Ciara

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Biography

Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), known mononymous person|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 album Goodies (album)|Goodies which spawned the number one hits " Goodies (song)|Goodies " and " 1, 2 Step ", selling over five million copies worldwide and certified triple platinum in the United States. The album earned her four nominations at the 2004 48th Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards . In 2006, she released her second album, Ciara: The Evolution which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 and included the hits " Get Up (Ciara song)|Get Up " and " Promise (Ciara song)|Promise ". Her third album Fantasy Ride released in May 2009, included the worldwide top ten hit single " Love Sex Magic " with Justin Timberlake which earned her a nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained eight Billboard Hot 100| Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles, including a number one. Prior to the release of her third album, Ciara sold over seven million albums worldwide, and as of June 2010, she has sold more than 4.3& nbsp;million albums and 6.9& nbsp;million digital tracks in the United States alone.

Biography

1985-03: Early life and Career Beginnings

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 .. Billboard . Retrieved December 14, 2006. 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 . Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child and Janet Jackson perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music, and cites superstar siblings Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson as her biggest inspiration. Ciara is quoted to have reached what she considered "a career pinnacle" when she recorded with Janet Jackson on Jackson's 2008 Discipline (Janet Jackson album)|Discipline album.

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 record executive|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 (song)|Goodies ". Lil Jon stated later that he knew it would be big seeing how it sounded similar to Usher (entertainer)|Usher 's international hit, " Yeah& #33; (Usher song)|Yeah! ".

2004–05: Goodies and Goodies: The Videos & More

Ciara released her debut album Goodies (album)|Goodies on September 28, 2004. Following the release of the album, Ciara was hailed as the "Princess or First Lady of Crunk& B ". She worked with several writers and producers on the album, including Jazze Pha (who discovered her), Lil Jon , Bangladesh (producer)|Bangladesh , R. Kelly , Johntá Austin , Sean Garrett , and Keri Hilson , among others. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200| Billboard 200 , selling 124,750 copies in its initial week and topped the Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Goodies itself had a seventy-one week stint on the Billboard 200, and RIAA certification|certified three times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 10, 2006,. Recording Industry Association of America. Accessed May 21, 2008. and has sold around 2.7& nbsp;million copies in the United States as of June 2010. Charting at twenty-two on the Canadian Albums Chart , it was certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association . The album charted at twenty-six on the UK Albums Chart , and spent twenty weeks on the chart. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry , remaining to be Ciara's sole certified album in the UK.

Goodies 's lead single , Goodies (song)|the title track , featuring Petey Pablo , was released on June 8, 2004. Conceived as a crunk female counterpart to Usher (entertainer)|Usher 's " Yeah (Usher song)|Yeah ", the lyrical content goes against the grain, speaking of abstinence , rejecting advances because "the goodies will stay in the jar." Critics hailed it as an "anthem of the summer" and one of the best singles of the year, complementing its dance-feel and beat, and the irony of the "clever" lyrics. The single performed well worldwide, topping the charts in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and charting in the top ten of other charts, receiving Platinum certification in the United States. " 1, 2 Step " featuring Missy Elliott was released as the album's second single. While topping the charts in Canada, it additionally appeared the in top ten of six other countries, and was certified Platinum or Gold in multiple regions. The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 48th Grammy Awards . " Oh (Ciara song)|Oh " featuring Ludacris was released as the third single on March 5, 2005. The song performed well worldwide, appearing in the top ten of seven charts, and certified either Platinum or Gold in multiple regions.

Following the success of the album, Ciara released a CD/DVD entitled Goodies: The Videos & More in the United States on July 12, 2005 which featured remixes to "1, 2 Step" and "Oh", including two new songs. The release was certified platinum in the United States. Ciara also served as an opening act for Gwen Stefani 's Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 and went on tour with Chris Brown (American singer)|Chris Brown and Bow Wow (rapper)|Bow Wow on the Holiday Jam Tour in December 2005. She made a guest appearance on Missy Elliott 's single " Lose Control (Missy Elliott song)|Lose Control " and also on Bow Wow (rapper)|Bow Wow 's single " Like You ", which both peaked at number three in the United States and obtained worldwide success. At the 48th Grammy Awards , Ciara received four nominations including a Grammy award for " Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist ", " Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration " for "1, 2 Step", and " Grammy Award for Best Rap Song|Best Rap Song " for "Lose Control" for Elliot's single. She won " Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video|Best Short Form Music Video " with Elliott for the single. In 2005, Ciara began dating rapper Bow Wow (rapper)|Bow Wow . They ended their relationship in April 2006.

2006-07: Ciara: The Evolution

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. Although, Michael Jackson , Prince (musician)|Prince and Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna were influences on the album. Ciara worked with a new line of producers including Rodney Jerkins , Pharrell , Bryan-Michael Cox , Will.i.am and many others, as well as working with producers Jazze Pha and Lil Jon who previously worked with the singer on her debut album.

