both her and Li , " they have so little chemistry together you 'd think they 're putting out a fire instead of shooting off sparks . Her role was well received by Glen Oliver by IGN who liked that she did not portray her character " as a victimized female " but instead " as a strong female who '' does not '' come across as an over-the-top Women 's Right Advocate . " In addition to acting , Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film 's soundtrack , where she contributed four songs . " Try Again " was released as a single from the soundtrack ; the song topped the '' Billboard '' Hot 100 , making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on airplay ; this led the song to be released in a 12 " vinyl and 7 " single . The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards . It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist . The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States
2000 MTV Video Music Awards
2000 MTV Video Music Awards
Aaliyah