Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer Jazze Pha. With his help, she signed a record deal with LaFace Records.
In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album Goodies, which spawned three hit singles: "Goodies," "1, 2 Step," and "Oh." The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album Ciara: The Evolution in 2006 which spawned the hit singles "Get Up," "Promise," and "Like a Boy." The album reached number one in the US and was certified platinum. Her third studio album Fantasy Ride, released in 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first two albums. However, it produced the worldwide top-ten hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album Basic Instinct, which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her commercial success. In 2011, she signed a new record deal with Epic Records, and is preparing to release her upcoming fifth studio album, One Woman Army.
Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained eight Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, including a number one. She has also earned numerous awards and accolades, including three BET Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, three MOBO Awards, and one Grammy Award. Ciara has sold over seven million albums worldwide,and more than 4.3 million albums and 6.9 million digital singles in the United States alone.
Ciara was born in Austin, Texas on October 25, 1985 as the only child of Jackie and Carlton Harris. Since her father was in the United States Army, throughout her childhood, Ciara grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada.In speaking of this, Ciara states that while she hated to lose good friends, this helps her in her career when she has to travel all over the world. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta.
In her mid-teens, Ciara formed the all girl group Hearsay with two of her friends. The group recorded demos, but as time went on, they began to have differences and eventually parted ways.Despite this setback, Ciara was still determined to reach her goal and signed a publishing deal as a songwriter. Her first success was the song, "Got Me Waiting" for R&B singer Fantasia Barrino's debut album, Free Yourself.It was when she was writing songs that she met music producer, Jazze Pha, whom she called her "music soulmate." In 2002, the two recorded four demos, "1, 2 Step," "Thug Style," "Pick Up the Phone," and "Lookin' at You," which all appeared on her debut album, which was released two years later. The former was the second single released from it and became a hit.
After graduating from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003, she was signed by LaFace Records executive, L.A. Reid, whom she was introduced to by Jazze Pha.She began production on her debut album later that year. In early 2004, Ciara wrote a demo with record producer, Sean Garrett. The demo was later brought to the attention of Lil Jon and became her debut single "Goodies." Lil Jon stated later that he knew it would be big seeing how it sounded similar to Usher's international hit, "Yeah!.
Ciara: The Evolution. In April 2006, Bow Wow and Ciara ended their relationship. Although the two never confirmed the reason for the break-up, it was speculated that Bow Wow cheated on Ciara.
Later that year, on December 5, 2006, Ciara released her second studio album, Ciara: The Evolution. According to the singer, the title of the album is "about so much more than just my personal growth – it's about the evolution of music, the evolution of dance, the evolution of fashion."The source of the album's creativity such as the sound and edge comes from Ciara in general. Ciara: The Evolution became Ciara's first number one album on the US Billboard 200 and second on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with sales of more than 338,000 becoming her highest first week of sales to date. The album went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States, within only five weeks of its release, and has sold 1.3 million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.It sold over two million copies worldwide.The album's international lead single, "Get Up," which features Chamillionaire, reached number seven in the United States and gained a platinum accreditation. It reached number five in New Zealand. The song was used for the film Step Up and featured on the film's soundtrack. The album's US lead single, "Promise," reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her third number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Like a Boy" was released as the second international single which reached within the top twenty in the UK, Finland, France, Ireland, Sweden Switzerland, and also in the United States.The fourth and final single from the album, "Can't Leave 'em Alone," reached number 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song became Ciara's fifth single to peak in the top in New Zealand, peaking at number 4.The song achieved moderate success in other international markets. In support of the album, Ciara went on her first headlining tour in October 2006. The tour went to seventeen different clubs in cities throughout the United States. The tour was met with mixed to positive reviews; critics were divided regarding the pre-recorded backing tracks and remarked that Ciara was slightly under-prepared to host her own headlining tour, but ultimately praised her energetic choreography. In August 2007, she headlined the Screamfest '07 tour with fellow rapper, T.I.. Critics praised her performance for her gracious dancing and being able to command a sold out arena.Ciara, along with Chris Brown and Akon, was a support act for Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in the United Kingdom. She made a guest appearance on "So What" by Field Mob. The single went on to become a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She also appeared on Tiffany Evans' single "Promise Ring." The song achieved little success on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In addition to her music, Ciara made her acting debut in the MTV Films production All You've Got in May 2006. In the movie she played Becca Whiley, a teenager who is competing in a volleyball tournament. The movie received mixed to positive reviews; critics said the movie was predictable but still enjoyable.Ciara became the face of Jay-Z's Rocawear clothing line and spokesperson for the women campaign entitled "I Will Not Lose," which debuted in the summer of 2007.