Ciara: The Evolution became Ciara's first number one album on the US Billboard 200| 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 album|platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA in the United States, within only five weeks of its release, and has sold 1.3& nbsp;million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. It sold over two million copies worldwide. The album's international lead single " Get Up (Ciara song)|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 (soundtrack)|Step Up and featured on the film's soundtrack. The album's lead single in the United States, " Promise (Ciara song)|Promise " reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100| 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. Billboard Charts . Retrieved December 17, 2010.

In support of the album, Ciara headlined The Evolution Tour in October 2006. The tour went to seventeen different clubs in cities throughout the United States. In August 2007 she headlined the Screamfest '07 tour with fellow rapper, T.I. . Ciara along with Chris Brown (American singer)|Chris Brown and Akon , was a support act for Rihanna 's Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in the United Kingdom. She made guest appearances on singles such as " So What (Field Mob song)|So What " by Field Mob and also on Tiffany Evans ' single " Promise Ring (song)|Promise Ring ". 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. 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.

2008–09: Fantasy Ride and Modelling Contract

In October 2008 Ciara was honored as Billboard 's "Woman of the Year", because of her success as a recording artist and leadership in embracing the changing music business. In the October issue of Vibe (magazine)|Vibe Magazine , Ciara appeared to be naked on the magazine's cover but she has stated that Vibe airbrushed her clothes off to make it appear she was completely nude. Ciara told MTV News she was hurt by the photos and was quite shocked when she finally got her hands on the month's issue. She later confirmed that she was in fact clothed. Although her third album was originally intended for a September 2008 release, Fantasy Ride was released after a number of delays in May 2009. It became Ciara's first top ten album in the UK and Canada. In the United States, Fantasy Ride debuted at number three on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 , becoming Ciara's third consecutive album to debut within the top three on the chart; it has sold 193,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album's lead single , " Never Ever (Ciara song)|Never Ever " (featuring Young Jeezy ), was released in the United States in January 2009 and reached a peak of number nine on the U.S. Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs . The second single, " Love Sex Magic " (featuring Justin Timberlake ), became a worldwide hit, reaching within the top ten in twenty countries including the U.S., where it peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to be certified platinum in Australia and received a gold accreditation in New Zealand. It received a nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 52nd Grammy Awards and also for Best Choreography in a Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards . " Work (Ciara song)|Work ", the final single, achieved moderate success in international markets. In July 2009, Ciara headlined the Jay-Z & Ciara Live tour with Jay-Z . She was also the support act for Britney Spears 's The Circus Starring Britney Spears|Circus tour, where she performed eight nights at London's prestigious O2 Arena during June 2009. Ciara made a guest appearance on Nelly 's single " Stepped On My J'z " from his album Brass Knuckles (album)|Brass Knuckles , and also on Enrique Iglesias ' international hit single, " Takin' Back My Love ", from his Greatest Hits (Enrique Iglesias album)|Greatest Hits album.

In 2009 Ciara signed a multi-million dollar deal with the modeling agency Wilhelmina Models . After signing the deal she has been in many magazine spreads. In addition to that, she also has her eyes set on beginning a new clothing line. In June 2008 she was in talks with the department store Steve & Barry's to create an affordable clothing line. Billboard . Retrieved October 27, 2008. On November 9, 2009 it was announced that Ciara would be modeling in the German edition of "Vogue". During that time, it was also announced that Ciara would be the new face of a major multimedia ad campaign for Verizon's smartphone the LG Chocolate Touch. Ciara filmed a commercial for the campaign, which features her dancing to her 2009 single " Work (Ciara song)|Work ".

2010-11: Basic Instinct and Film Debut

In February 2010, rapper Ludacris released a remix to his single " How Low " which had Ciara as a featured artist alongside Miami rapper Pitbull (rapper)|Pitbull . In March 2010 Ciara made a cameo appearance in the music video of Usher (entertainer)|Usher 's single, " Lil' Freak ". Her fourth studio album Basic Instinct (album)|Basic Instinct was released in December 2010. Ciara told Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul magazine, that the album "is really about her trusting her instinct and going back to the R& B/urban basics in her music – like where she first started, in the days of " Goodies (song)|Goodies " and " 1, 2 Step ". It was executively produced by the singer alongside her Artist and repertoire|A& R agent Mark Pitts and writing/production duo Tricky Stewart and The-Dream who, also produced records for her previous album, Fantasy Ride . Basic Instinct debuted at number forty-four on the US Billboard 200| Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies. Consequently, it marks the first time in Ciara's career that one of her album's has missed the top three, as well as continuing a downward trend in success. On the U.S. Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums|R& B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the album opened at number eleven, again becoming Ciara's lowest charting album of her career thus far.

