The people who saw her last remember Aaliyah was always singing.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, Bahamas _ Singing, singing. Always singing.

That's how people who worked with Aaliyah remember her that Saturday, the day she died. Lip-syncing while shooting the video. Singing between takes. Singing on the way to the airport to catch the charter plane for Opa-locka Airport. The schedule had originally called for Aaliyah and her crew to leave Saturday afternoon. But the taping for the video was a bit behind schedule, and the transportation coordinator changed the reservation they had with Sky Limo to pick up 20 people to the next day, Sunday.

She was excited, co-workers said, to be dancing on a 72-foot catamaran as it sailed the Bahamas' turquoise waters for the video to her new song, "Rock the Boat." Still, she was eager to return to New York. She didn't want to be away any longer than necessary.

Dashing Damon Dash, the 24-year-old CEO of Roc-a-Fella Records, had been part of her life for about a year. He had come to Miami, where they began shooting the video. Now that they were about to wrap, she wanted to get to New York to be with him. As beautiful as the Bahamas are, she didn't want to spend another night there.

The crew called a different charter to pick up those in a hurry to return to Miami. The others would wait for the Sky Limo on Sunday.

The video cast and crew had worked long, intense days, first in Miami and then around Treasure Cay, a small community known for its sprawling resort, white sand beaches and the only golf course in the Bahamas' Out Islands. Now it was nearly done. One more day, spent on a beautiful yacht with a special stage built on deck for Aaliyah and the dancers, just to make her next video as tantalizing as possible.

"She had money, but it didn't spoil her," said Annie Russell, a taxi driver who coordinated the local crew for the production. "She acted as if she knew you for a long time. She was a nice person."