2011–present: In February 2011, following rumors that Ciara had been dropped by Jive Records, she released an official statement to her Facebook page complaining of inadequate promotion and funding from the label. She stated that she received a lack of support from the label, and even paid for the promotion of some singles, such as "Gimmie Dat," herself. The frustration she felt while working with her third and fourth albums led her to request that she be released from her contract. In May 2011, Ciara was removed from the Jive Records website roster.On July 12, 2011, it was reported that she had reunited with the L.A. Reid by signing with his record label Epic Records,and was confirmed in September 2011.
During an interview with Sway in the Morning in February 2012, Ciara revealed that she will be taking her time recording her fifth studio album, stating: "It's just really about the vibe, and I'll just tell you that it's a good vibe going. It's really important for me to take my time with this record and it's important for the whole team. It's really, really good energy." She has been working on the album with a number of producers and songwriters, including Hit-Boy, Soundz, Diane Warren, Tricky Stewart, and The Underdogs.In an interview, Ciara said “I worked with some people that are very fresh, which I’m excited about,” she revealed. “When it comes to artists, when it comes to writers, when it comes to producers, I really wanted to push. We pretty much reached out and worked with a lot of people that I’ve never worked with before, which is really fun.”During a press conference with MTV in May 2012, Ciara announced her fifth studio album would be titled One Woman Army and said the lead single, "Sweat," would be out very soon. The single, which features rapper 2 Chainz, premiered online on June 4, 2012, and was to be released via iTunes on June 19, 2012.However, the release of the single was scrapped at the last minute for unknown reasons. In early 2012, Ciara starred in the film, Mama, I Want to Sing!. She played Amara Winter, a preacher's daughter who was discovered by a well-established musician. Ciara appeared as Brie in the comedy film, That's My Boy.
Musical style With the release of her debut single "Goodies," Ciara was referred to as the Princess of Crunk&B.Allison Stewart of The Washington Post commented that she has a "reedy, agile voice, capable of conveying the only three emotions (sexy, sassy, sad) an R&B singer needs. Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times commented that "Ciara has been the most synthetic of the R&B divas over the past decade, an electro-leaning vocalist whose instrumental palate has heavily favored stark 808 beats, sassy and seductive vocal lines." In reviewing her second album Ciara: The Evolution, Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly writes "Ciara's comfort with rave-inspired beats sets her apart from Cassie, Amerie, Rihanna, and other would-Beyoncés...[Her] singing is nimble throughout: She whispers, coos, wails, and reels off speedy syncopations worthy of Beyoncé herself."Her third album Fantasy Ride saw the singer showcasing a new pop and dance direction. Bill Lamb of About.com commented that her hit "Love Sex Magic" has a "retro funk guitar feel" to it and that "the song rides a beat that brings simultaneous echoes of 70's R&B and classic Janet Jackson." Ciara's music is generally contemporary R&B, but she also incoporates various styles of musical genres including, hip hop, crunk, rap, dance-pop, electro pop and funk into her songs. Critics have described her singles "Goodies," "1, 2 Step," "Get Up," and "Go Girl" as club bangers. Ciara's debut album featured production from Jazze Pha who discovered her. Critics compared the album to the late singer Aaliyah. and said it had qualities of Destiny's Child.On her second album, Ciara worked with one of her debut album collaborators Lil Jon on "That's Right," sampling Pretty Tony's "Fix It in the Mix." She has also taken to sampling songs from other artist such as, Lyn Collins's "Think (About It)" and Rob Base's "It Takes Two" on "Make It Last Forever," Jive Rhythm Trax’s 80's electro cut "122 BPM" on "C.R.U.S.H"and also Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me by Now," sampling the chorus of the song onto "Never Ever."