" Ride (Ciara song)|Ride ", which features Ludacris , was released as the album's lead single on April 26, 2010. It peaked at number forty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100| Billboard Hot 100 , number three on the U.S. Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number seventy-five on the UK Singles Chart . It became Ciara's twelfth top-ten R& B/Hip-Hop Airplay and R& B/Hip-Hop Songs hit. The song won the award for "Best Dance Performance" at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards . " Speechless (Ciara song)|Speechless " and " Gimmie Dat " were released as the second and third singles from the album in the fall of 2010. Both only managed to peak within the lower half of US R& B charts, while the latter achieved minor urban chart success in the UK. In November 2010 Ciara travelled to Australia to be part of the Summerbeatz tour alongside Flo Rida , Jay Sean , Akon , Travie McCoy and Ja Rule .

In March 2010 it was officially confirmed and announced that Ciara was the spokesperson in the new ad campaign for Adidas Originals. A commercial for the campaign was released the same month, featuring numerous of other celebrities. In 2011 Ciara starred in her first film Mama, I Want to Sing& #33; (film)| Mama, I Want to Sing! . Tarralyn Ramsey and Paris Bennett auditioned for the role of Amara before CodeBlack Entertainment offered the role to Ciara. Vy Higginsen, the original playwright for the off-Broadway production of "Mama, I Want to Sing!", assisted Charles Randolph-Wright with the script. Shalyric Self was set to portray the younger version of Amara, but due to contract issues, she was replaced by Mariah Roberson.

2011-present: Fifth studio album

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 Ciara has reunited with the L.A. Reid, the person who signed her to LaFace Records by signing with Reid's Epic Records. Billboard.Biz confirmed her move to Epic in September 2011.

Ciara performed in Dubai on December 28. In 2011, Ciara confirmed a relationship with basketball player Amar'e Stoudemire .

Artistry

Voice

Ciara's vocal type is a Mezzo-soprano, ranging 2 octaves 3 notes and 1 semitone. C#3- G5. Her vocal pluses are said to be that her voice is sweet, soft voice that works best in its midrange and head voice. It has the ability to take on a light, breathy timbre that has a pleasing quality about it that harmonises easily.
Her vocal negatives are said to be voice becomes nasally and whiny in the chest register. http://www.divadevotee.com/2011/01/ciara-vocal-profile-range.html

Music

With the release of her debut single " Goodies (song)|Goodies ", Ciara was referred to as the Honorific nicknames in popular music|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 (singer)|Cassie , Amerie , Rihanna , and other would- Beyoncé Knowles|Beyoncé s... 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 music|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 1970s in music|70's R& B and classic Janet Jackson . Ciara's music is generally contemporary R& B , but she also incoporates various styles of musical genre s including, Hip hop music|hip hop , crunk , Rap music|rap , dance-pop , electro pop and funk into her songs. Critics have described her singles "Goodies", " 1, 2 Step ", " Get Up (Ciara song)|Get Up " and " Go Girl (Ciara song)|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 (Ciara song)|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 (Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock song)|It Takes Two " on "Make It Last Forever", Jive Rhythm Trax’s 1980s in music|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 (Ciara song)|Never Ever ".

Philanthropy

In September 2008 Ciara contributed to the song " Just Stand Up! " with fifteen other female artists, who shared the stage to perform the song live on September 5, 2008 during the " Stand Up to Cancer " television special. The proceeds from the single were given to the fundraiser. The television special helped raise $100& nbsp;million dollars for cancer research.

In 2009, Ciara became the face of 's " Do Something 101" campaign to raise school supplies for those in need at the start of the school year. She filmed a public service announcement to endorse the campaign.

Discography

Goodies (album)|Goodies (2004)

Ciara: The Evolution (2006)

Fantasy Ride (2009)

Basic Instinct (album)|Basic Instinct (2010)

Tours

;Headlining

2006: The Evolution Tour

2007: Screamfest '07 (with T.I. )

2009: Jay-Z & Ciara Live (with Jay-Z )

;Supporting act

2005: Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005

2007: Good Girl Gone Bad Tour

2009: The Circus Starring Britney Spears

2010: Summerbeatz

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2006	'' All You've Got	Becca Watley	Television film
2011	Mama, I Want to Sing!	Amara	Awaiting release
2012	Donny's Boy	Brie

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
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Ciara Photo by: mrtaing.com


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Urban/R&B Music Artists

Ciara

Biography

Biography

1985-03: Early life and Career Beginnings

2004–05: Goodies and Goodies: The Videos & More

2006-07: Ciara: The Evolution

2008–09: Fantasy Ride and Modelling Contract

2010-11: Basic Instinct and Film Debut

2011-present: Fifth studio album

Artistry

Voice

Music

Philanthropy

Discography

Tours

Filmography

See also

References

External links

Copyright Citations